Thursday 13 December 2018

Work programme for 2019

I wrote this on the train as I headed home after a fabulous Christmas weekend in the Lake District.  Where were you?!  As 2018 comes to an end, it's time to think about 2019 and what wonders we have in store.  Firstly, we have three weekends planned for your delight.  Our Spring Weekend comes in April and we are visiting Buckden in Wharfedale on the weekend of 7 April.  If you would like to come on this weekend then please let us know as soon as possible as the basecamp only holds 13 and we currently have eight definite bookings and several more probables.  We are sharing this weekend with the Merseyside group.  Our other weekends are Summer in Snowdonia on the weekend of 14 July based at Hendre Isaf basecamp near Betws-y-Coed and Christmas is at Calke Abbey near Derby on the weekend of 8 December.  Look out for emails about these weekends at a later date.

So those are our weekends, what about the workdays?  Well, I'm pleased to announce that the worksites for the whole of 2019 have been confirmed and boy have we got a programme and a half lined up for you!

Our first workday is on 6 January at Alderley Edge.  Ranger Tim Ryan (ex-MNTV) has asked for our help with some hedgelaying.  We'll also be back there at the end of January and in February too to carry on with this task.  Our first longer distance day comes in the form of a trip back to Erddig on 3 February and we'll be back there in May and September too.

In March after roughly four years away we are returning to the seaside and to the sands of Formby.  We will also be travelling there twice more in 2019.  In April, as well as our trip to Wharfedale, we travel to Thurstaston on the Wirral and to Speke.  This will be our only visit to Speke in the year so don't miss it.

In May we have the first of our special workdays at Lyme Park. You may remember a while ago I emailed you all asking if there were any particular tasks you wanted to do as Lyme had asked us the same question.  This month we have our first Lyme Special: on 12 May we are joining the Ranger team doing a bird survey.

In June we have our first visit of the year to Biddulph and Hardcastle Crags, our second Lyme Special (planting bedding plants in the garden) and we will also be at Hayfield doing some bracken bashing.  July brings us the Summer in Snowdonia weekend and our third Lyme Special of either a butterfly survey or thistle thrashing.

August brings the fourth Lyme Special and a job that our volunteers have been keen to take on since last doing it in 2009 at Hayfield drystone walling!  September brings us a first as we join the Merseyside group at Chirk Castle near Wrexham.

In October we have another first as we head to north Manchester to find out what's going on at Gawthorpe Hall or the Stubbins Estate.  November brings us Bosley Cloud and our last trip to Formby for the year.

December brings us the Christmas at Calke Abbey weekend and we finish the year with another visit to Bosley Cloud on 15 December.
The programme for the first part of the year will be up on the Whats On page of our website in the New Year.  Keep your eyes on the website as more dates will get added.
We hope to see as many of you as possible on each workday.  If you have signed up but not yet joined us on a workday then let 2019 be the year!
Ally Hardy

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