Pulling ragwort at Styal on Sunday 23rd July 2023

Four intrepid MNTV volunteers, Andy S, Adrian, Gordon and myself, braved the elements today and pulled ragwort in the rain on the Styal estate with Ceara the Styal Ranger, from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

Ceara had brought some ragwort forks with her which helped us loosen the roots first so we could pull the roots out with the plant.  She asked that we lay the ragwort neatly in piles, out of sight, so that when dog walkers used the fields it would look better if the pulled ragwort couldn't be seen.

Although we had our elevenses outdoors between showers, by the time lunchtime came the heavens had opened so we walked over to the wooden shelter at the top of the steps leading from the carpark down to the mill so we could enjoy our lunch undercover without getting any wetter.  Mind you, I say we walked over to the shelter, poor Andy 'squelched' over as it turned out that the rain had been running off his waterproofs and into his wellies all morning!  His feet were so wet he had to pour the water out of his wellies before he could enjoy his lunch:

We cleared three fields of ragwort before moving into the Countryfile field, so called because this was where thousands of sapling trees were planted by various volunteers, including MNTV, and featured in a Countyfile program in November 2020.  It's also known as the Obelisk field, as this is where the stone obelisk is located, positioned due south from an observatory that once stood in Quarry Bank garden, which enabled the mill owner to use the sun to set his clocks.

Sadly we ran out of time to completely clear the Countryfile field.  Maybe it will be our task next time we're at Styal or maybe another group will get the opportunity to finish it off instead.  By the end of the day, although wet through, we were delighted with the amount of ragwort that we'd been able to get rid of.  Ceara was also impressed with how much we'd achieved, and invited us back again soon:-)

Sue B