Post and rail fencing at Styal

Four volunteers turned out and spent the day on a hedge / fence line between the pond at Styal and the foot path that runs between the Apprentice house and Oak Cottages. We removing the old broken down post and rail fencing, barbed wire and stock netting, cut back the remaining thorn and holly plants, and installed four bays of new 3 rail post and rail fence.

The fact that the new fence has three rails and all the old fences in the area are have two caused a little uncertainty as to the correct height but we got there in the end.

The photo shows the new fencing with the heap of cut brash behind it.

Hedge laying at Alderly Edge

Eight of our volunteers turned out and spent the day finishing a hedge that was started last year. Also on site were eight volunteers from the "Congleton Volunteers".

There was no fire as the brash was wanted for blocking the public off a path that has started to develop where there shouldn't be one.....

The hedge was finished and the cake pretty much disappeared. "Just" the hedge on the other side of the road to do now.

Dunham Massey 16th Jan 2011

Thanks to Mick of the words - I took one or two photos but they were not worth the effort of uploading - the weather was dull, the camera shake was atrocious - so they are very blurred!


A rather wet Sunday at Dunham and the group was pleased to have the use of the indoor volunteers' room for breaks and lunch. Eleven volunteers including two first-timers did a mix of tasks, most of which involved spades and shovels. We cleared and edged several paths and gullies and helped clear away piles of brash - loppings from the limes at the front of the house.

Yums Yum's Manchester 11 January 2011

We had a great evening at Yum Yum's. If you looked carefully at the photo, you may spot the peaks of ice cream in our bowls. These came from a do-it-yourself Mister Whippy machine that certainly brought out the child in some of us. I certainly had flashbacks to Jeremy Beadle's pranks when the machine didn't stop churning out ice cream as quickly as I had anticipated!

The restaurant was pretty quiet so we didn't really benefit from the buzz of Manchester's night life, but it didn't stop us enjoying ourselves.

New Year stroll Lyme Park 2 Jan 2011

Happy New Year!

The first MNTV event of 2011 was enjoyed by many. We had a lovely stroll through the Lyme Park estate, with Sue pointing out some of the key points of interest. Despite the sun not making much of an appearance, it was a clear day so we enjoyed great views over the Cheshire plain. As we queued to reward ourselves with a warming soup or bacon buttie in the cafe, we had the added bonus of catching up with wardens Emily and Chris. They are missing our help and have lots of rhody that need clearing, but unfortunately weekend volunteering is still off the Lyme Park agenda.

There are still many other estates offering us a variety of tasks to keep us busy and I look forward to lots of hedge-laying, rhody bashing, drain clearance....etc, etc with you in 2011!