Six of us drove across the Cheshire Plain today to Bickerton Hill for a joint workday with the Merseyside NT Volunteers. The journey from Styal was unusually eventful because of the closure of a section of the A49. Gordon, road atlas in hand, navigated us around it with Adrian and Steve following in the car behind.
Our late arrival (10:15) didn’t prevent a brew and natter in Dave Morris’s (warden) cabin/workyard! After that refreshment the 11 of us got down to business and spent the day removing birch regrowth from an area of heathland. We did this by either pulling up the birch by hand or by lopping the stems off at ground level. Most clumps were as small as the one in the photo.
In the morning Dave took the newcomers up to Maiden Castle, an ancient hillfort. The views out over Wrexham, Chester and the Clwydian hills were spectacular. Moel Famau, the highest peak, was prominent on the skyline. Three of the herd of 17 Welsh ponies wandered up to say “hello.” They were moulting and big tufts of hair were coming out. Between them the ponies do a good job of keeping the undergrowth in check across the heath. NB The ponies are not "pet ponies" having grown up wild on the hills and mountains of Wales. It is not a good idea to approach or attempt to feed them.
The sun shone warmly all day and it was a pleasure to be working outdoors. We finished at 3 o’clock and got back to Styal at 17:15 via Middlewich and the M6/M56
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