Rhody clearance at Hayfield on Sunday 23rd Nov 2014

Twelve of us (including 2 'newbies') met the National Trust Rangers and their dogs in the Sett Valley Trail car park and we drove or got lifts to nearby Park Hall.

It turned out not to be one of our usual 'rhody bash with a fire' activities but, instead, we were pulling up rhody re-growth to ensure it didn't get established. Anything that wouldn't easily pull out was left alone and would be sprayed later to kill it off.

There used to be lots of rhody around where we were working and it was good to see that huge area's were now devoid of rhododendron ponticum.

Although it was sometimes hard to spot the small rhody, it was quite tiring to keep bending down to pull it up, it was quite cold and a bit windy, nothing can beat the views you get from working in the High Peak and that alone makes working at Hayfield a pleasure every time.

At the end of the day, when most of us were still there, we took a group photo. Some members reckon it's getting a bit 'cheesy' to include a group photo in the Blog but I think it's a great reminder of the day:-)