Hayfield - 12 April 2015

Five volunteers rolled up in the Sett Valley Trail car park this Sunday to meet the rangers and drive up into the hills to South Head Farm.  It was just a short walk across the fields to the site of the first task - a pond in a tree plantation.  The task was the replacement of 25 feet of collapsing concrete drain pipe with a brand new plastic pipe.  The culvert formed the outflow from the pond and after a muddy hour the water was gurgling happily through the new bright blue pipe.  We then proceeded to clear and enlarge the stream bed to prevent future flooding and reinstated some stepping stones that provided a crossing for a footpath.

Lunch was spent at South Head Farm which had recently been rented out to a German film company who filmed a murder mystery there.  The rangers showed use round the property, pointing out the changes the film company had made to create an eerie atmosphere.

After lunch we walked to a site near a stream adjacent to the drive to the farm and on a pleasant bend near the happily bubbling brook planted three oak trees in remembrance of Marita Johansson, a friend and member of the group who unfortunately died last year.  The site brought back some happy memories for me because on one hot day after doing some dry stone walling, myself, Marita and the rest of the gang took time out to cool our feet in the stream at the same spot.  Thanks go to Shane and the other rangers for providing the trees and a great place to plant them.

Tim O'Donnell