Hare Hill workday on 2 July 2017

Today we visited Hare Hill near Alderley Edge for the first time this year.  The NT are investing in the property and we arrived to the sight of a half-built permanent visitors building opposite the wooden kiosk.  The worktask had been billed as pondwork or culvert work but changed to ‘clearing out a silted up Victorian cattle trough’.

In the morning five of us worked on the cattle trough, using spades and shovels to clear the silt from the trough and wheelbarrowing the silt/mud to a nearby oak tree where it was dumped, while Hazel, Madeleine and Geraldine balsam bashed near the Cascades.  It became clear we had cleared this same cattle trough in March 2015 and it was striking how much the grass and mud had encroached across the cobblestones since.  We all gathered for lemon traybake at elevenses and lunch.  After lunch Hazel departed, Madeleine and Geraldine resumed balsam bashing and the five of us cut away the grassy sods covering the cobbles and cleaned the cobbles using handforks and trowels.

During the day several groups of people walked on the footpath near the cattle trough and came over to ask us what we were doing and why.

It was a beautiful summer day to be outdoors and we were pleased with the refurb we achieved.  We finished at 3 o'clock and returned the wheelbarrows and hand tools to the rangers' shed and gave them a good clean.  We strolled back to the car park through the walled garden which was full of flowers in bloom and families sunbathing and playing games on the lawn.

Daniel Black

Photos: Daniel Black and Karin Frood