Rhody bashing at Hayfield on Sunday 25th March 2018

After a very cold March, it finally felt like spring as we enjoyed sunshine on a south facing hill just above Park Hall near Hayfield.

The walk up was extremely steep, as was the worksite, and it was difficult to avoid slipping at times. But we took care, persevered and gradually accumulated some large piles of cut rhody. Due to a new Trust directive, the piles are no longer being burned, but are being left to rot down.

We had lots of avian company: at lunchtime we had buzzards circling above, and some peacocks from the houses below came part way up the hill to spy on our work. And every now and then, the faint sound of sawing was joined by the cry of pheasants on the other side of the wood.

By mid afternoon it felt properly warm, and we’d cut well into the thicket of rhody sitting under the larger woodland trees. So we packed up our tools, tiptoed back down the slope, and had enough time to detour to view the old open air swimming pool near the hall, before heading home.

*CANCELLED* Rhodybash at Lyme Park on 18th March 2018

Sadly, today's workday was cancelled by the ranger on Friday night due to the amber weather warning for snow and high winds making working in the woodlands dangerous.  This is the second workday we have lost to bad weather since 1st January.  In the event, Lyme was closed on Sunday because of drifting snow blocking the driveway.

Hopefully the sun will be shining next Sunday at Hayfield and on 20th May when we return to Lyme Park.

Daniel

Footpath work at Bosley Cloud on Sunday 11th March 2018

Just three MNTV volunteers turned out to continue footpath work on Bosley Cloud, although that wasn't a problem as we were also working with a larger group of Congleton volunteers.

The popular walk to the top of The Cloud has led to the paths becoming eroded and widening as people seek to avoid muddy and waterlogged ground. To combat this, Tim the ranger has been installing raised log borders and drains along the path. 

We began by cutting down some unwelcome birch trees on the heath and using them to make a brash border to discourage people from leaving the existing path.

At lunchtime we took the short trip to the top of the hill to enjoy views of the Cheshire countryside. We then joined Tim and the Congleton group working on the log borders.

This involved digging down through compacted sand and grit which felt like it had almost become sandstone, putting in upright posts along the border of the path and then laying long logs on top to create the actual border.

By the end of the day we had put down about 80 yards of brash and 30 yards of log border. We'll be back in May to continue the work.

Work in the wood yard at Styal on 4th March 2018

Eight volunteers braved a day which started cold and with some snow still around from last week's 'Beast from the east' snowstorms.  We were working in the yard at Styal processing wood for firewood to be sold to the residents of the village.

To do this we worked with the wardens (one of whom, Alex Bond, used to be a member of MNTV) to split the wood using two tractor-mounted splitters.  The more energetic of us used axes.

At the end of the day we had reduced the pile of logs by a considerable amount and the pile of drying wood in the shed had increased greatly.

Adrian