Tree work on Bosley Cloud on Sunday 29th July

It started as a VERY wet day!!
Nine of us met on Tunstall Road, Bosley, where we swapped into 3 cars and drove to the layby at the top of Red Lane.
By then the rain was coming down fast but we weren't going to let it deter us from our task!!

Sheltering from the rain!

We started to walk up The Cloud with our tools and met Tim the NT Ranger and Paul, his long-term volunteer. They provided us with some extra tools, including a large 2-person 'push pull' saw and then showed us where we would be working and what needed doing.
We had hoped we might get the chance to winch some tree trunks out of the ground but Tim had other plans for us!
As we walked into the wood, there were a number of large pine tree trunks that had already been felled, waiting to be taken to the edge of the wood and left in a line, so that they could easily be chained up to a Quad bike later in the week and dragged to where they were to be used. This was likely to be as an edging to the various paths on The Cloud.
Tim had other groups of volunteers to supervise as well, so he headed off to meet them, leaving us in the capable hands of Paul.
Some of us started by tiding up the floor of the wood of trip hazards - removing and stacking smaller bits of wood that were lying around, tidying up brambles etc.  We also dug up some Holly and Birch trees which needed removing.

A large tree trunk needing 6 of us to move it!

Most of the pine trunks needed 6 people to carry them. Some, which were a bit smaller, only needed four. On the larger ones, we used 3 straps to wrap around the trunk then pushed our mattock handles through the loops at the end of the straps so a person could take the load on either side. Once strapped up and lifted, it was a slow and ponderous job, making sure that everyone was going at a speed suitable for them, sometimes stopping and putting the trunk down if it got a bit heavy and, of course, making sure to avoid any trips, slips or falls!

We had more-or-less cleared and lined up all the trunks by lunchtime, so after lunch we each had a go at felling a tree, which was then carried and lined up with the others.

Throughout the day, the weather improved, it stopped raining by mid-morning and then the sun came out:-) 

Group photo with the line of pine trunks:-)

We all had a great day, learning new skills, using different equipment and, as you can see in the photo, we could visually 'measure' our achievements by the long line of trunks that had been carried and laid out ready for the Ranger.

Tim was delighted by what we'd achieved:-)