No workday on Sunday 25th August due to Bank Holiday

Summer social: walk and pub meal on Thursday 22nd August

It has been tricky organising a walk for our summer social because of all the wet weather during August, however a dry day beckoned on Thursday 22nd and so seven of us met at the Harrington Arms pub in Gawsworth for a 6:30pm start.

We pre-ordered our dinners and then did a 3.4-mile walk.  Andy led us along quiet country lanes and across fields with some walking on roads with footpaths.  The walk was mainly flat with six stiles to across and we had good views in the first half of Shutlingsloe, Teggs Nose and Sutton Common.  The walk ended near Gawsworth Hall and we went up the drive to see the beautiful black and white house and front lawn.  The summer events programme is in full swing and the grandstand was visible behind the house.

We were in the pub for 8pm and tucked into hearty platefuls of fish & chips, pizza, pie & mash and beef burger & chips and enjoyed conversation about MNTV and NT matters, local rambling groups, canal barge holidays and motorhoming.

Thanks to Sue for organising the evening and to Andy for leading the walk.

Daniel

Thistle bashing at Hayfield on Sunday 18th August 2019

A group of seven of us were at Hayfield knocking back thistles on farmland not far from Edale Road where the land is owned by the National Trust but worked by tenant farmers.  The weather was better than expected, a bit breezy but sunny and the views alone made it worth getting up early on a Sunday morning.

The Trust works cooperatively with the farmers and while thistles are good from a conservation point of view as they attract bees, they’re detrimental on farm land; cows avoid the area where thistles are making land use more difficult.  We were working in areas the farmer couldn’t reach with machinery because it was too steep or boggy, and along the drystone walls.

Drystone wall hidden behind thistles

It was early enough in the season that much of this year’s thistle ‘crop’ hadn’t set seed so hopefully the hillside will still look like this next year.  Except for a close encounter with a curious cow called 581, the day was satisfying but uneventful.

Hillside after thistle clearance

Jean

Sunday 11th Aug - helping Lyme from recent flood damage

Lyme was still closed to the public for the workday today as 16 from our group contributed to the restoration work after the recent flood damage to the grounds and house.

The forest path before repair.....

....and after:-)

The dam

We worked in a couple of groups in the morning, one on the dam face which had slid under the weight of the overflowing water, and the other clearing paths.

The damaged path, before it was repaired.................

....and after the repair:-)

In the afternoon, both groups concentrated on the path from the car park which had been partially washed away.
This was quite strenuous, as we had to wheelbarrow gravel from the car park up the steep path, of course having to go further and further as we progressed. The day finished with a shored-up dam, a walkable path and a happy ranger.
Text from Mick, photo's from Hayley, Andy S. and Adrian.

Sunday 4th Aug - helping with flood damage at Styal

Following the recent flooding of the Bollin, we headed down to the southern end of the Styal estate to clear up some of the mess. The footpaths had been 1m under water at the lowest point, and the road just beyond was still closed. 

The top surface of the path had been replaced by mud, and the banks were unstable in places so the path had been closed to the public.

The one good bit of the flooding was that it battered down most of the Balsam in the area, saving us a job.

River bank collapse

We joined forces with the Merseyside volunteers to scrape/brush mud and sand off the surface of the path and fill in some of the holes.

Before.......

...and after, on one particular section

Cream tea's for mid-morning break, MNTV style!

We also picked up the litter that was decorating the trees – we found 2 different trainers – do people really hop home? lots of cans bottles and plastic bags, and a surprisingly happy looking bear. 

By the end of the day the group of 4 MNTVer's were a little warm, but not too hot and bothered.  The path was opened to the public, and we walked back along the Bollin to the Mill. 

Photo's and text from Jenny