Work programme for 2020

A message to all members of Manchester NTV from Ally Hardy, Programme Planner

I write this as I enjoy a couple of days off work over the festive season.  As 2019 nears its end I think what a splendid year we had.  Surely 2020 can’t be any better, or can it?  It is time to get your diaries out because here’s what’s coming up next year …

Firstly, we have two weekends planned.  On 4^th-6^th September, after a year off, we are heading back to the Lake District for a weekend at High Wray basecamp.  We will be staying in the Acland Block and it will no doubt be a fun weekend.  Our second weekend is our annual Christmas weekend which next year comes to you on the 4^th-6^thDecember from Hendre Isaf basecamp in Snowdonia.  Join us for some Seasonal Celebrations.  If you would like to help lead either weekend then let one of the committee members know.

So, those are our weekends, but what about the 40 or so workdays?  Well, I'm pleased to announce that the worksites for the whole of 2020 have been confirmed!  Many of us have already earned a Volunteer Card (50-hour card) for the volunteering we have done with MNTV since 1^st April, but there are twelve workdays between now and 31^st March for the rest of us to reach that magic number!

On 5^th January I couldn’t get us a workday so there will be a Social walk led by Sue and Andy.  Look out for details of this soon on email, website and Facebook.  Our first workday is on 12^th January at Lyme Park.  We'll also be back there in March, April, November and December.  On 19^th January after nearly four years away we are delighted to be returning to Dunham Massey to help Head Ranger Craig (he used to work at Styal) with jobs around the estate.  We’ll be there plenty more times in 2020.  Our first longer distance day comes with a trip back to Hardcastle Crags on 26^thJanuary when we will be helping the Rangers with a special project called Slow the Flow https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardcastle-crags/features/natural-flood-management.  We’ll be back at Hardcastle doing our normal jobs in February, June and July.

On 2^nd February we head back to the seaside at Formby to help the Ranger team with their magnificent landscape conservation.  Later in the month we also head to Styal, have the first of our two trips to Biddulph Grange Garden and we’ll be back at Hardcastle Crags too.  On 15^th March we have our first visit to Hayfield.  The task at the time of writing is Drains and Fence Repair.  We will be back at Hayfield at numerous times later in the year.  March also includes visits to Lyme, Dunham, Styal and the first of two trips to Speke.  In April, having missed out on it in 2019 due to helping repair flood damage in the park, Chris at Lyme has booked us for two consecutive weeks for drystone walling.  The days are 19^th and 26^th April.

In May there are two bank holidays and so we are having only three workdays in the month, these being at Dunham, Styal and Biddulph.  Gawthorpe and the Stubbins Estate was a very popular introduction to our worksites in 2019 and so on 7^th June we are returning there.  June also brings us Hardcastle, our first trip of the year to Thurstaston (21^stJune) and Styal.

In July, after six years away we are returning to Bickerton Hill on 5^th July to meet up with Ranger Rich to help him with a job or two in the Cheshire countryside.  This is our only visit to Bickerton in 2020 and one that I swapped with Lyme so let’s make it count.  In August we return to north Manchester (Gawthorpe and the Stubbins Estate) and also travel to Erddig on 23^rd August for the first of two trips there.

September brings us the Summer in the Lakes weekend plus a visit to Erddig and our only visit of the year to Marsden Moor (20^th September).  October brings us return visits to Thurstaston, Hayfield, Formby and Styal, and in November we have our last visit to Speke, a return visit to Lyme, a trip to Hayfield and our last visit of the year to Dunham.

In December we have our Seasonal Celebrations weekend in Snowdonia, one last visit to Hayfield and on 20^thDecember join our Chairman Daniel for a Christmas workday at Lyme.  He has promised to bake some Christmas treats so why would you want to miss those?

We hope to see as many of you as possible on each workday in 2020 and if you have not yet joined us on a workday then let 2020 be that year.

Ally Hardy

Programme Planner