Himalayan Balsam Pulling at Speke Hall - 1st August 2021

 

We had a good turnout for Speke Hall on 1^st August to clear Himalayan balsam from a couple of areas near the car park. 

The first area was a field which was ready to be cut back, a lot of the balsam had already been removed by previous volunteer groups so it was like finding a needle in a haystack at first.  The field was very pretty with lots of wildflowers, such a shame that it will all be cut back.  As we moved across the field there was a large strip containing balsam but it was very tricky to remove due to the sheer number of thistles.

We then moved onto a second wooded area near a fishing pond and did a spot of litter picking whilst there and found a very neatly made empty birds nest. 

 

Adjacent to that was another large field and bingo lots of balsam which was easy to pull up.

A very rewarding day and I enjoyed being back at Speke for what was the best part of two-three year break.  Note to self – pay the bridge toll on the day!