Scything and raking at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 2nd August 2026

Five of us from MNTV met up with five volunteers from the West Yorkshire National Trust Volunteer group and Hardcastle Crags Rangers Alice and Lily with high hopes that the 12 of us would make a big impact on today's tasks.

We loaded the Rangers' vehicle with the tools we'd brought with us and our rucksacks and walked from the Midgehole upper car park to a small area of grassland called Rom's Folly, which was on the left of the path as we walked towards Gibson Mill.

We quickly realised that most of Rom's Folly was a steep slope with a flatter area towards the bottom, which was nearer to the river.  There were lots of flies and midgey things about so we liberally applied our anti-mosquito spray to avoid getting bitten.

There were various tasks that needed doing today.  The whole area needed scything to get rid of the overgrown vegetation, but to ensure the land remained nutrient deficient we then had to rake the cut grasses and carry them to the side of the area and throw them over the wall.  After a demonstration of how to use a scythe by Ranger Alice, and the advice to 'walk' the area first to ensure no sleeping hedgehogs were hiding, Kate, James and David went down to the flatter area to work.

The rest of us stayed at the top of Rom's Folly, on the steep slope.  Some started removing the fern either by pulling up the smaller plants or slashing them or scything them or by using secateurs.  Again, we piled up anything that was cut down so it could be gathered together and thrown over the stone walls, so it wouldn't rot down in Rom's Folly and fertilise the land.

The third task was to gently remove the seed heads of the flowering Himalayan balsam that were on the steepest area, near the path.  We don't usually tackle balsam in this way.  Usually, earlier in the season we would pull the whole plant and its roots out of the ground, and snap the roots from the stem so it can't re-root and throw it to the floor to die.  However, the balsam today was so ripe that the seed pods were on the verge of bursting to spread seeds over a large area, for plants to grow next year.  If we had tried to pull the plants out as usual, the action would have spread the seeds at the same time, which we didn't want to do, so a gentler approach of using secateurs to cut the flowers and seeds off and disposing of them in a black bin bag was the best way of dealing with them.

I have to confess, the tasks were quite hard work, particularly because we were also on a slope in the full sun, but we kept ourselves hydrated, took breaks when needed, ate lots of cake at mid-morning break, and home-made flapjack (courtesy of the West Yorkshire group) at lunchtime.

It was, all in all, a great day, we got loads done, met some lovely fellow-volunteers, and chatted to members of the public that were walking past and curious about what we were doing.

Sue B

Balsam bashing with West Yorkshire NTV at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 7th June 2026

Two of us met 10 West Yorkshire NT volunteers at Hardcastle Crags for a job you either love or hate - balsam bashing. It was a Goldilocks day, not too hot and not too cold. And we worked near the river bank so it was even (comparatively) flat.

It’s quite early in the season, the balsam isn’t in flower yet, so we were met with just a mass of green.

After a full days work, it’s still a mass of green! But it’s the green of wood rush not balsam.

It may not look very interesting but wood rush provides a home and food for the Woodrush Moth. It’s also a natural way to control erosion as the shallow roots bind the soil together.

It was a good day made even better by the flapjack provided by West Yorkshire at lunch break, secret ingredient - peanut butter!

Hedge planting at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 16th February 2025

Four from MNTV travelled to Hardcastle Crags on a dry but very cold day, to help Ranger Alice and three of the Hardcastle Crags volunteers continue planting a hedge along the side of one of the paths.

It was to be a mixed hedge containing 68% hawthorn, 16% hazel, 11% crab apple and 5% dog rose.  There were also some rowan trees that were planted every 10 metres or so where there weren't existing overhanging trees nearby.

The 2,500 hedge and tree saplings, support canes and spiral protectors were all provided by the Woodland Trust and were being used to create wildlife corridors so small animals could travel more safely from one wooded area to another.  To help with that, the hedge was planted two saplings deep so there'd be plenty of width to the hedge for the wildlife to hide in, once it was fully grown.

Other volunteers had already planted 350 of the hedge saplings on previous occasions, and our group managed to finish the full length by planting a further 250 hedge saplings during our workday.

We had a coffee break in the field around 11:15, but walked back to Hollin Hall, the Rangers base, for our lunch break so we could sit 'al fresco' on proper picnic chairs and tables.

It was here that we were surprised to see a frame and the internal workings of a piano propped up, so asked Ranger Alice about it.

Sadly it had been fly-tipped on the Hardcastle Crags estate, down into a dip so it had to be winched out due to its weight.  What to do with it now was a bit of an issue, and there was discussion about whether it could be repurposed into a harp or other musical instrument, or whether it should be disposed of.

As we were finishing our planting in the afternoon, Victor's conversation started telling us about his running and yoga and how, during a recent yoga class, they were asked to do a headstand, but not many could do it.  He said that he'd been able to and, quick as a flash, walked further into the field and demonstrated it for us - amazing!!

We had a great day working with Alice and were delighted that we'd managed to do so much.

Sue B

Bracken bashing at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 18th August 2024

Five enthusiastic MNTVers made the journey to Hardcastle Crags today to meet Ranger James with his terrier Hamish, and Hardcastle Crags volunteer Lorna.  Due to the distance travelled (it took just over an hour to get there on a quiet Sunday morning) four of us car shared from Quarry Bank Mill to cut down on the number of cars used.

Once there, we walked from the car park at Hollin Hall, down the track to the water works building, through a field at the side where wild ponies had recently been moved into, across a walking track and into another field.  This was where we were working for the day.

There had been a lot of bracken in this field originally, and on previous visits years ago we had helped remove some so it was now a lot clearer.  Today we were continuing that work by manually pulling out the bracken and, once we had a big pile of it, we would carry it to the edge of the field and stack it up over the fence line but without it over-spilling onto a track that the public used, so it could rot down over time.

It was a nice day, dry, sunny, sometimes cloudy and occasionally a wind would get up.

We were pleased with the amount of bracken we pulled up and hoped that by varying whether we did it standing and bending over, sitting or kneeling, we wouldn't end up with stiff backs tomorrow!

It was nice to meet up with Ranger James again, and also Lorna, whom we'd met on a previous visit to the site when we were tidying up the wood in the wood store and the compound near Gibson Mill.  On that visit on 7th April we came across a hedgehog hiding under some fallen leaves.

Sue B

Balsam bashing and raking up cut grass at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 7th July 2024

Two of us (Martin and Andy S) travelled to Hardcastle Crags today and worked with the Slow the Flow volunteers bashing Himalayan balsam and raking up cut grass in a picnic area.  The ranger was very happy with the group's work.

Martin

Sunday 7th April 2024 - Hardcastle Crags

Looking at the Blog, it's 3 years ago since MNTV helped Ranger Alice sort out the wood piles in the compound and the woodstore :https://mntv.blogspot.com/2021/05/various-tasks-at-hardcastle-crags-on.html

Today was a very similar day. 

Five of us met in the main car park and Alice ferried 3 of us to the wood store and outdoor wood storage compound, which are close to Gibson Mill. Andy and Christine drove their own car so we had some transport in case Alice was called away.

We joined the Hardcastle Crags volunteers who work 2 Sundays a month, so there were about a dozen of us tackling the jobs in hand, which was to move the drying wood from the tarpaulin covered wood piles via the NT vehicle and unload it into the wood store, where it could fully drive before being used for heating and powering the Mill.

We then re-stacked and re-covered these wood piles to protect the remaining wood and there were now empty lengths where the new wood, being cut during the week, could be stored.

Over to the side of the outdoor compound there were smaller wood piles which hadn't been touched for a while. They were on uneven ground so the wood was piled on individual pallets instead of runs of 3 or 4 pallets, and stabilised underneath. We found some of the pallets had rotted away in places. We decided to use the spare pallets to create new small wood piles to carry this wood and cover with the taup. While we were throwing the wood from the rotting pallets over to the newly-sited pallets, Sue shouted to stop - she'd seen that some leaves had blown off a small pile of leaves and thought she could see the spines of a hedgehog close to where we were throwing the wood over. On closer inspection, it was a hog, having a sleep, and fortunately our antics hadn't disturbed it. We covered it with more leaves and moved away from the area. It seemed to be fine, even popping its nose out after to have a sniff around before going back to sleep. 

Later on, while moving another batch of wood, we came across a big Toad, who moved himself to a safe area once he'd been disturbed.

Some of the Hardcastle Crags volunteers left around lunchtime, so then we were then a much smaller group. After lunch, Alice suggested that a few of us took loppers to cut back the beech 'whips' re-growing across from the Mill.

We had a great day, got a lot done and it was really lovely working with Alice again,

Sue B

 

 

Balsam bashing at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 16th July 2023

Adrian and I went to Hardcastle Crags today to join nine volunteers from the West Yorkshire group.  We were Himalayan Balsam bashing in the areas around the car parks and beside the track on the way to Gibson Mill.  We removed a lot of balsam making a real dent in the area it covered.

Martin

Balsam bash at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 18th June 2023

Andy and Jean, the Dynamic Duo, met ranger Tim at 10:00 on a warm and still Sunday morning.  We started the day clearing bracken from the small orchard behind Hollin Hall that Tim has ‘adopted’.  It has a number of heritage apple trees that are healthy and produce plenty of fruit but bracken is starting to encroach from the neighbouring field.

We pulled up the bracken by hand, usually managing to take the rhizome as well.  Tim is mapping the areas as they’re worked to see how effective this is compared to using a ‘weed whacker’.

After an hour and a half the orchard was clear of bracken, exposing some Himalayan Balsam! But that’s a job for another day.

The second task was the never ending job of balsam bashing.  We worked in a gulley by the river just below the main car park, again pulling up the plants by the root.  The balsam hadn’t started flowering yet so every plant we pulled avoided about 700 seeds being spread.

Three hours later the gulley is still green but nettles are okay and hopefully the underlying blue bells and daffodils will put on a good show next year.

Jean

Balsam bashing at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 7th August 2022

Just three MNTVers met ranger James at 10:00 for the third balsam bashing session of the year at Hardcastle Crags. It was a hot day but not too uncomfortable - except for the flies!

We spent the morning on the steep hillside working in the same area as the last two sessions then after lunch continued further down the hill to the car parks. It can be difficult to see progress when tackling balsam so it was encouraging to see all the hard work we’d done here a few years ago had paid off and we just needed to concentrate on clearing a couple of pockets of ‘infestation’.

It was a bit late in the season for balsam bashing and some of the flowers were ‘popping’ their seeds as we pulled them so it will be interesting to return next year and see, or rather not see, the result of our hard work.

Jean

Balsam and thistle bashing at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 17th July 2022

Four of us from MNTV joined Hardcastle ranger James and local volunteer Anthony for some thistle and Himalayan balsam removal, on the hottest day of the year so far.

Before.....

Thankfully there was some cloud cover in the morning, when we were pulling thistles in an open field near the estate office. By 11am we had cleared almost all of the thistles in the field.

.....and after!

After a morning break under the trees, we moved into the cool shade of the woods, via a stop-off to see a family of young horses that were born last year.

As the day got hotter, we were glad of the shade as we removed patches of balsam that had regrown in some areas of woodland where it had been removed in recent years. It was slightly tricky work on a steep slope among lots of brambles, but by 3.30pm we’d cleared a wide area, and ranger James was a happy man.

Text and photo's from Matt, who was the worksite leader

Dock and thistle bashing at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 19th June 2022

Six of us made the one-hour drive to Hardcastle Crags in Yorkshire to do a job the ranger described as ‘pulling stuff up’.  At this time of year that usually means Himalayan balsam but today James greeted us with a bit of variety - docks.  Docks are very prolific and can produce thousands of seeds but provide 40% fewer nutrients than grass.  The field we worked in will be cut for silage so reducing the docks will increase its food value.  Docks can regrow from the roots and it was surprisingly hard work as the soil was very hard and compacted.

Looking for the leaves amongst long grass gave the back a welcome break from bending down.  After lunch we had some more variety - thistles.  More bending down but easier to see.

The occupants of the field appreciated us providing them with an unexpected late lunch.

Lots of stuff pulled up on a surprisingly warm and dry day.  Many thanks to James (2 legs) and Hamish (4 legs) for an enjoyable time, but we did miss the balsam!

Jean

Bracken Bashing at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 22nd Aug 2021

Seven of us met James, the Area Ranger for Hardcastle Crags and East Riddlesden Hall, at 10am at the old Estate Offices.

He took us to the tool store and we helped put together some Scythes and adjust them so they were comfortable to hold. He demonstrated how to use them and showed us how to sharpen them when they went a bit blunt. We also collected some rakes and a slasher.

Getting the tools ready before we started

During the day, we worked in 3 different area's slashing the bracken, raking it up and then throwing it onto existing piles of rotting bracken from previous Bashes. This was being done to help the fungi, in particular the Waxcaps, have a better chance of survival.  

Follow this link to find out more about the fungi at Hardcastle Crags: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardcastle-crags/features/grassland-fungi-project

The weather was bizarre during the day, changing between showers and rain, to very hot sun and an extremely humid environment - it was waterproofs off, on, off, on, during the day.

A number of us saw frogs hopping around in the undergrowth getting out of our way, and some of the group saw a rabbit make a quick exit.

One of the frogs we saw

We'd left our lunch in our cars so went back to Hollin Hall just before midday for a combined morning break and lunch. James found enough chairs for us to sit on, a real luxury on a workday:-)

It was a challenging day due to the weather and the walking we did, but we felt good that we'd helped James get a job ticked off his to-do list:-)

Balsam bashing at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 25th July 2021

Today, seven of us met at Hardcastle Crags in West Yorkshire for a day's balsam bashing.  It was the Chairman's first visit since November 2017 (!), but others had been much more recently (27th June).  The task again was balsam bashing, but this time on a steep hillside ten minutes' walk from the Rangers HQ at Hollin Hall.  The presence of balsam in the midst of a wood belied the notion that it grows only on riverbanks.

Ranger Tim explained the reasons for getting rid of the balsam (non-native species, quick growing and shades out everything beneath, shallow root structure which doesn't slow water flow) and a foolproof method of identifying it even if flowerless (the leaves grow in threes from the same point on the stem).

The bash was a tricky job that required concentration because of the steep ground and the abundance of stinging nettles.  From time to time mountain bikers passed by, either hurtling down the stoney lane or climbing slowly up it.

It was good to catch up with Matt Smethurst on his first workday since pre-Covid and to welcome newcomer Sean Kilgallon to the group.  After five hours' work we had made a small but noticeable dent in the huge expanse of balsam.  There is plenty left for the estate's mid-week volunteers to have a go at!

Thanks to Ranger Tim for having us for the day.

Daniel

Balsam bashing at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 27th June 2021

As inevitable as seasons roll round it’s balsam picking time.  One of my favourite tasks destroying Himalayan balsam. Delicately plucking a bunch of flowers then ringing their necks to stop them growing back. All done in lovely surroundings, with good company.

Sue getting ready to to break the roots off the Balsam!

On the 27^th June 2021, 8 of us gathered in the carpark at Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge.  We met up with Ranger Alice again, who was with us on our last trip to Hardcastle.   The task was a simple seek and destroy mission. Himalayan Balsam is an invasive non-native species that likes part shade and damp ground.  But we didn’t want to destroy the native plants it was growing amongst, so we had to wade through them including bramble and nettles and contend with mozzies to hand pick it.

Socially distancing at break time

As you can see from the photo, in the foreground is the picked Balsam surrounded by other plants. Picking by hand rather than slashing the whole area leaves a much better result. 

Text from Jenny. Photo's from Jenny and Sue.

Various tasks at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 16th May 2021

Hardcastle Crags defied the weather predictions to give us a warm and sunny day with little rain. As there were only four of us, we were able to park at the work site next door to Gibson Mill, saving a 30 mins. walk from our usual parking place at the estate office.

Gibson Mill is a 19th century cotton mill that now houses a cafe. It is completely off grid and hot water and heating is provided by a wood-burning boiler using wood from the estate.

We met rangers Alice and Nick at 10 o’clock and started on the first task of the day. This was moving wood cut in 2018 and left to dry to the wood store next to the mill.

In the afternoon we split into two groups. David and Andy worked with the rangers, installing display posts for information boards. These will explain to visitors the ‘stop the flow’ project to slow surface runoff on the hillside and reduce flooding.

Sue and Jean spent an hour working on the hillside behind the mill, cutting back beech ‘whips’ or new growth. This allows more light to reach the ground and encourages the growth of plants such as bluebells and wild garlic.

Clearing drainage gullies and doing a litter pick took us to 15:30 and the end of a satisfying day. We accomplished all the tasks scheduled for the day and our low numbers made it easy to stick to social distancing rules.

 

This was the first time we had met Nick and Alice and look forward to working with them again in the future.

Photo's and text by Jean.

*CANCELLED* workday at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 23rd February 2020

Today's tree planting at Hardcastle Crags was cancelled because nobody signed up.  Perhaps people were put off by the wet weather forecast and early start (9:30).

'Slow the Flow' at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 26th January 2020

Today's workday took us over the border to Yorkshire, and Hardcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge. In 2015 the town suffered severe flooding, an increasingly common occurrence in the Calder valley. Some residents decided to take an active role in protecting their local area, and formed 'Slow The Flow', a group aimed at reducing the impact of future floods.

Five volunteers from MNTV joined another twenty or so Slow The Flow volunteers to create several 'mini dams' across the streams and runnels on the hillside above the valley. Around 400 of these have been set up around Hebden Bridge, and while one dam on its own makes only a small difference, the idea is that several hundred will significantly slow down the rate at which water runs into the rivers that flow through the town. This should reduce the height of the water at 'peak flow' time during flooding events, which could avoid damage to property, or at least reduce the impact where complete avoidance is not possible.

The work involved teams of 6-8 people lifting large sections of tree trunks into the bed of the stream or runnel, while others cut smaller branches and pieces of brash to help finish the dam. About a dozen new dams were installed in the woodland where we were working, before we stopped at midday. The morning's rain put the dams immediately to the test!

After lunch in the welcome shelter of the rangers' office, the afternoon's job, billed as 'tree planting', turned out to be the complete opposite! To encourage light to reach the floor of the woods and encourage greater biodiversity, some of the pervasive beech trees had their side branches cut back to create a wood 'monolith'. Many young beech trees had sprung up in the understorey, and would quickly take over if not controlled, so our job was to cut them back and place them on brash piles to rot down. It was tricky work on the steep slope, but we made progress over a large area before we called it a day.

Even on a damp day the woods were full of walkers, testament to the great beauty of this part of the world. It was good to know we'd played our part in not only keeping it looking beautiful, but also helping the people who live in the area.

Balsam bashing, putting up a sign and tree branch clearance at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 7th July 2019

We had a varied day today working with Natalie the Ranger at Hardcastle Crags:-)
We met there at 10am, Sarah, Andy S. and Sue sharing a car from Styal while Jean and also Andy H. travelled from their homes as it was a shorter distance.
Natalie, as usual, was full of enthusiasm for what she had planned and she drove us down towards the car park from the old Estate Office. Once there, Jean and Sue put up the Ranger workday banner:

while the others removed a branch of a Beech tree that had snapped off the tree.

We then pulled up and squished the nodules of Balsam near an old Waterways building before heading back to the old Estate Office to have lunch in the sun:-)

before.......

.....during.....

.....and after:-)

Then we headed up to the old quarry and pulled some more Balsam whilst spotting butterflies and moths flying around.
Natalie then drove us down to Gibson Mill and treated us to an icecream to say thanks for all we'd done:-)
On the way back to our cars, she pulled over near to some Northern Hairy Wood Ant nests to show us how large they were, it was a real treat.

Northern Hairy Wood Ants nest

We love working at Hardcastle Crags and enjoy hearing all the tales from Natalie of the fauna and flora in the area.
Photo's mainly from Nat.