Drystone walling - peak district

Approximately 10 volunteers turned out on a damp day (20/4/8) and "patched" 2 "small" sections of drystone wall - on National Trust land between Edale and Hayfield. It may not sound like much but with 7 or so novices and three more experienced volunteers it kept us busy and warm.

As with may task the situation looks works before it gets better - you often have to take the wall down to its foundations to sort out an underlying problem before rebuilding it, and the net result is that during the preparation stages the gap just appears to grow. These photographs show the section where our beginners were taught - before and after.

Gutters, Gravel, Mud and Leafmould

5 Volunteers turned out a Dunham Massey today,
we spent the morning clearing out cobbled gutters in the carpark.

In the afternoon we spread a pile of wood chippings in to a rather muddy path near Island pond (in the dear park.

We knocked off early as there were too many visitors to be able to work safely and effectively in the carpark.

Fencing at Lyme

6 Volunteers turned out on the 6th April and worked with the local "Lyme Park" volunteers replacing post and wire fencing.

Spring Sunshine at Speke

6 volunteers turned out at Speke and continued a long standing task of Rhodii Bashing in Stocktons Wood. It felt summery at times in the warm sunshine and I'm pleased after saturday's rain that the weather remained pleasant until after we had turned in the fire at the end. It was good to see some wildlife - lots of ladybirds and the Great Spotted Woodpecker.

The "Secret Garden" - Styal 9th March

Nine volunteers turned out to help get the "secret garden" ready for its official opening.

We completed a small fencing job, in the top corner of the garden and some general tidying / raking.

Hazel found herself a good seat overlooking the fencing work.

It will be interesting to watch how this garden unfolds in the next few years.

Two teams at Dunham Massey (2 March)

Ten volunteers turned out at Dunham Massey, and tackled two completely different task.

6 volunteers and a warden continued with the hedge that was started in January finishing approximately 20 more yards, while 5 others and a Gardener worked in the Garden.

There is a project to create a new winter garden and Dunham Massey to be formally opened next year. The paths have been laid, but there were some problems with soil levels around them. When we left there was more work to be done - but visible progress had been made.

Strangford Lock (Nothern Ireland)

Fourteen volunteers (some from Manchester and some from Ireland) travelled to Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland for the weekend of 23 and 24th Feb. They put in over 150 hours of work, litter picking and hedge laying. The weather prevented the planned task on islands in the lough, but the volunteers enjoyed their time anyway.