Snowdonia Marathon

Another week where I have not been out with the group - thanks to Daniel for text and photo.
On Saturday 25th October 14 of us helped marshall the Snowdonia Marathon, an important fundraiser for the National Trust in the region. This is always a popular weekend and some of us have helped out for ten years or more! During the first part of the race we worked in three groups: two directed traffic at the Pen-y-Gwryd hotel road junction (4.5 miles), six manned the Bryn Gwynant feedstation (8 miles) and six manned the Llyn Dinas feedstation (10.5 miles). Cameramen from S4C (the Welsh language public service broadcaster) were in attendance to capture footage for Saturday evening's news and a one-hour marathon programme on Sunday.

After we had handed out the water, orange squash and jelly beans we drove back to Llanberis where most of us spent the afternoon directing runners through the town to the finish. The lucky ones had jobs in the warm dry community hall wrapping runners in foil sheets and returning kit bags.

The weather throughout the race varied from bad to atrocious and it is a testament to the hardiness and stamina of the runners that approximately 1500 completed the gruelling 26.2 mile course. The winner finished in a remarkable 2 hours 44 minutes and the last person crossed the line over four hours later.

Our accommodation for the weekend was the luxurious Hendre Isaf basecamp on the outskirts of Betws-y-coed. The piping hot showers warmed us on our return and the drying room did a great job of drying everyone's waterproofs, clothing and boots. The kitchen had ample facilities and we enjoyed a Saturday night supper of roast vegetables with pasta followed by apple & blackberry crumble with custard.

The weather had brightened up by Sunday morning and fortified by bacon and egg muffins we walked to Swallow Falls. They were spectacular after the heavy rains and the white water thundering through the gorge was a sight to behold.

PS - Daniel and Patrick have made a pact to run the 2009 Snowdonia Marathon. Watch this space for details of their training progress!

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The photo attached shows the leading runners at 10.5 miles. The runner on the far left (2) went on to win by 13 seconds from the runner on the right (1114)).

Holiday Catch up

I've had a weeks holiday in Yorkshire putting down a path, and sorting out ditches...

In my absence the group has had two sundays out -5th October -Rhodi Bashing in Lyme park, and 12 October Rhodi Bashing at Dunham Massey (near the golf course).

The group at Lyme had a good view of the some of the Lyme park deer including a couple of spectacular stags.

The group as a whole has also been organising social events - including a cylce ride and a bowling evening.

MEGA PLANT 27-28 September

The peat which has been exposed by fires and errosion etc is a problem both in terms of climate change and in terms of the cost of it getting into hte water supply system. This first photograph shows some planting in an area of bare peat


Roughly once a year - usually in late winter early spring the group has historically held a "megabash" - getting a larger than normal group together to attach the perrenial rhodadendron problem. This year was slightly different the National Trust in the high Peak (near Edale / Hayfield) have been working on a project attempting to revegitate the peat. The plan was 30,000 cotton grass plants over 2 years - we spent two "normal" sundays on this earlier in the year. As it was a big project our megabash was held in the autumn and we had a group of nearly 20 people up on Kinderscout working on this.

Over the course of the weekend approximately 20000 plants went in which completed the plan for this year. There are a few more for the spring then the area will be monitored so that the effectiveness of the process can be assessed for future reference.

The plants arrived in trays of 60 - there is an empty one in the foreground of the second photo, in the third photo there are two stacks of these empty trays visible - staked down to prevent them blowing away. Over the weekend we accounted for about three to four hundred trays and left a number of stacks like this behind for later collection. In the background of the third photo is an area of established cotton grass - quite a contrast to the bare peat.

The cotton grass grows best in the damper areas, and can grow in water - the higher areas will need to be planted with heather or will have to wait for nature to recover.

We had wonderful weather once the fog cleared on sunday morning - which certainly made getting to work interesting!

Beautiful Bickerton in the sun

We had planned to visit Helsby Hill, and spend a day working with the Merseyside group, however when I checked with Dave the warden it turned out he though we were coming to Bickerton, where he had more work. So we spent the day there working with the Chester group instead.

The work was continuing a task that had been started some time previously by contractors - they had removing birch woodland to open up the heathland to a point where it can be maintained for the future by grazing - we were clearing the last few trees. Some trees had to be left to provide variety and habitat. To get an idea of the area that has been cleared - there are two volunteers in the photo working at the edge of the woodline, if you double click on the photo and know where to look they are 2-5 pixels high!!

Finlow wood - Alderly Edge

I've missed another week - again thanks to Daniel for the text and photos.

17 of us worked today in Finlow Hill Wood at Alderley Edge, restoring a section of heathland by clearing brambles. We enlarged an area that volunteers from Phoenix Futures had begun to clear in previous weeks. Phoenix Futures are the leading provider of care and rehabilitation services for people with drug and alcohol problems in the UK and recovered addicts have worked with Tim Ryan (warden) on projects in and around Alderley Edge. Tim is hosting an openday on Wednesday at which northwest NT wardens and potential sponsors will see what Tim has achieved with his groups and hopefully go away and think about how they can forge their own links with Phoenix Futures.

During the day several of us also put in a new gatepost next to the entrance to the wood and widened a faint footpath to make it much easier to follow.

Hedge trimming ?

There were 17 of us today at Quarry Bank House! Several first timers and some others new to me but who'd been out with the group once or twice already.

We spent the morning and up to 2pm (when the heavy rain arrived) cutting down a hedge of sycamore and hawthorn trees that bordered the apple orchard at the top of the garden, and burning the debris. Alan (head gardener - who spoke at our AGM) said the aim is to restore the orchard. The few surviving apple trees were in need of a lot of pruning and there were big gaps where they'll need to plant more trees.

I missed this one - asleep at the wrong times. So thanks to Daniel for reporting back and to Tim for running the day.

Not to wet to work in the pond

14 turned out for the last Sunday in August. Everyone appeared to enjoy a muddy session in and around a pond in the Deer park at Dunham Massey.

The task was to clear a channel through the marginal vegetation and sediment at the upstream end of the pond. The photographs show the pond before during and after our efforts.