Ceilidh at Poynton - Sat 23rd Feb 2013

Five of us 'tripped the light fantastic' on Saturday evening at the Poynton Ceilidh - or Barn Dance as Ally preferred to call it!

Although we weren't quite sure whether we'd enjoy ourselves, once we plucked up courage to join in, we had a fantastic time. Between us we must have taken part in most of the dances, sometimes going wrong, sometimes causing chaos amongst our fellow dancers, but having a real laugh every time.

In fact the evening livened up a couple of our group so much that they had the energy to go late-night drinking in Hazel Grove afterwards - well done Phil and Allie:-)

Rhodi at Dunham Massey 17 Feb 2013

Seven volunteers turned out to Dunham Massey and returned to Headsman's Covet (a patch of woodland just outside the wall of the deer park).  We have been cutting and burning "Rhodi" on and off in this area for some time and it looks very different now compared to a few years ago...

Before

This time the instructions were slightly different - with all the wet weather this year the farmer has concluded that he needs to do some work on a drainage channel that runs through the woodland and probably under the wall into the park - and out via either the moat or island pool.  So we were asked to concentrate on a 5m strip beside the channel so that a machine can be brought in to clear it out.

The weather was bright but there was some breeze and it had a bit of bite to it, however a few days of dry weather and a couple of dead "rhodi" plants gave the fire a good start... Shortly before lunch I noticed the fire was starting to migrate down wind and asked the team to only feed the upwind half - soon we had half a fire! 

Forcing a fire slowly up wind - half fire

With some care we nursed it through this stage - and managed to burn almost everything that we had cut without the fire moving from where we wanted it to be..

This left an open strip most of the way to the wall - though someone will have to go back with a winch or tractor to remove the roots.....

After

10th February - hedgelaying at Alderley Edge

Four hardy souls spent today at Alderley Edge laying a 10 metre section of blackthorn/hawthorn hedge from beside the site of the icecream van to the main access track to the Edge.  The cold temperature (+2C), spotty rain and icy wind kept us on the move and we were glad to get a bonfire going.

Matt, our hedgelaying expert, did all the laying while Ally and Daniel pruned brash on the field side of the hedge and Adrian stoked the fire.  We had lunch in our cars or beside the fire and spent some time in the afternoon chatting to the NT Recruiting Officer beneath his awning near the icecream van (Mr Granelli had appeared after lunch and amazingly, despite the cold weather, did sell some icecreams during the afternoon!!).  Chris Widger (Property Manager) met us when we started at 9:30 and gave us hedging stakes and kindling for the fire.  He was impressed that we stuck at it until 15:30 given the weather conditions!

Work day at Hayfield 3rd Feb 2013

Eight MNTVers plus 3 National Trust Rangers plus their 3 dogs had a great day at Hayfield despite the fine drizzle that continued until lunchtime!!

We worked on a 'new' wooded area, some of which was only planted 12 or 13years ago. It was on a slope so we had to be careful not to slip on the wet undergrowth or trip over bramble runners and roots.

We had 3 tasks to do - a couple of us went round the wood removing tree guards/sleeves that were too tight on some of the tree trunks and breaking off or pulling up any surplus stakes.

Others of us cut down some young trees (identified with red paint by one of the NT Rangers) which were either non-native to the UK or were growing too close to other established trees.

The rest of us cut down established rhododendrons or pulled up smaller plants - it was a shame we couldn't burn them as we like to do, instead we just had to cut it and leave it where it was.

A great workday which included some lovely home-made fruit cake, baked by one of our members:-)

It was odd to be cutting down some of the trees that were planted on the day I first went out with the MNTV group - "some" years ago.  

Apparently the bundles of Birch/Oak and Hawthorn we planted were contaminated with a few saplings that didn't really belong - but that only became obvious some years later.  So the "Turkey oak", "Snakebark Maple, and another Maple (Norway?) trees have been cut down - which should give the others the opportunity to take over. - Gordon  

Styal (Quarry Bank garden) 27 Jan 2013

With the snow melting and the roads of Cheshire rapidly disappearing under water, it was a brave soul who ventured out on Sunday to work in Quarry Bank Gardens. Safe up on a slope by Quarry Bank House, high above the rapidly rising river Bollin, we worked to clear a really nasty area of bramble and rhodie. As we freed the hillside of scrub, the pile of cuttings grew ever higher...

Sadly there was no fire this week to keep us warm. At lunch time though, we ventured into the shelter of the Mill where we discovered that even the waterwheel was unable to cope with the rising river and had had to be turned off:

In the afternoon, we were spurred on by a swell of curious onlookers (the general public out enjoying their post roast dinner strolls), and proceeded to clear the remainder of the hills side leaving it all ready to be dug over later in the year.

Dunham Massey 20 January 2013

Five volunteers turned out on a cold day to Dunham Massey. The work was dealing with one of the small areas of Rhododendron that remained in a patch of woodland just outside the wall of the dear park - as the cut material has to be dragged back to a fire depending on the locations of safe fire sites, there is a tendency to cut circles in the Rhodi - this was a bit where to circles had not quite met.

The fire burnt brightly and warm which was good as the day was cold. We called it a day quite early as we had done that patch and the next patch really needed a new fire which was not practical at that time.

Styal 13 Jan 2013

A beautiful, crisp, sunny January day for the group's first worksite of 2013.

The task was clearing and burning brash made by stripping the trees that the Rangers were felling. This was in an area between the play park and the weir - the area needs clearing in preparation for contractors to come in to build and set of fish steps and a small hydro plant. It will also open up the views between the Mill and the weir.

The weir is too high for the salmon and trout, so the steps will allow them to get past and find the higher reaches of the river which have better spawning conditions. Power generated by the hydro plant will run the machinery in Quarry Bank Mill - a return of sorts to the days when it was powered solely by water.

Five volunteers enjoyed the sunshine, the excellent flapjack and also the potatoes baked in the fire (provided by the Ranger).

extra photos from Nathan