Drainage work at Hayfield on 19 June 2016

Four of us visited Hayfield today for a day's drainage unblocking with rangers Shane and Myles.  Unusually we didn't have an official worksite leader (Sue had to be elsewhere) but the rangers were happy for the day to go ahead and we worked under their supervision.  Neil collected the spades from the toolstore on his way over and picked up the Lemon Drizzle cake that Sue had made!

One drain was so badly blocked that after twice digging through three feet of soil it was decided to bring in a digger to excavate the drain.  We cleared four drains and also on the road down we cleared six of the run offs to stop water cascading down the road taking the stone and gravel with it.

Coffee and cake break after a lot of digging (photo: Neil Bonner)

Neil

Balsam bashing at Styal on 12 June 2016

Five of us spent today pulling up balsam in the southern woods at Styal.  Despite the rain we got a lot done although much remains for other groups to uproot.

Adrian

photo: Adrian Potts

30th birthday party at the Atcost Building, Styal Estate on Saturday 11th June 2016

54 people (members past and present, spouses/partners and children) gathered today at the Atcost Building in Styal to celebrate our 30th birthday.  The committee had chosen this venue because we wanted to hold the party on NT land and at a local property where over the years we have done a lot of work... plus its use was free (thank you Styal Estate)!

People arrived from 2pm in time for 'prime time' (speeches, slideshow, cake) from 3-4pm.  Ranger Colin did a fantastic job ferrying people in heavy rain from the main Quarry Bank Mill carpark round to the venue and at 3:15 the Chairman got the party started.  He welcomed everyone to the party (some having travelled a fair distance - e.g. from Kirby Lonsdale and Harrogate), explained why we were at the Atcost Building, recapped on the recent history of the group for those who had lost touch, mused on reasons for the longevity of the group and read out messages of congratulations and good wishes from Tim Jarvis (our honorary member) and Peter Nixon (senior director at NT Head Office in Swindon and an important influence in the group's formative years).  In closing he thanked the committee for organising the party, in particular Tricia for the fantastic handmade MNTV-themed bunting (it really jollied the place up) and Matt for the upcoming slideshow.

The Chairman welcomes everyone...
(photo: Sue Bonner)

Alex Dawson (founder member and early Chairman) then spoke about the group's formation and early days (which seemed to him only yesterday!) and reminisced about life in the 80s, pre-internet, email and website/blog.  Early newsletters were typed on a typewriter, and news of workdays was circulated by post and phone!  The way we communicate among ourselves, with the Trust and advertise the group may have changed but the work we do for Trust is as valuable now as then.

The speeches were followed by Matt's superb slideshow that over 20 minutes covered the history of the group, the what/where/when of our activities over three decades, the couples who have met in rhodybushes or ponds (Andy said we have a lot more success than most dating agencies!) and moments to remember the people who have left us far too soon.  'The End' was met with thunderous applause.  Many people said they'd love to see the slideshow again and we will see if we can upload it to You Tube or burn it on to CDs to distribute.

It's not a birthday party without cake and we had two for the occasion - one covered in photos from the 1980s/90s and the other with photos from the 2000s/2010s.  Alex Dawson blew out the candles and we all sang Happy Birthday and toasted with prosecco 30 years of fun and friendship with many more to come.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...
(photo: Karin Frood)

Everyone enjoyed then continuing to catch up with their contemporaries and paging through the numerous photoalbums that record the group's history.  Groups tackled the quiz (Round 1: Name that property; Round 2: Name that tool; Round 3: 'National Trust') and several entries were submitted.  The winner will soon be notified.

The party drew to a close from 5:30 and as they left one and all said what a fantastic afternoon they'd had and how much they'd enjoyed the reunion.  The committee had organised a really good bash.  What will we have to talk about at our monthly meetings now that the big event of the year is out of the way?!

Daniel Black
MNTV Chairman

Balsam bashing at Dunham Massey, Sunday 5th June 2016

We'd not been to Dunham for a while but it's always a popular venue, and sure enough a baker's dozen turned out from MNTV, joining forces with Merseyside and Chester volunteers to make a 23-strong army to tackle Himalayan Balsam in the woods to the north of the main park.

The deer were out in force in front of the house on a gloriously sunny and hot day with temperatures in the mid- 20s. Thankfully the woods gave us some shade to work under.

The balsam was easy to pull, but was growing among nettles in many places, so stings aplenty were incurred along the way.

With balsam

Without balsam

Cake aplenty was also incurred, as Lisa's brownies and shortbread (shop-bought this week due to her oven having exploded!) were supplemented by others that Adrian bought, plus two lemon drizzle cakes provided by ranger Natalie and Anne Yates MBE.

Five tiny chicks we uncovered

As the afternoon wore on, the day was ended 15 mins early when we suddenly came across a nest in the middle of the patch we were clearing, with five newborn chicks that promptly starting begging to be fed! We piled up some cut balsam to replace the cover that we had just cut down, and left the chicks in peace before enjoying very close views of the deer on our return through the park.

Deer in the park

Happy people

Biddulph Grange Garden, 22 May 2016

The rhododendrons at Biddulph were looking glorious today (and the scented ones smelling glorious) and for once we weren't cutting any down.  Seven volunteers arrived and, once shown the tasks by the gardeners, were left to their own devices.  The morning was occupied by digging up tulips - they were past their best and were being sold off to the public.  The beds they were dug from are going to be filled with the dahlias that give the Dahlia Walk its name.

In the afternoon we moved to the area behind the rhododendrons on Lime Avenue and cleared out deciduous saplings and brambles.  The property is still deciding what to do with this area, but the most likely plan is that it will be used as a form of plant nursery.  The sun shone, backs were bent in honest toil and a fair amount of cake was eaten, as in addition to the excellent chocolate spice cake made by the worksite leader the gardeners had kindly brought us two more!

Mick

Lyme Park on Sunday 15th May 2016 - mini-rhody bash and head-counting cattle!

The day started badly for Sue, who was our worksite leader for the day - she arrived late and was then in a rush to apologize and check that everyone had arrived safely. Once this was done, Chris the Ranger also apologized and requested that, due to staffing issues, whether we would do a bit of a rhody bash (without a fire) instead of erecting tree-guards and removing an old fence as scheduled. We didn't mind at all, particularly as he explained that a few cattle had been introduced around Paddock Cottage for a few weeks to help with grazing and land management, and he'd like us to keep an eye on them throughout the day. We were to count them at regular intervals to ensure all 5 horned-females with their 5 offspring were still there, plus reminding any owners of dogs that were not on leads that they were to keep their dogs on leads in this area while the cattle were there, to protect the cattle, their calves and the owners dogs (those horns looked very tough!).

Eleven of us initially met in the main carpark with Chris and Claire (a Lyme National Trust Academy Ranger). Two other volunteers, Hazel and Joanna, had got slightly lost on their way to Lyme Park so they met up with us a short time later.......................... making 13 volunteers in total:-)

From the main carpark, we moved some of our cars to Knot car park and walked from there, with Claire leading, up onto the ridge on the left of West Drive. We looked around and found the cattle who were being visited by the farmer who owns them. She and Claire told us a bit about the cattle, and how they were there to roam and eat the grass, spread their manure, and help increase the diversity of plants and wildlife. Poppy, the 'leader' of the cattle, is a shorthorn cross simmental, a lovely brown and white beast with a beautiful calf. The other 4 mums were all Highland cattle and each had a gorgeous calf (we decided that the calves were really cute and looked like over-grown teddy bears!).

We then walked to where we would be cutting down clumps of rhododendron ponticum. Chris the Ranger had already checked that that morning that there were no birds nesting in there as we are in bird-nesting season. Although birds don't usually nest in rhody, it was best to be sure.

We decided to have an early coffee break. Sue had brought a different cake that she'd baked - pear, elderberry and ginger loaf - it seemed to go down very well:-)

After this, most of the group moved to 2 of the clumps of rhody and, with bowsaws and loppers, started cutting it down. Two or three of us at a time then walked up to Paddock cottage to chat to dog owners and head-count the cattle - it was great!!

The weather was sometimes sunny and hot, other times a bit breezy and a little overcast, but all-in-all it was a fabulous day to be outside, and we got a fantastic view over the Cheshire plains!!

A little earlier than normal, we finished our work, made our way back to the main car park, then walked to the tree guard where we had planted an oak tree on 24th April 2016(check out our Blog) in celebration of MNTV reaching 30 years of age on 21st April 2016!!! Sue had brought a small plaque and Jamie, Lyme Ranger, kindly attached this discretely to the inside of the tree guard:-)
Sue said a few words(sometimes you just can't stop her!), thanking volunteers past and present for their attendance and hours of volunteering, which has helped MNTV achieve 30 years .................. and here's to the next 30!!

Marsden Moor - 8th May 2016

Three intrepid volunteers made the trip to the estate office in Marsden to meet with the ranger Julia.  Julia you may remember as the ranger at Hare Hill who after taking a break from the Trust to go travelling has made a welcome return to the National Trust.

After a short drive to the work site, a lay-by on a road in the middle of the moor, we unloaded the trailer and started digging the first of the two foot deep holes to take the posts for the fence we were about to build.  The fence, a three foot construction consisting of four inch by five inch posts with a v cut into the top to take the four by four inch rails, was concreted in place.  The rails are held in place with galvanised steel brackets that looped over the rails and were then fixed to the posts with four inch coach bolts.  Unfortunately the digging was quite difficult with plenty of large stones to be prised out of ground but we still managed to excavate five holes and construct about twenty five feet of fencing.

The weather was fantastic with bright sunshine and just enough of a breeze to stop use from overheating.  Lunch was taken on the grassy hillside adjacent to the lay-by with spectacular views over a nearby reservoir and the moor beyond.  At the end of the day we decamped to a local watering hole in Marsden for a quick libation before making our way home.

Tim