Stock fence removal at Hare Hill on 8th October 2017

Six of us turned out today to meet the ranger in the car park at ten o’clock.  The task was the removal of a stock proof fence surrounding a heap of spoil left over from the construction of the car park.  We really cracked on and had the job finished by lunchtime despite having to wade through deep viscous mud in places.

Before...

... and after

After lunch, we set to digging up the thistles spoiling the look of the boundary fence.  Having completed this task we were then led to a patch of reeds that needed removal to allow for the establishment of a wild flower meadow, however the weather looked set to rain so we decided to call it a day after about half an hour.

Tim

Rhodybashing at Lyme Park on 1st October 2017

Ten of us spent today rhodybashing in Lantern Wood at Lyme Park, continuing from where last week's mid-week group had left off.  The site was on the north edge of the wood and gave excellent views over the Cage to Manchester city centre.

We worked with range Dan in the morning and with ranger Trevor in the afternoon.  Dan, Neil and Andy got the fire going.  This proved a little difficult because the wood was wet but firelighters, newspaper and stacking the cuttings in parallel to the wind direction did the trick.

Chocolate & walnut brownies were served at elevenses and afterwards the Chairman presented Adrian Potts with a badge to recognise 25 years' service with MNTV.  Adrian joined the group way back in 1991 and year in year out has been one of the members who works the most hours.  At last week's committee meeting Daniel given Adrian a certificate and letter of thanks signed by Dame Helen Ghosh (Director General of the National Trust).

25 years' service and counting... congratulations Adrian!

We stopped feeding the fire at 2:30, packed up and left at 3 but not before asking Trevor to take a photo of the group beside the embers of the fire.  Unusually, today we didn't see any members of the public, presumably because the Lantern is closed for repairs and word has got out.

Daniel

Fencing and digging at Hare Hill on Sunday 24th September 2017

Nine of us arrived at Hare Hill, not knowing what footwear to use as there were a variety of jobs put down for us.  Hallam arrived and suggested we all wore wellies, as it could be muddy.  As one person did not have them to hand he waited with Hallam to get some from the store.  This was a good move as he then had a lift in the transport while we walked down to the site.  ‘Just go over the hill towards the digger!’  As someone said later on the way up the hill, we did not notice the hill going down!

When we were all assembled, Hallam gave us the tasks, starting with taking the barbed wire fence down and putting a temporary barbed wire fence up again, to stop the cattle, if they got past a temporary electric fence, getting to the pool.  The pool had been dredged out by another digger and the pool made usable to collect all the drainage from the field.

Whilst four of us did this the other five set about starting a fire and burning off all the brash that had been taken from around the pool sides.  When all the posts for the new fence had been hammered home, and the barbed wire straightened, we stopped for some cake and drinks. (Mary Berry eat your heart out!)

We then continued with the burning and the fencing, putting up three strands of barbed wire and discovering a hidden roll of barbed wire in the undergrowth.  Whilst this was going on three went to put back the metal fence where the digger had got access to the pool on the other side.  After a lot of digging and blacksmith skills it stood upright and did what it should do.

It was then dinner time and the burning was burning down and the fencing was finished.  After dinner we all went on to the digging out of the drains!  Some were built better than others, but were very narrow, others were just very muddy channels.

After we all enjoyed our mud bath, Hallam went to rod some drains, trying to find where the junctions of them were.  We found that the junction was 14 metres from the pool, but not sure in which direction!?  We then cleaned up the tools and made our way up the hill to home, finishing at 1530.

Neil

(Emergency leader cover only!)

Sun 17th Sept 2017: more tree work at Quarry Bank

Seven of us were working in the woods at Quarry Bank, Styal, near Oxbow bridge, where there has been clearance of Larch trees.

We have also worked there earlier in the year. This time we were clearing the remaining lop and top from the Larch, felling and also clearing Holly and Sycamore growth.

We also cleared encroaching growth from either end of Oxbow bridge to enable sunlight to get down to the deck and perhaps dry it and stop the wooden deck from becoming slippery in wet weather.

The deck has also just been replaced as part of a renovation programme.

All unwanted wood was burned on quite a splendid bonfire.

Text and photo's by Adrian.

MNTV workday on 10th September - tree work in Chapel Wood at Quarry Bank, Styal

Ten of us turned up at Quarry Bank on what had promised to be a very wet day, fortunately the forecasters got it wrong and it only rained for a short while as we were packing up, but stopped before we got back to the car park.

Colin, Quarry Bank head ranger, had a task sorted for us that we could really get stuck into. Working in Chapel Wood removing all the holly bushes and trees as well as crown lifting the other trees. This is to give the native British and some more exotic trees, light, air and space, as they are wanting to bring the wood back to its former glory, to a time when it was lawned underneath the trees. Maybe it won't be a lawn but at least grass will be able to grow. In the future they will coppice the hedges and put in new fencing in keeping with the rest of the site.

'Brew time!'

Karin worked hard getting the fire going and keeping it burning, due to very wet brash and branches that required burning. It did need a little encouragement from a leaf blower a couple of times but other than that, Neil would have been proud of her!

It is always nice to have new faces joining us and today we had two.  I hope I didn't put them off and we will see them again soon.

All in all a good days work was done and Colin was pleased with the difference we had made.  Apparently to be continued next week........

Text by Christine

Photo's from Karin & Adrian

Pub quiz at The Hesketh, Cheadle Hulme on Monday 4th September 2017

Tonight was our second social of the year and saw us return to the newly refurbished Hesketh in Cheadle Hulme for a meal, drinks and their excellent Monday night pub quiz.

15 of us gathered for the evening's entertainment - some at 8pm for a pre-quiz meal and others at 9.  The £8 carvery was delicious and superb value.  Not-seen-very-often attendees included Charlie Spiller (tonight coincided with a trip home from the Lakes), Liz Walley and Nick Hill.  It was excellent to have time during the meal and in between quiz rounds to catch up with people's news and hear about the recent High Wray weekend.

We split ourselves into two teams - nine became 'The Volunteers' and six were 'Table 59'.  The quiz followed the usual format: people/Dingbats/anagrams; general knowledge/current affairs; pop music; Wipeout.  Both teams acquitted themselves well, scoring 77 and 75 points respectively.  I forget the winning score but 77 points was joint 5th and 3rd scored 80.

The biggest turnout ever for a social?

Thank you to Sue and Denise for organising the evening and for everyone for coming along.

Daniel

MNTV workday at Little Moreton Hall, Congleton, on Sun 3rd Sept, removing overhanging trees.

Four MNTV volunteers made the trip to Little Moreton Hall this week to meet up with Natalie the head gardener.

The property is a spectacular Tudor mansion that has featured in many TV documentaries and was a favourite of Fred Dibners.

The task was the removal of trees that were overgrowing the moat.  Leaves that fall from these trees rot in the moat causing deoxidisation, severely limiting the natural functioning of the habitat. The plan for the future is to dredge the moat and re-introduce grass carp, a fish that would have been an important food resource for the residents of the hall.

Three of us donned waders and plunged into the moat while the other two dragged out the felled trees and cut and stacked them. Many of the trees were Damsons and were festooned with fruit, that was eagerly harvester by us and some of the halls resident volunteers.

Thanks to Bex for making the sumptuous chocolate cake and thanks to Natalie for giving us an interesting task.

See you all soon Tim  
Photo's by Adrian