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

30th AGM on Tuesday 26th April 2016

We held our AGM this evening in the meeting room at Norcliffe Chapel, Styal.  14 members attended plus Ashley Deane (Styal Academy Ranger).

The AGM matters were completed in an hour:

- Apologies for absence (Neil Bonner, Karin Frood, Ally Hardy, Anne Yates)

- Approval of the minutes of the 2015 AGM

- Chairman’s Report (Daniel Black)

- Treasurer’s Report (Daniel Black pp Denise Clark)

- Election of committee for 2016-17

- AOB

The existing eight committee members were all re-elected to the committee for the coming year: Adrian Potts, Ally Hardy, Daniel Black, Denise Clark, Matt Smethurst, Sue Bonner, Tim O’Donnell and Tricia Taylor.

After a break for tea/coffee/homebaked cookies/buttered teacakes Ashley gave us an excellent presentation about ‘Future plans for Styal’ and covered the following topics:

- £9.4m Heritage Lottery Fund

- Northern Woods development

- Site expansion (car park extension, development of upper garden & village, lift installation in mill)

- Woodland Management Plan

- Bank House Farm

- Continued estate management

The Trust’s aim is to increase the annual number of visitors from 180,000 to 300,000 by shifting the attraction of the property from just the mill to also the village, upper garden and woods.  The first piece of work to begin is extension of the car park which will commence in 2017.  Clearly there will be a lot of work in years to come that the Styal rangers need help with and lots to keep us busy!

Fencing and tree guard work at Lyme Park on Sun 24th April 2016

After a week (and more!) of glorious sunshine, 11 volunteers (including 2 newbies) turned out for a day of fencing and putting up tree guards, with the added task of planting an oak tree at Lyme to mark the 30th birthday of our Manchester National Trust Volunteer group:-)

In the main carpark Dan, the Ranger, informed us that it was 'tick' season, so it was best to tuck our trousers into our socks to avoid being bitten and sucked of blood!! Dan assured us that he had a tick remover, just in case, and knew how to use it!

From the carpark we walked through the gate at the back, around the fencing surrounding the back of the hall, to Calves Croft and met Dan again, who had driven round with the equipment. Here we had a health and safety talk before lifting the equipment out from his trailer and carrying it up to Hampers Wood.

We had 2 tasks today, so we split into 2 groups:
 - one was to remove the top 2 lengths of barbed wire running along the length of the wall in Hampers Wood. This had been added above the existing barb some time ago, to add extra height and prevent the fallow deer from straying. Unfortunately, the fallow deer are no longer at Lyme, so the barb could now be removed.

removing the barbed wire

 - the other task was to build 3 wooden triangular tree guards in Hampers Wood and then plant 3 of the 4 oak saplings that Dan had brought with him (the 4th was going to be MNTV's).

building a tree guard

We'd hoped the ground would be dry but there were some soggy, boggy area's, despite the recent dry spell. Unfortunately though, the nice weather didn't last and throughout the day, we had patches of sleet, rain, cold breeze and dull but dry weather, amongst the sunshine - what a mixture.

Sue had made a victoria sponge for our 11's which gave us a bit more energy to make a good job of what we were doing, and Jamie, another Ranger, came along and joined us.

Taking down the barb was quite hard work, not only did it need to be removed from the fence posts with fencing pliers and hammers, but then rolled neatly so it could be re-used at a later date - this was arm-tiring work. Some of the fence posts were going to be used for the tree guards, the others were carried back down to the Rangers vehicle.

rolling the barb!

Putting up the tree guards was also challenging - they are fixed quite high, but fortunately Dan had a platform we could stand on which gave us a bit more height so we could get the Fence Post Rammer/Driver over each of the posts in turn. The 3 posts had to be a minimum height and the cross-bars had to be level (a spirit level was used at each stage), also one of the triangular points of each tree guard had to point North (checked with a compass). When all this had been done and the fence guard complete, a stake was put in using the Fence Post Rammer/Driver again, an oak sapling was planted and a 'sleeve' was put over the oak to protect it from the deer or any other wildlife. 'Netting' (wire mesh) was then fixed to the tree guard so that the deer couldn't get too close to the newly planted trees.

By 2.30pm, we'd managed to roll up quite a length of bard and had completed constructing 2 of the tree guards, planted the oak sapling added the netting and almost finishing the 3rd (the 'netting' still needed to be attached). We tidied up at this point so we had enough time to walk over to where the MNTV oak was to be planted. Fortunately the Rangers had already built the tree guard for us so we just had to put in the stake, plant the oak and put the 'sleeve' over it - but this wasn't without incident! The stake we had was curved and, even when it was 'driven' into the ground past the curve, it didn't look right. Whilst trying to straighten it, we managed to snap it so had to dig it out and replace it - we'd done such a good job of driving it into the ground that it was really difficult to get back out, but it gave us all a good laugh and added to the occasion. We didn't have time to put the netting around the tree guard but Dan said the Rangers would put it up for us during the week.

So, when you travel up the long drive at Lyme Park, just as the house comes into view, glance to your right and you'll see a newly erected tree guard, on it's own, with an oak sapling inside  - this is the MNTV oak! Soon it will have a discrete plaque on the inside of the tree guard so past and current MNTVers can see it and take pride in their contribution to our volunteer Group having reached 30 years of age!!!

Happy 30th birthday to us!

MNTV had its inaugural meeting on 21 April 1986 at Altrincham Library and signed up 35 members.  Who'd have thought that 30 years later we'd be as active as ever?  It makes me wonder how many acres of rhody we have bashed, how many miles of hedges we have laid and how many miles of fences we have built in that time... plus how many hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of time we have given to the Trust.

The longevity of the group is testament to the enthusiasm of generations of members, the unwavering support of rangers at the properties where we volunteer, the many committees over the years who have kept the group running smoothly and all the worksite leaders who have coordinated the hundreds of workdays.

Eleven of us met at the Ship Inn, Styal for a meal and drinks to celebrate.  No founder members were present (we will see some at the 30th birthday party on 11 June) but Hazel Pryor was with us and is almost a founding member.  She remembers the advert in the Altrincham newspaper for the inaugural meeting.  Hazel first went out with the group on the Morville Hall, Shropshire weekend in September 1986 where the showers weren't working and members cleaned themselves by plunging into the swimming pool!

Here's hoping the next 30 years are just as good and that we continue to go from strength to strength!

Daniel Black
MNTV Chairman

Eleven go to Spring in Snowdonia – Sunshine, Ice Cream and a Rice Paddy

Starring Daniel, Louise, Tim, Tricia, Hazel, Matt, Lisa, Neil, John, Ally and introducing weekend virgin Peter. Guest starring Simon and Rhydian the Rangers

Our annual weekend in April started with the hope of having the same glorious weather we had had last year so when things did not bode well upon travelling along the motorway through rain.  Nine of us met on Friday night at the Hendre Isaf basecamp outside Betws-y-coed.  Tricia, Tim and Hazel ate their evening meal at a nearby pub and upon their return and Daniel’s later arrival we exchanged stories and then headed to bed.

Act I

Saturday dawned cold with overnight snow on the hilltops but we hadn't come this far to stay at base so we headed out to meet Simon the Ranger on the Craflwyn Estate.  We were also joined by Matt and Lisa who had driven up from Manchester that morning.  Our task for the day was taking out rhody seedlings with mattocks or pickaxes.  We set off up the hill with our tools, stopping part way up to be informed of the red squirrel sighting and how they were trying to keep tabs on them in the wood above Craflywn Hall.  Simon told us it was 20 minutes’ walk to the worksite but 40 minutes and some scrambling and gasps later we reached it.  It was well worth the effort because it gave us terrific 360 degree panoramic views.  Simon showed us how best to take out the saplings and how to dry out the roots by hanging the saplings from the skeletons of former rhody bushes.  This was a bit like decorating a Christmas tree.  Lisa was very pleased with herself as she managed to take out what she called a massive rhody sapling.  Make your decision with this photo…

At lunchtime we got our annual story from Simon which this year was the legend of how the Welsh built Snowdon (by entombing with stones the fierce giant Rhita Gawr after he had been killed by King Arthur).  After lunch Hazel left the worksite to start on the preparations for the evening meal and the rest of us carried on with the task.  The task came to a natural close at about 3pm.  We had managed to clear about 2 acres and we descended the hill by a slightly different route.  Upon arrival back at the car park we decided to start a new tradition of going to the amazing ice cream shop in Beddgelert which has an enormous range of ice cream with flavours ranging from white chocolate to mango sorbet.  On arrival back at basecamp dinner preparations were well under way so whilst some went to have showers and a chill out session others helped in the preparation of dinner which, selected by Daniel who was leading the weekend, was Lentil and vegetable cottage pie with peas and for afters we had Apple crumble and custard/cream.  That evening we swapped stories, attempted questions from the basecamp’s The Survival Game boardgame then we went to bed.

I N T E R V A L

Act II

Sunday dawns cloudy but dry. Today our task would be chopping down willow and birch in a SSSI meadow near the basecamp.  We were up early again today and ready to leave at the appointed time of 9.30 with Rhydian who met us at the basecamp.  We followed him in his little white van and were soon at the day’s worksite.  To get into the site we had to pass through a rather smart garden belonging to a smart house and over a fence.  The worksite was a field next to the house and garden and was very wet and as Neil said would have been very suited to growing rice.  We toiled away with the loppers and bow saws we had collected from Rhydian’s van to cut down all of the willow and birch in the field.  Morning coffee was called and it was to our surprise provided in china mugs by the occupant of the house who use to work in the local National Trust office.  Not only were there china mugs but also homemade lemon drizzle cake!  We carried on working - some chopping, some sawing, some dragging and some burning.  We had to have two fires because the field was quite large.  The first fire was very good and was looked after by Rhydian.  Louise, Neil, Hazel and Ally later found out that that fire had been helped out with some ‘cheating liquid’ whereas their fire had been diligently tended by Hazel.  It wasn’t quite as good as the cheats’ fire but they had had an hour’s extra and cheats liquid.

Lunchtime came and so did the first mishap of the day, a stuck-in-the-mud moment with a boot nearly being lost, but we won’t say who - we’ll leave it up to you to decide.  Clue: it was a man.  There was no story today much to Matt’s disappointment, just the fun of Ally trying out the ‘smile setting’ on her camera phone.  We also ate Tricia’s very tasty St Clement’s Cake (orange and lemon drizzle cake).  Whilst the majority of us ate lunch the smaller fire was looked after by John - Thank You John!  As most of the chopped trees at the end of the field with the cheats fire had been burnt more people were able to work on the smaller fire after lunch.  Ally picked a rather large willow to cut down thinking it would be easy but as usual got it wrong and help came in the form of Peter.  The two of them worked together to get the tree down - Thank You Peter!  We worked away until about 2pm when it was time to down tools and head for home, so we gathered our tools, returned over the fence whence we had come and headed back to the basecamp.  Back at base we swept the floors, divided up the leftover food, cleared away the washing up and said our goodbyes.  Hazel and Daniel were the last ones to head back to Manchester.

Sunglasses, Snowdonia, Sparkling company and delicious food make the perfect weekend.

Spring in Snowdonia 2016 – Done!

Here's to next time MNTV!

Curtain Down

(words and photos by Ally Hardy)