Fencing work at Bank House Farm on the Styal estate on Sunday 30th Oct 2016

The work was a continuation of  work we have been doing on Bank House Farm removing old fencing which was no longer needed since the trust has decided to reduce the size of a number of fields and to allow the surrounding woodland to encroach slightly.
This time the 6 MNTV volunteers who were there today were removing a fence from round some seasonal ponds and from the top of the woods sloping down to the river Bollin most of the fence was quiet easy to remove except for a number of straining posts which had been made by cutting an old telegraph pole into sections.

These had to be lifted out by the tractor as they were still in good condition unrotted despite being there for many years and a larger diameter and greater weight than the usual sort of strainers.

The spade which was broken on a recent workday has also been mended with a new handle and made its maiden outing on the day and I am pleased to say performed very well.
Text and photo's by Adrian.

Rhody bash at Lyme Park on Sunday 23rd October 2016

Nine volunteers went to tackle the rhododendron in Lantern Wood today. We went past the grazing Highland cattle to reach the wood, where the sunshine slanted through the trees. After an introductory talk by the Ranger the group made short work of quite a lot of younger rhody trees.

So zealous were the volunteers, that the afternoon was devoted just to processing the cut wood and burning it.

A fallen tree provided an excellent lunch spot and bonfire toffee and chocolate spice cake kept the group going.

Text by Mick. Photo's by Adrian.

Tidying up at South Head, Hayfield on Sunday 16th October 2016

A poor weather forecast plus Adrian's work commitments meant just four volunteers today, of whom only three arrived.

Of all our worksites, Hayfield is the most exposed to the elements, so we were very glad when Shane told us (after demonstrating the extraordinary flexibility in his new shoulder) that we'd be working under cover.

We did some general tidying of the tool shed at South Head Farm, followed by lunch, followed by some general tidying of the barn, by which time it was a lovely afternoon.

It was great to catch up with Shane and Mark, and to have a visible impact on the tool shed (especially the windows). The only downsides were the low turnout and the fact that the 'assistant leader' put the chocolate brownies in the wrong bag!

Lisa does a fine 'George Formby'

Digging up trees and clearing brambles at Dunham Massey: Sunday 9th Oct 2016

We had a fabulous day today. The sun shone for most of it and it was glorious being outside and helping Ethan, the Dunham Ranger, with today's task.
Nine of us met Ethan in the car park at Dunham. He transported our tools and rucksacks in his trailer to save us carrying them and we walked to meet him at the 'dig-in' plantation towards the end of Charcoal Drive.

When Ethan unlocked the gate to the plantation and we wandered in, we saw how overgrown it was and how big some of the trees were! This area is meant to be a nursery area for trees whereby they are 'dug-in' for a short time before being transplanted elsewhere on the estate. Unfortunately this hadn't been done for some time and the whole area was overgrown with brambles and weeds. The tree's had been in there too long and were close together so needed either cutting down, if they were too large to move, or digging up and put in damp black bin bags to help the roots stay moist, while they were re-located to be re-planted the following day.
We were so lucky with the weather, it was dry all day and sunny for most of it too. When the clouds came over it went a little chilly but for our morning break and lunch, we were able to sit in the sun, relaxing - you couldn't beat it:-)
We spotted various wildlife while we were there - a mouse darted in front of us, we saw various frogs and made sure they were safe and well away from the slashers we were using to cut down the weeds. Hazel and Loretta also found various beetles and grasshoppers, which they loved putting on their hands and taking photo's of.

All in all a great day and, although we didn't clear the whole area by any means, we at least felt that we'd made a great impact!

MNTV rhodi-bashing at Lyme Park on Sunday 2nd Oct 2016

Beautiful sunshine again at Lyme, with a view over the Cheshire plain to the Welsh hills.

 

We were cutting and burning Rhododendron again, just below Paddock Cottage. This clump is nearly finished for cutting, but the rangers will have to keep the regrowth down for a couple of years yet. 

Getting to the site we went down Queen's drive, where Rhody has already been cleared and we could see that many of the new trees that MNTV have planted were doing well.
We were joined during the day by a couple of frogs and a mouse and the lunchtime entertainment included a conker fight which never reached a conclusion before work started up again.

Text by Mick.  Photo's by Adrian.

Tree guard painting at Hare Hill on Sunday 25th Sept 2016

Six volunteers had a bit of a lie in this week before meeting John the ranger at 10.15 in the car park at Hare Hill. The job was tree guard painting, a task familiar to many of us, as this is an ongoing project and the fourth time this year the group has participated.

The tree guards are of a wooden construction and look a lot smarter after a good scrubbing with a wire brush and the application of the green preservative. Unfortunately after painting the first guard the heavens opened and after the deluge had to be redone, the rain having washed away all our good work. In total we painted ten guards a bit of a record for such a small group.

The weather was reasonable for the rest of the day with just the occasional light shower, so it was a happy if slightly paint speckled group that called it a day at three thirty. However one of us had a slight accident with the paint and left looking like a bedraggled green smurf.

John the ranger has been in touch since to say thanks for a job well done and promises us more painting in the future, so maybe I’ll see you there. 

Text by Tim. Photo's by Adrian.

          

Quiz at Victoria Baths on Thursday 22 September 2016

For September's social six of us went to a fundraising quiz at Victoria Baths in Longsight.  We do one or two workdays each year at the Baths and this was the second time we had visited for a social (the first time being to see Romeo and Juliet in September 2014).

Teams were limited to four and so Sue and Neil supported Team MNTV (Daniel, Megan, Kate and Uta) from the bar.  The quizmaster was Anne Hegerty from ITV's The Chase, the 1000th episode of which she said is airing very soon.

Kate, Megan, Anne Hegerty, Daniel and Sue

The quiz was hard and we didn't do particularly well (we were nearer last of the 12 teams than first) but were chuffed to know an answer that Anne confessed she didn't know (that 'uncle' is a slang word for pawnbroker).  By happy chance we did very well in the raffle that followed the quiz and each of us took home a prize!

Before leaving Neil took us on a short tour of the Males Second Class pool and the Turkish Baths where we saw the beautiful Angel of Purity stained glass window and the Aeratone (the country's first jacuzzi).

Thanks to Neil for bringing the quiz to our attention and to Sue for organising our participation.

Daniel