Rhody weeding on Middle Moor, Hayfield - 27th November 2016

Three of us spent a cold clear day rhody weeding (pulling out rhody regrowth by hand) on Middle Moor near Hayfield.  We worked with rangers Mark and Vicky and by 2pm had cleared all the areas that Mark had earmarked for us.  From the first one we had great views of Chinley Churn, the Cage at Lyme Park and Lantern Pike, and from the second had views up to Kinder.

Weeds in front of us, Lantern Pike behind us

A lonely tree and a distant snowy Kinder

Rhody bash at Lyme Park on Sunday 20th November 2016

Nine of us worked in Lantern Wood today to cut and burn as much rhododendron ponticum as we could.


The weather was ok but not great, it was cold and dull and rained on us occasionally which was a shame. We had 2 'newbies', both of which worked really hard on their first workday with us:-)


We had a fantastic start when we discovered that Clare, one of the Lyme Rangers, had already set the fire and got it going for us - this was a real treat for us as we could get going straight away burning the cut rhody that had been left by the previous group.

 

We also had Dan, a youth Ranger who is also doing his Gold DofE, with us for the morning. Chris the lead Ranger, was helping some of the time and then Neil, another Ranger came and joined us for the last hour and stayed behind after we left to cordon off the fire so members of the public were aware of it's presence.

There's still plenty of rhody to cut and burn in Lantern Wood and we look forward to being back there again soon:-)

Photo's by Adrian

Rhodybashing at Bank House Farm on 13th November 2016

Six of us met at Bank House Farm on Sunday for a session of rhododendron bashing in the northern woods near to the oxbow.  This made access to the site a great deal easier because we had only to walk down a track and across a field to get there rather than the usual trek from the car park.

We had a splendid bonfire and cleared quite a lot from near the footpath to Giants Castle and as we were working near the path we also cleared quite a lot of litter.

As it was Remembrance Sunday we observed the minute's silence at 11 o'clock.

Adrian

Hedgelaying at Alderley Edge on Sunday 6th November 2016

Eleven of us met in the NT car park by the Wizard Inn and after meeting Chris, the Area Manager. We walked across the fields to Hill Top Farm while Chris took our tools in the Land Rover and, when we arrived, Chris showed what we were to be doing.
This hedge had not been laid before and, although some work had been done prior to our visit to tidy it up by removing some of the side branches and 'breaking in' at different points so that a number of us could hedgelay along the length, it was still a very tricky hedge to work with.
Matt, one of our most experienced hedgelayers said it was the most difficult he'd come across, but he rose to the challenge and showed others how best to do it, refreshing some peoples skills and explaining to a new volunteer that came, how best to tackle it.

Others of us set a fire and started burning the branches that had already been cut then, once this had been done, burnt what was being cut on the day.

Others of us tried to remove the old rabbit guards that were put in originally when the hedge was planted, to keep the rabbits from nibbling the bark. Unfortunately some parts of the hedge had grown into and around the rabbit guards, making it very difficult to remove some of them.
It was a bitterly cold day and we even had rain, but we kept positive and got a tremendous amount done. We've only just started on this particular hedge so are expecting to be working on it quite a bit in the forthcoming months.

Photo's by Adrian.

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'