Bryan’s Wood rides again! 25-9-2012

In spite of the day being later described by the BBC news as the day of “the most intensive September storm for 30 years in the North”' two NCVs were brave (or daft) enough to turn up for duty*. Undaunted by the fact that the worst rains since Noah’s flood had swelled all water courses into Bryan’s Wood to ten times their size these two intrepid workers set off to find a way into the area. Our normal route in was blocked by Nidderdale’s version of Niagara Falls (see photo) so we had to make a 30 minute detour around the top of the wood, crossing ever widening streams and bogs. Undeterred we arrived safely and started the task we had given ourselves of moving the remaining 5’, 8’ and 10’ fencing posts into the heart of the wood (see entry dated 11.9.12). Our aim was to finish that job in order to allow us all to get started with the more important one of erecting the fences next week.

By 3:00pm we had accomplished our task – 15 posts transported the full distance and approx. a further 14 carried from the second hut to their final resting place (and a heavy reel of barbed wire carried half way). Tony had to give me an impromptu lesson in tossing the caber in order to throw the poles across one particularly difficult water feature. At this point we had to fashion a makeshift bridge out of the two biggest poles in order to get them, the barbed wire and us across (see photo). The idea of lashing some poles together and doing some white water rafting did occur to me at one point as being a possibility. There were places where the poles could almost have been floated along the paths – perhaps with the two of us standing on top, rolling them?

The walk out of the wood was another adventure as we decided to try out a different route, only to be thwarted by yet another raging torrent. Throughout the day the phrase ‘we must be mad’ kept cropping up as we persisted in finding ways to circumnavigate obstacles. However – the Dunkirk spirit kept us going and I actually thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was an interesting (if tiring) way of spending a rainy Tuesday with jokes and singing to keep us both amused as we splashed our way around.

Ros (E)

*Some other of the NCVs would have joined us if they had been able to drive through the floods. We just happened to be the ones who lived nearby.