Duck Street Quarry and other tales: 20-05-2014

Today the 11 NCVs that joined Paul and Colin Slator at Duck Street Quarry split into two groups. A larger one of 8 to work with Paul in the quarry itself (see Laura's account below) and a splinter group of three to work with Colin (see Ros E's account below).

The Quarry team's perspective:
Here we had to complete the steps and bridging work almost finished last week, plus some new work to help make the access even easier and safer for visitors to the quarry in the future (including an AONB 'Wildflower and Butterfly Walk' on Saturday 12th July).

Finishing off the Bridge over the River Kwai with a top dressing of gravel.....

... that had to be fetched from afar...

...and then carried up the slope.

Terry was very prompt to get cracking on the flight of wooden steps with Hannah in the morning. 

Terry watches carefully to check that Hannah does the job properly.

NCVs emerge from the gloom to help out.

Other volunteers got stuck into realigning the old stone wall at the quarry side to make a wider space between the wall and the drop on the other side.  

Laura plugs up a hole with her finger whilst Dave 

casts about to find an appropriately shaped rock.

After lunch they were joined by two more in path widening and filling some gaps under the wire perimeter fencing to stop any adventurous sheep squeezing through into the quarry. Some cairns were also constructed to help visitors spot the pathway.

Three sets of perfectly cut steps lead to the cairn at the top.

A few volunteers hadn't been round the whole site last week (probably due to dashing off to escape the rain) and so enjoyed a sunny tour and admired the marvellous displays of early purple orchid, mountain pansies, avens and cowslips, particularly at the top of the site.

Pretty little mountain pansies.

A Green Veined butterfly was spotted amongst the flowers.

Laura

Meanwhile - out and about with the splinter group.......

We have two other jobs to do today - the first involves moving a small flock of eight Hebridean sheep from a field near Boroughbridge to another grazing area just below Duck Street Quarry. First we have to collect Colin's trailer from his home - coffee and cake (and a tour around his lovely garden) makes this into a real treat.

Ruth meets one of Colin's more unusual animals - 

a mere youngster at 86 (the tortoise that is!)

We then have to do a lot of shifting of metal fence panels into, and then out of, the trailer. These are to be used to funnel the herd into the trailer.

Fence panels in transit.....

...and being put in place for funnelling.

NB The sheep have not been playing tennis.

Next the sheep have to be rounded up. Past experience has taught me that this will be far from straightforward and involve much running around and being shouted at by the head shepherd. However, today it is remarkably easy. The first attempt fails miserably and the sheep run off around the back of us laughing. However, after this warm up we just show them that we are in charge and into the trailer they go (followed by all the fence panels).

All packed up and ready for the trip.

(Unsurprisingly there are no photos of the round up as it is impossible to use the camera whilst racing around.)

Back at Duck Street the job of letting them loose is nice and easy - just the fence panels to move yet again. 

The herd investigate their new abode.

Once the sheep are out of the trailer we then see what the next job is - cleaning it out! Lunch first though.

The sheep pay us back for rounding them up.

Both teams get together for their picnic.

 Hannah hopes nobody notices that she is taking 
more than her fair share of the flapjack.
(Thanks to both Audrey AND Terry's wife for this!)

Lunch over,we fetch water from what Colin assures us is a nearby (?!) pond and swill out the yucky trailer. 

Julia sets off in search of water - can you spot her?

The water carrier arrives from afar.

Next up - off to Greenhow Quarry to get togged up in high vis jackets. Here we collect the corrugated sheeting that we had spent a day putting into place a couple of years ago when we set up four bird feeding stations. These were meant to encourage Twite into the area but completely failed in their duty. Not a twite in sight.

This is what should have been visiting 

the feeding stations, but didn't.

Julia drags up the sheeting which was getting overgrown with vegetation.

Once lifted the sheeting has to be bagged up.

Off we go again to Duck Street quarry, just in time to help the rest of the gang bring the tools down to the van. However, as we reach the bottom of the hill Paul finds yet another job to do - clearing the two branches off the sycamore tree that he had lopped off earlier. 

Many hands make light work. The unsuspecting NCVs beaver away, 

not realising that they are being spied on from on high.

Right - that's it. All jobs done so home we go.

Ros E.