Old Spring Wood: 11-06-2019

Oh no - not another unwanted plant!!

Oh yes, afraid so. Bracken is back. It's time to get the sticks out and start bashing.

So the NCVs, never ones to shrink from what has to be done, picked up their sticks and ventured into Old Spring Wood, fingers crossed that they would be greeted by an improving situation.

First of all bracken expert Osian gave a short master class, 
to anyone who was unsure, about the difference between ferns and bracken. 
We do NOT want to bash the ferns.

Andrew wondered if giving the bracken a 
good talking to would make it go away.

Those who have been around the bracken bashing block a 
number of times before ignored the teacher and simply got on with the job.

 As it turned out, on the top plateau at least, 
bashing bracken was a bit like making jugged hare. 
You first have to find your bracken before you can jug it 
and there was very little to be seen!

As well as the abundant bilberry bushes there were lots of ferns - 
but bracken was thin on the ground. 
The whole of the top plateau (an area that used 
to take a whole work day to bash) was finished by 11am.

Coffee time was swiftly followed by a change of scene. 

Everyone moved down to the middle of the wood 
and found a reasonably good situation there.
Though not quite so bracken free, it tended to be in patches.

Suddenly numbers were almost doubled by the 

arrival of the A team from Open Country, 

who were able to stay until lunchtime. Thanks lads (and Sharon)!!

Talking of lunchtime - what a good job we remembered to bring our 
bags down the hill with us. If we had had to walk back up to Rosemary's 
we may never have felt like coming back down!

Having sorted out a sizeable chunk of the middle area of the wood before lunch,

the focus shifted to the very bottom section afterwards.

Conversation took a rather bizarre turn as, for some reason, the merits of different kinds of coffins, and the various ways they could be recycled, were discussed. 

Down at this level there were large swathes of bracken which gave 
NCVs a chance to whack away with impunity. However, even here there 
were large patches of ground where only other vegetation grew.

Although the aftermath of the bash does not leave a 

bracken free view, at least ferns and foxgloves are now visible.

Needless to say - there are other areas of the wood still in 

need of attention when we re-visit in a few weeks' time.