Hackfall Woods: 27-09-2022

 The Hackfall round

This week the NCVs headed off to Hackfall to do the monthly round of the woods; pruning, shifting and clearing. Tom and Paul both reported that there were not too many jobs to be done so let's see if they were right.....

The day started badly for Ken who discovered 

he had only 2 right handed gloves.

However, quick deployment of a bowsaw and a pritt stick

 soon sorted the problem out. 

Mind you - now he has 2 right hands....

The gang stayed together and started 

to make their way to the Castle, pruning as they went.

The odd culvert needed clearing too.

Halfway to the castle a stream bed 

was cleared of debris and vegetation.

 
This section needed a LOT of clearing 

but eventually the bridge emerged!

A short detour was made to admire the dry 

stone wall that the AONB's walling volunteers have built.

Well done those chaps!!

Arrival at the castle coincided with coffee time.

Paul entertained us with a story of how he helped 

the owner of a £700 drone that got stuck 

on the high window ledge.

Apparently rescuing it involved its owner having 

to drive to Ripon to buy telescopic ladder!

The task at the castle was to find the view.

'What view?' I hear you say.

This one across to Masham church of course.. 

Mind you a good deal of work was needed to reveal it.

All the brash was used to dead hedge a 

path that is not meant to be there.

Tom and Osian carefully placed on the final branch.

Job done, the NCVs moved on to the dropping well - 

a loooong walk if you remember.

En route Anita was used to prop up a tree that

 was in danger of falling on top of visitors.

Just as the NCVs drew near to their final goal they

 discovered a fallen branch that needed clearing.

On arrival at the dropping well everyone collapsed 

into the bracken and the balsam, exhausted from the hike.

An early lunch was in order.

Now - what has caught Ros E's interest?

What needed her to interrupt her lunch 

in order to take a pic?

Ahh. I see. A grooming session.

Liz was looking for tasty morsels 

hiding out in Osian's hair.

Or maybe she was just searching for a thorn?

After lunch, the NCVs were locked up in pairs 

in the 8 tree cages. They were told that they 

wouldn't be set free until all the bracken had been 

trampled down and the trees exposed. 

They all worked their socks off and were released, 

ready for the marathon journey back to the car park.

At the top of the steep hill back Ros E. just 

couldn't resist recording a rather lovely old oak tree.

Alistair played a crucial role by remembering its girth (4.02m)

while the measurer clambered back up the bank.

Days from a bygone age.... NCV revealed

Remember last week's challenge? Did you guess the NCV correctly? It was, of course.... Julia! Try your luck at another 'NCV Guess Who' soon.

 Then...

...and now.

NCV Summer Walk: 20-09-2022

Want to Walk the Walls?

"Of course we do!" said the NCVs. "Especially  when we don't need to do any work and can stop off at the Wellington Inn at Darley for a tasty lunch." It was that time of the year when the NCVs down tools and go for a stroll. This year they followed the 'Dacre Walls Walk'.

This covers a distance of 5.5 miles (although we think this is an underestimate according to all our step counters!!) and has some interesting things to look at en route. Read on to see what they saw ....

Osian looked every inch the part

of a seasoned walker.

"Now - before we leave - who was it that ordered

 the cheese and chutney on granary bread?"

Andrew was worried - he had no idea.

Brenda needed to consult her diary to remind herself.

Sandwich order sorted they were finally off.

Best feet forward chaps!

Very soon they had to negotiate the first of the walls.

A nice little bridge took them over...

... and along the lovely Darley beck.

A second wall had to be negotiated at this point....

...and another.

It was clearly a day when hips and knees were 

going to be put to the test.

Andy explained the workings of the simple 3

bar barrier that would have slotted into this

'Stang Stoop' gate post in days long ago.

Oh - another wall. 

Brenda decided she would just sit on top for a while.

Graham toiled up hill...

...and looked longingly at this olde worlde hot tub.

"If only I had brought my towel" he thought.

Then it was over another wall or two and into a 

patch of coniferous woodland.

Now THAT beech tree definitely needs to be recorded for 

the Woodland Trust's ancient tree inventory.

Ros E. made a mental note to return and do just that.

After a couple more wall crossings

 the NCVs made a little detour to see....

And very nice it was too.

Especially outside, where everyone 

stopped for coffee and flapjack.

All these two needed was a couple of fishing 

rods to be mistaken for a pair of gnomes.

And these two were deep in conversation about 

goodness knows what.

Off they went again - through another wall 

and over this wonderful packhorse bridge.

Luckily it was still strong enough to hold 4 NCVs

 including the flapjack they had just eaten.

Through a wall and into the woods...

...up the road and across the upland pasture.

Just keep an eye on those cows folks!

Guess what - another stile.

Well - it's not called the 'Dacre Walls Walk' for nothing.

Ahhh. Now that's a bit different. No climbing involved.

You just need to think thin to squeeze through the

kissing gate with a rucksack on.

Two ponds had been created in this area.

Julia stopped to harvest a couple of large field mushrooms.

Well - at least I hope that's all they were...

Others harvested blackberries

 that were in plentiful supply.

Being NCVs they couldn't resist cleaning up the interpretation

panel for the Dacre Quaker Burial Ground.

Great job! The algae removal job now means

 that walkers can actually read the sign.

And here's the entrance to the burial ground.

Created in 1682.

A peaceful place....

...with a record of all the Quakers buried here.

I don't think these two have been here since 1682.

Although - you never know....

By now time was marching on - and that is exactly

 what the NCVs had to do if they wanted to get

 to the Wellington for their allotted time.

Of course there were a number of walls still to be 

negotiated...

....as well as these over- inquisitive hens.

And then it was all, just about, over. After passing this weir we just

needed to walk up the road from Darley Mill and....

...Hurray!! It was time for a sit down and a bite to eat.

Anita fell instantly asleep.

Thanks to Liz for organising the walk and to the AONB office 

for funding the lunch. A thoroughly enjoyable 'task' day.

Perhaps we could do something similar next week? 😊

And finally......

From time to time, over the coming weeks, you will notice, at the bottom of the blog, a picture of an NCV taken in times gone by. Your challenge is to guess who it is. The answer will be given in the following week's blog. This idea was formulated at coffee time last week when we had a conversation about how our hairdos have changed over the years.

Days from a bygone age....

Now which NCV is this we have here? Is she posing for a fashion shoot or taking a rest from a morning’s work in the farmyard? Take a guess and check next week's blog to see if you were right.