NCVs' summer walk: 30-07-2013

This week the editor has decided to give everyone a break from the regular "who is going to write the blog this week?" and, instead, do a photo blog. The reason for this is that today was our summer walk. No work - just play; with a lunch provided for by the Nidderdale AONB team as a 'thank you' for all our efforts throughout the year. (Thanks AONB office).

We decided to do a 7 mile stretch of the 17 mile Aislabie Walk, details of which can be found via the link below:

http://www.aislabiewalk.org.uk/

We started and finished in the Hackfall Woods car park and had our sandwiches and chips lunch at the Galphay Inn.The day was lovely and sunny, without being too hot, and we all had a good time, chatting and wildlife spotting as we went. Follow the photos below to see some of the route......

At 10am everyone was booted up and ready to set off. 

19 walkers in all, mainly NCVs with some of the Hackfall volunteers too. 

NB It was at this point that Tony K. wished he had brought a pack horse for all his optical equipment. His camera is 10 times bigger than mine and seems to weigh at least 10 kilos. By the end of the walk he had developed a noticeable stoop.

Every so often Paul would stop and regale us all with some interesting information. 

Here he indicated the size of the one that got away.

Everyone listened intently and then admired the view.....

 

Every so often we came across some interesting fungi - 

If anyone knows what the orange one is perhaps they could post a comment up to share the information. The brown one is Jew's ear.

Update - My fungus expert confirms that what we saw on Tuesday was indeed Laetiporus sulphureus  or Chicken-of-the-Woods.

Will

 

At Alum Spring Michael proved to be an expert 

on the hypertufa rocks on the opposite bank....

It all looked so tranquil, but looking across this stretch of the river brought back painful memories of Tuesdays spent hauling gravel over the stepping stones in order to improve the path on the opposite side.

The majestic trees towered over us like a rainforest.

Next port of call - Mowbray Castle.

Then onwards and upwards (and downwards) towards the edge of the wood.

At 11:30am some of us at the back rebelled and stopped for a quick coffee break. 

  

Anita bowed down in homage to the great god Thermos ....

 

...and Jan had a crafty nibble on a goody. He must 

have known that lunch was going to be a little delayed.

On the way we saw a large area of Himalayan Balsam. BOOOO! It seemed to mock us as we passed, thinking that, as today was not a work day, it was safe. However - many of us pulled some up as we went anyway - just to show it who was boss.  

At last we broke out into the sunlit uplands ..... only to find that we had still about 2/3 of the morning's route to go before lunch. The chances of getting to Galphay by the pre-arranged 12:15pm were vanishingly small. The clock was now ticking. We needed to get a move on.

At long last we reached the pretty village of Galphay....

....and, more importantly, the lunch venue - HURRAY!!!! (only over an hour late!)

Everyone enjoyed their lunch ..... 

  

.....and Howie celebrated arriving at the pub intact with a pint of the inn's best bitter. 

It went down without touching the sides..... 

..... unlike Jan's orange juice that was obviously just too bitter.

Paul continued the 'one that got away' tale 

started earlier by using a handy fish sized chip....

...meanwhile Ros tried out a new lunch time yoga workout 

which involved twisting her head through 360 degrees. 

Not to be attempted at home - the pain from this is clear to see in the grimace.

A guest of honour joined us at this point.

Audrey - she of the wonderful flapjack - 80 years young this week. 

Happy birthday Audrey!!

At 2pm we started off again - into the grounds of beautiful Braithwaite Hall.

  

There were many big trees here and some of the 

NCVs started identifying the more unusual ones.

  

Some of the trees were funny shapes and just 

shouted out to be climbed on or peered through....

Braithwaite Hall - I wonder if the owners would like to swap houses with me?

By 3 pm we had reached Kirkby Malzeard, 

as the evidence above clearly shows.

Anita gives John and Dave B. a lesson in crossing a style safely. " Now lads; watch carefully.You put your left leg just so whilst maintaining a firm grip with your right hand." 

(Another caption was suggested. I will leave it to your imagination.) 

Eventually we get around to the lovely village of Grewelthorpe.... 

 

... and were greeted by a number of sheep!

             

A small group of NCVs get absorbed watching a 

buddleia bush which was full of butterflies ....

...so much so that they got left far behind by the rest. 

After 10 mins of no show they had to be chivvied 

by telephone and eventually hove into view.

At last - back through Hackfall and up to the cars.

Michael luxuriated in removing his boots.

Ros (E) (with thanks to Tony K. for some of the photos)

Hackfall Woods and Fir Tree Farm: 23-07-2013

This was a day where duties were split as it is the time of year when so many areas are under threat from invasive species. Because of this the entry for this week's blog is also split between Ros E and Julia.......

It was an unpromising start to our planned day at Hackfall with early morning thunderstorms and heavy rain.  However a large group of volunteers swelled by a welcome contingent from Wolseley were kitted up and ready to go at 10am sharp.  It was therefore suggested by Jan that some of the NCV’s go back to Fir Tree Farm to continue with work already started on clearing balsam and bracken.

Julia

At Hackfall Woods: 
A group consisting of a team of 10 from Wolseley, 2 NCVs and 2 Hackfall volunteers joined Paul, our leader, for a joyous day of mixed pleasures. After a morning of bracken bashing we were treated to an afternoon of Himalayan balsam pulling. Lovely. In hot and humid conditions (that were not alleviated by the intermittent showers triggered by an earlier thunderstorm) we bashed and pulled and pulled and bashed. 

The Wolseley team were all easy to spot, beating the bracken into submission in their snazzy green waterproof overalls...... 

..... by lunchtime the top halves of the outfits were seen dangling around the wearers' middles as the high temperatures led to sauna conditions.

We did manage to deal with all the bracken, which isn't too extensive at Hackfall. However, as far as the balsam is concerned, although good inroads were made, as usual, there was still plenty left standing by the end of the afternoon. We tried to prevent further invasion by clearing a swathe on the far side of the boundary wall to prevent further spreading.

Balsam jostles for position waiting to 

jump over the wall and engulf the woodland - not for long!

Volunteers worked their way steadily through the area seeking out 

and destroying the balsam plants. 

Ros E.

Meanwhile the other group of 7 NCVs fought a rearguard action .....

At Fir Tree Farm: 

As a first time balsam basher this was heady stuff for me but we were soon into the swing of it, some of us adopting the full roots and all removal technique whilst others used the more brutal slashing method.  Dean kept everyone on their toes by collecting and stacking the debris as fast, if not faster, than we could pull it.

In the afternoon Casper, Dave and Jan attempted to clear bracken which had grown around the trees we planted in the winter and later regaled us with tales of bracken stems as big as your forearm, though the writer is unable to verify this!  Their reward at the end of the day was a low fly past by a tawny owl.

Balsam bashing was fun but there’s still an awful lot of it out there!

Julia

Bracken Bashing - Old Spring Wood: 16-07-2013

Editor's note - those eagle eyed readers who have noticed that there is no blog entry for last week need wonder no more - we did meet. However, it was for an excellent wild flower identification training session with Marian Wilby of the Nidderdale AONB team, rather than a work task. Part of the morning was spent in the 'classroom' at the AONB office in Pateley and then we all moved up to Strawberry Bank for practical application of our skills in using identification keys and magnifying glasses. Blisteringly hot conditions led to an early finish in the afternoon.)

Now - back to this week and over to Tony K......

I looked up 'BB' on the Internet and found that there are a lot of them, although Bracken Bashing doesn’t seem to be listed as an abbreviation. There’s Big Brother, Brigitte Bardot, Denys Watkins-Pitchford (known as BB), illustrator and author, to name but a few but the most important one of all wasn’t there. Isn’t that strange?

Nineteen people turned up at Old Spring Wood, all of them eager to attack the invasive threat which either indicates people’s love of bracken bashing or, if you’re feeling uncharitable, it was the prospect of one of Rosemary’s barbecues. Five volunteers returned to the other never-ending task there of encouraging trees to stand up straight and replacing tree guards which had been decapitated; the rest of us started on the bracken. The weather of course was superb but although most of us were working out of the reach of direct sunlight the five stalwarts on the hill were glad of the shade by lunch time.

As always, Rosemary did us proud. Three courses – nibbles, main course and pud, with coffee and tea to follow. Although we were eager to get back to work the lunch break seemed to be longer than usual, about an hour and half, and there was general agreement that the afternoon’s work should be curtailed and we would finish at 3pm. The folks on the hill were the last to give up and looked very hot and ready to drop when they got back to the cars, but it was a very productive day.

Paul reminded us that the 30^th July will be the summer walk, and coincides almost with Audrey’s 80^th birthday (the 27^th). He will bring a card next week for us to sign showing, ideally, a bird in a tree, as both of these living items are favourites of Audrey’s. 

Tony K

Himalayan Balsam pulling at Fir Tree Farm, Grewelthorpe: 02-07-2013

Today's task was Himalayan Balsam removal along Wreaks Beck as part of the Laver Balsam control scheme. A team of 13 Balsam eradicators assembled at Fir Tree Farm, including Eric (the farmer).

You may be forgiven for believing that pulling Balsam is an easy task – indeed the pulling is not demanding, however the slope was steep and wet and the insects were relentless. A beck runs along the bottom of the site and it was not always easy to stay out of the water (as Dean experienced).

The intrepid NCVs make their way across
the natural water feature in order to reach the Balsam

Dean and Jan scrutinise the area
to make sure that no Balsam remains

A lone NCV battles valiantly into the 
distance not realising that the Balsam 
is springing up behind him as he goes

Dean barrows away yet another
load of the deceased weed.

During the winter we had planted approx 800 trees at the farm and Eric took us to inspect the saplings. Every one had taken! He also brought a cool-bag with refreshments, much appreciated!

The trees planted in the winter are still standing

Jan

Fencing at Sparrow Hawk Farm - Part 4: 25-06-2013

Well - here we are again - as happy as can be. Ten NCVs reported for duty at Sparrow Hawk Farm on the hillside above Pateley Bridge. We were pleased to welcome a new NCV to the group - Osian.
Three others joined Paul (our leader) for grass identification training with Marian Wilby down in the council chambers. Photographic evidence of this can be seen below: 

Anyone know what this one is?

Marion consults the identification key 

whilst Hannah waits to be enlightened.

If you have been reading this blog recently then you should know the system as far as Sparrow Hawk Farm is concerned, as this was our fourth visit. We were continuing to erect the three fences that are needed to protect newly planted trees from being grazed by livestock.
So - for the benefit of new readers (or to reiterate for dedicated followers) the various tasks that had to be carried out included:

1. Erecting thick straining posts at each corner or bend along the run of fencing. This means digging very deep holes through very rocky ground. One of these holes had to be curtailed as running water could be heard underneath so thought that we'd better stop before we ended up with a water spout.

             

John and Jan dig down and down..... "I say Jan, I think we'd better stop, I can hear water!"

  

 Meanwhile, in the other corner of the area, 

Will and Osian use the giant tweezers and then 
add the finishing touches to a straining post.

  

Tony (the new) shows off his shapely calves 

- summer has definitely arrived.

2. Knocking in the fence posts 3m apart between the straining posts - easy when you say it quickly but finding out the best places to knock them in takes time. If you hit a rock with the post the end bends up and a post is very difficult to remove once it is in part way. Even more difficult is removing a post that is completely knocked in - something that had to be done twice when we realised we'd put them on the wrong side of the string line.

The string line is carefully laid out 

(ready to be ignored in two cases!)

Graham makes sure that this post is perfect
- no need to dig this one out, thank goodness!

3. Attaching the pig wire, ensuring that it is pulled taut with the special tensioning tool before being stapled to the posts. Only Anita had actually used this tool before so she was promoted to 'tensioning tool team foreman' (forewoman? foreperson?). She then cascaded her knowledge to three other NCVs, training them up into a crack team.

                 First you do this....  then you do that....  then you just pull this and.....

.... hey presto - a fence!

4. Attaching a strand of barbed wire around the top of the fence - no chance of getting around to this today I'm afraid.

Today we were working on the third and final fence (a trapezium shaped area). We worked hard from 10 am until 3:30 pm, managing to get jobs 1 and 2 completed and starting job 3 along one side of the trapezium. One more visit should finish the job off.

The day was glorious, as was the view. Digging and post knocking doesn't seem too bad at all on a day like today. Even better - our hosts, Kit and Megan, supplied a wonderful feast of goodies at lunchtime. 

A lunchtime spread fit for a king
(or a group of hungry NCVs)

(or a group of hungry NCVs)

The two cakes and punnets of strawberries were much appreciated and a competition ensued between Jan and Graham to see who could create the highest swirl of cream on top of a strawberry. I think Graham won but I can't be sure; Dean and Anita enjoyed the outcomes anyway.

Jan creates the first cream tower.

Anita and Dean eat the record breaking attempts.

Ros (E)

Bracken Bashing at Old Spring Wood: 18-06-13

What a beautiful day for bracken bashing, the weather was lovely and the concept of bashing something sounded like a wonderful day ahead to relieve stress. More seasoned volunteers will have guessed this was my first time, I wondered why they didn’t seem quite as excited as me.

Twelve volunteers and their leader marched into the woods carrying their bashing sticks after a briefing explaining both the concept and the difference between bracken and ferns. Who are the good guys? Nothing is simple, we have to identify the enemy before bashing!

Sticks at the ready  - bring on the bracken!

The first half hour was quite enjoyable picturing well know politicians as I flattened the bracken; very satisfying, but after an hour when arms were beginning to ache a coffee break was unanimously called. It was one of the longer coffee breaks I had encountered on my volunteering so far.

The NCVs are glad of an opportunity to stop for a photo opportunity. The smiles are becoming slightly forced as the joys of bracken bashing start to wane.

A bit more bashing and it was lunch, with talk of a second front in the lower part of Spring Wood. We did make a big impression, the bracken gave up without much of a fight and we all felt victory was ours.

Slowly the ground starts to clear and the precious wild flowers can now be seen.

Dave - you've missed a bit - it's behind you!

In its favour bracken bashing does come out just ahead of Balsam pulling; thank goodness it was such a beautiful day and in such lovely surroundings.

Terry M

Himalayan Balsam pulling at Hackfall Woods: 11-06-2013

Today we had a good number of volunteers to carry out the task - Paul and his eleven NCVs were joined by four of the Hackfall volunteer group. We needed this kind of manpower as the job involved pulling up rather a lot of Himalayan Balsam, an invasive species that must be eradicated. For those readers who are wondering why we should want to do this I am including a website link that will explain it all far better than I can: http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=96

Himalayan Balsam - a worm's eye view.

Some people argue that it is an excellent food source for bees but, unfortunately, that is its only redeeming feature. It is threatening to overtake Hackfall Woods and we need to get rid of it - and quickly. The aim is to stop it flowering and setting seed otherwise it spreads at a rapid rate of knots. 

Terry M. quite enjoyed the beginning of the day. It was his first time pulling balsam and the first patch we tackled seemed thin on the ground and easy to deal with. Hmmmmm. He soon changed his tune. After an hour the job starts to take its toll on the back muscles. As we moved down the boundary path we saw that the plants were getting more and more numerous; taller and taller. There was acres of the stuff. To add insult to injury it was growing amongst brambles. And nettles. And holly.

When they saw what lay ahead, Bobby and
Dean wished they had had a prior engagement

We took turns of collecting up the piles and transporting balsam in wheelbarrows to the boundary wall. There it could be dumped into compost heaps and chopped up with a spade to prevent the plants trying to make a come-back. 

Standing aside to make way for a speeding barrow, Graham takes the opportunity to straighten his back.

At lunch time one of these heaps came in handy as a nice soft sofa upon which we could eat our packed lunches. It was satisfying to know that we had got the better of that bit at least.

After lunch we decided to change tack as there was no way we could remove it all in the time we had left. We moved further into the wood to what appeared to be the edge of the infested area and started working backwards towards the boundary. That way, we thought, we could slow down the balsam's spread. However - it soon became apparent that the balsam was one step ahead of us. We were surrounded by it - this was certainly not the edge of the area! 

Hannah stands to take stock of the situation
- and despairs!

With just half an hour left, and our backs starting to complain bitterly, we tried yet another method: marching in a line and just trampling it down. This turned out to be an efficient way of dealing with the problem but whether or not it will have killed off the dratted stuff remains to be seen.

A view of the aftermath of the task - brambles still all standing.
Is that some balsam I can see? Paul - you've missed a bit!

Although Hackfall is a beautiful environment to work in there is one disadvantage - at the end of the day you have to toil back up the hill to the car park, carrying tools and pushing wheelbarrows. I think that Dave B. deserves special mention. Not only was he meticulous in removing the tiniest of balsam seedlings throughout the day but also pushed a barrow all the way up the hill by himself.

Some Tuesdays we go home knowing that we have finished a job. This was not one of those days. As I left the woods the wind was wafting through the remaining tracts of the weed that we never managed to reach and I could hear the sounds of yet more balsam seeds starting to germinate. I suppose that we have at least made a start. I think we said the same thing last year!

Ros (E)

Sparrow Hawk Farm part three! 04-06-2013

What a glorious day for the third week at Sparrow Hawk Farm. There were 8 of us plus Paul so we divided into two groups. One group concentrated on attaching the wire to the posts which had been put in last week around the second area of trees and the other group tackled the third and final area.

...whilst team B get busy adding the wire
to the posts erected last week.

We marked out where all the straining posts needed to be then carried all the posts, mainly uphill, to approximately the right position. We were able to move and replant 10 trees which made it easier to get a good line from each straining post. Then came the hard bit, digging the post holes deep enough! We started with spit and pick, then crowbar and 'tweezers', but finally resorted to hands and knees. When our arms weren't long enough we decided the hole was deep enough.

Team A get to work on the straining posts (note the need for sun hats!)...

...whilst team B get busy adding the wire
to the posts erected last week. (Fencing 'thingy' back in use.)

Lunchtime was spent sunning ourselves, admiring the view and feasting on cherry pie, ginger cake and strawberries kindly provided by Kit and Megan.

Mmmmm. Cherry pie, ginger cake and strawberries.

Progress was slower after lunch as it was so hot but we managed to get three straining posts in place around the final area. The fencing wire around the second area was completed, except for the barbed wire, and looks very impressive.

Impressive fence indeed!

Paul decided to postpone an afternoon of Cowslip seed gathering at Low Grantley.

Chris S