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.

Glasshouses Verge: 13-09-2022

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY 

NCV BLOG!!! 

Yes! That's right! It is exactly 10 years today that the very first NCV blog entry was posted - it contained 5 week's worth of tasks (things were not quite as organised then as they are these days!!). You may want to read it. If so - click HERE. You will notice that tasks have not changed so much in the intervening years.

So - how did the NCVs celebrate? Partying? No. Relaxing? No. Working hard? Yes - of course. There was the rest of the Glasshouses verge to scythe. If you remember - rain stopped play last week. You will enjoy the 'pome', written by our resident bard, that is included at the end of this entry, which gives you a feel for the state of the NCVs at home time that day. The pictures below show how they fared this week - a day of wall to wall sunshine.

Luckily Liz had the use of the council tip up truck again.

This meant that tools and bags could be transported as well

 as being able to take the cut vegetation to the tip.

Andy and Andrew started at the barn end of the verge

 and worked down towards Glasshouses.

Another team started where they left off

 last week and worked back towards the barn.

New to scything, Tim was given a brief training 

session and was off like a machine. 

Anita had to hurry to rake up the aftermath 

of his scything frenzy.

Will, too, was busy with the rake....

...well - most of the time!

When it was Anita's turn to scythe she made

 sure she kept her blade nice and sharp.

The grass got piled onto the truck...

...and jumped on to ensure that

 it was packed down tight.

Who needs a bouncy castle or a 

trampoline to have fun?

No fewer than three full truckloads were 

taken to the Council depot in Harrogate....

...where all Liz had to do was press a button 

for the back to lift and deposit another 

solid, truck shaped slab of greenery for composting.

After lunch a small team sowed some more yellow rattle seed.

Here Dave demonstrates beautifully the required arm movement.

The verge was looking nice and bald

at home time. All good for the wild 

flowers to continue to prosper.

Caught in a downpour - by Tony K

When clouds turn ink-black and they glower, 

They’re threatening more than a shower.

They hurl down the hail

In a furious gale;

You’ll have to forgive us – we cower.

When clothing won’t do what it oughter

And not just our boots fill with water.  

When masculine undies 

And feminine sundries 

Are sodden, they make us feel fraughter.

Last Tuesday to scythe was a pain.

We think we’ve a right to complain,

When clothing that starts 

Out protecting our parts 

Are wringable-out from the rain.

Glasshouses verge: 06-09-2022

 

ANYONE FOR THE FIRST SLICE?

Not a slice of cake (although more about that below). Instead - a chance to slice through the vegetation on the Glasshouses verge. This is an annual task which, the NCVs hoped, would be made easier this year by the effect of the yellow rattle seed, planted last year. Let's see if their hopes were fulfilled....

Well - here's one half of the verge at the start of the day.

 Still plenty of vigorous growth.

Having spent a day honing the scythe blades 

in preparation, Jan got stuck in.

Anita kept a watching brief on expert scyther, Phil 

(another of the blade honers).

Now - who's this camera shy chap? Answers on a postcard....

Hot from yesterday's scything training, Andrew H. 

seemed to enjoy putting his skills to the test.

Tom "The Rake" did a sterling job, removing the aftermath.

Fran, from 'Parks', took 2 loads of the vegetation

 to the tip in her yellow truck (can be seen in the background).

Anita demonstrates how wet everyone got after 

the first downpour during the morning. This did 

not make for easy scything, as the grass 

was soggy and laying in too many different directions.

At least there actually were some slices of cake

 to be had - thanks to Liz and Andrew H. 

(Happy Birthday Andrew!!)

There should have been more, only Liz 

managed to leave it behind in the yard when she left home.

She blamed son Harry who was starting back at school today.

Sorry Mum - more important things to think about than loading up the car.

It was good to find a couple of wildlife exhibits -

 particularly as they had all their appendages intact!

By 2pm the rain was so bad everyone beat a hasty retreat...

....however they left the verge in a much better state.

There was much clothing removal in the barn on their return. 

Even underwear was found to be rain soaked.

High vis jackets had to be left hanging out to dry.