Eleven members met at Abbeydale Hamlet to hear a talk about the site by Bob Hawkins who used to work there. We learnt something about its history and saw some of the tilt hammers, unfortunately not currently in operation (the lake is empty). Whilst there we had a minor interruption as a bat flew around the rafters.
Given the torrential rain overnight, the thought was to cancel today, but the skies brightened and we had [mostly] a clear dry morning, for the fourteen that turned out. As we expected rain later, eight remained in the Abbey area and trimmed the hedge between the Abbey Ponds and the one on Beauchief Abbey Lane. Six bench-builders carried on building the new seat on the Bradway Rec. and managed to get the bench to about coverband level, and mortar in the heartings before a torrential downpour.
Two jobs were identified for the thirteen that turned out today. The larger group went to Gulley’s Meadow and cleared the Blackthorn suckers from around the edge. We hope to arrange for the Meadow to be mowed and these suckers would snag in the blades. A smaller group of five went up to Bradway and carried on with the stone seat, building the dry stone wall bench structure atop the pre prepared foundations.
Heather patch before weeding Heather patch after weeding Well, is it autumn or is it summer? Today was like a midsummer morning with the temperature already in the 20s, but twelve of us still turned up. With one staying behind to litter pick, the rest went up to the Bradway Recreation Ground. The heather patch was cleared of the seasons’ growth of weeds, grass and associated plants. To begin with, it was difficult to see any heather at all, but by the time we had finished 22 thriving plants had been exposed. Last year’s count was 26, but the survivors
Working in Carol’s Copse Twelve of us met today with nine going over to Carol’s Copse, where we attacked the encroaching brambles, cleared around the whips and planted a young hazel in one of the gaps. Two of this Group , initially, took a walk along the Sheaf path to go Balsam bashing, and reported that 449 additional plants were pulled. The other three went to Little Wood Bank, to begin the build of the replacement bench. A discussion on the merits of lime mortar, as opposed to ordinary cement, resulted in a consensus that, on balance, ordinary gypsum cement would
Nine of us mustered today with eight going to Carole’s Copse, while one remained to litter pick along the Drive The Trees we planted in the Copse are looking very healthy but the bracken had invaded the area, as we expected. We hand pulled it and cleared the area , releasing many small whips to the sunlight. We agreed this area needs two visits per year, which we will do in 2024.
Despite the soggy conditions and the expected rain, twelve members arrived today. We all went, as planned, to the Woodland Meadow, and cleared the hogweed, brambles and tall grass from around the saplings. We did notice some large gaps and we hope to replenish from the Nursery later in the year.
Six of us arrived, on a Morning more suited to Autumn than Summer. One of the group was a new Member, who was initiated into the secret machinations of the Monday Group After receiving permission from Frog Life to line the Middle Pond in the Nature Park, all but one went there to size up the job, discuss some logistics and then trim around the Paths where the growth was hindering walkers. It was noted that the growth, particularly Cow Parsley, in the Woodland Meadow was higher than the Saplings. One handyman remained at the Barn and gave our Hand Tools
Eight members arrived today and two tasks were identified. Three of us went to Beauchief Abbey Lane to lightly trim the hedge by the footpath. It was so overgrown that it was forcing people into the road, particularly pushchair and wheelchair users. The other five went to the top of Parkbank Wood to repair three of the five steps that had rotted away. On our return we gave two of Tony’s Steps some TLC, but noticed more was needed.
All ten that arrived today, went to the Driving Range path and carried on the excellent work that had started last week. With the numbers today, we were able to make both sides passable. A few walkers commented that they had avoided the top path due to the overgrowth and thanked us for the effort.
Eight of the Group went up to the Nature Park, where dock pulling in the meadow was the order of the day. We reminded ourselves of the difference between sorrel and dock before commencing. A small group, prior to joining the dock pulling went to the Orchard, with a planting diagram, and we identified the surviving fruit trees and observed their current state. Happy to say most are looking healthy, but very few had fruit on them and those that had were very sparse. Two grim reapers set to work on the Sisyphean task of improving the accessibility of the path