Path Clearing - End of Season

As I've said in recent posts we have had to maintain the grassy paths in the woodland by hand this summer - using scythes; because S Glos council have not been able to do this work for us using mowing machinery. This has of course meant that work in other parts of the woods has not been done, as we have been clearing paths pretty much exclusively.

We carried on this work at the Wednesday work party on 27th August when 7 volunteers had a go at the path leading from the top of the pylon field near post 4 where we finished last time. We wanted to clear the path from there back to the top of the hill by post 3 where the three memorial lime trees are growing.

This was the field alongside the edge of the path.

Graham made a start by taking back the long grass alongside the path ...

... while Erika and Cathy got stuck into the brambles on the other side.

Eric had started clearing brambles and other stuff further on down the path with Alan R and they were joined by Graham.

Because there was some rain on the way some of us had been raking up the cut grass and bramble arisings while it was still dry. As you can see there was still a lot left to clear up.

Some of the volunteers had needed to leave early and the remainder of us carried on cutting, raking and moving the grass until we reached the lime trees. Then it began to rain!

For once our timing was good and we completed the work we'd intended without getting wet. Well, not very wet.

 We had a good morning and got a lot of work done. Hopefully we have completed the path scything for this year and that next season S Glos will have a new mower!

Path Mowing Again

For the recent work parties we have concentrated on opening up the paths in the woods. This is work usually carried out by South Gloucester council who normally keep our paths clear from March onwards by regular mowing. They have not been able to do this for the last two years because the machinery they use has not been available - it's broken and not yet been replaced. Consequently we need to to this work by hand as best we can. It's hard, time consuming work and we struggle to keep all the paths open all the time. 

Some work was done at the work party on 23rd July but I was not present and no photos were taken so I can't write anything about it apart from noting that it was done. 

For the work party on Sunday 10th August, eight volunteers tackled the path up the pylon field along to post 4.  This was what we started with ...

The path wasn't completely blocked but soon would be if it was left.

We made a start near the pylon where most of the problem was ...

... while Chris began clearing further down the slope. 

The rest of us carried on working near the pylon making good progress ...

... then stopped for a quick break.

Afterwards, Andy carried on widening the path towards post 4 ...

... while Aiden and Cathy cleared some brambles alongside the path.

Before long the path was much wider and easier to walk along. 

Meanwhile, Chris and Alan R had dealt with the path going down to the entrance ride.

We sorted out all the tools we'd been using and headed back to the store after a successful morning. The volunteers worked hard to get the work done and should be very proud of all their efforts.

Into the Jungle

For the last two work parties we have concentrated on opening up some of the paths in the woods. South Gloucester council would normally keep a lot of our paths clear from March onwards by regular mowing but they have not been able to do this for the last two years because the machinery they use has not been available - it's broken and not yet been replaced. Consequently we have needed to to this work by hand as best we can. It's hard, time consuming work and we struggle to keep all the paths open all the time. 

For the work party on Wednesday 25th June, we tackled the path from post 6 at the top of the steps up from the bridge along to the viewpoint near post 8. Four volunteers went along and opened it up. 

This was what we started with ...

... and this is how it looked when we had finished.

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Six of us went along to the Sunday 13th July work party. That day was in the middle of an official heatwave so working out in the open, in full sun at temperatures around 27 deg C was not a viable option. We took to the woods! It was still hot but we did have plenty of shade and had decided to finish earlier than our usual time. What we did was to clear the path that runs from post 17 on the Jubilee Way along to post 16 in the old plantation.

This is post 17 and you can see the grass and other vegetation encroaching from both sides.

Going past here into the wood we found a fallen willow causing an obstruction ...

... and an overgrown path through undergrowth and brambles. A bit of a jungle!

We started by clearing some of the larger obstructions and bits of vegetation that were hanging over the path.

Aiden and Cathy cleared a lot of brambles alongside the path ...

... and before long we had a pretty decent pathway through the central section.

This was carried through to post 16 which you can see just behind Aiden's right arm.

Quite soon the whole of the path had been cleared to create a really nice short walk in the shade.

The volunteers worked hard to get the work done in trying working conditions. They should be very proud of all their efforts this morning.

Opening up Hedges

At the work party yesterday, Sunday 8th June, we did more work near the entrance to follow on from the work done by the volunteers from BT who were with us last Wednesday (see previous blog). Seven of us went along and began by the welcome area near the entrance to the woods. 

Outside of the woods to the right of the entrance the hedge is becoming choked with grass and weeds.

And so too is the hedge to the left of the entrance.

It's quite important to clear away this grass and other stuff growing there to let more light in and promote the growth of the hedges.

Peter A and Eric got stuck into the left side and are making good progress, while ...

... on the righthand side Graham and Andy cleared away the grass and weeds that had taken over that area. 

Meanwhile, Erika has been very busy on the woods side of the hedge that Peter and Eric are working on, and she has almost finished clearing it. 

Before long, both sides of the two hedges had been cleared and are now in a much better state. 

Then, after a short coffee break, we moved off to the open area of the valley path near post 10 where there were lots of primroses and bluebells back in March and April.

The primroses and bluebells are now long gone and have been replaced by lots of bracken and grass as you can see in the following photos.                                                                      

This is looking uphill from post 10 - compare this with the primroses.

This is the same path looking back towards post 10 where the bluebells were.

We got stuck into the bracken scything and raking...

... and we soon had it all cleared away to leave an open space that will catch the sun and maybe produce some wild flowers!

The volunteers worked hard all morning to get the work done and both the valley path and entrance hedges were soon opened up again. 

BT Volunteers Clear the Way

Yesterday nine volunteers who work for BT came along to do some work in Filnore Woods as part of a company volunteering scheme. A couple were familiar with the woods but most were making their first visit.

The bracken and grass alongside the fence between us and the allotments has grown a lot and the grass in the welcome area at the entrance is considerably longer too, as you can see in the following photos.

The work for the day was to clear these two areas.

Most of the volunteers hadn't used a scythe before so we began with a training session. They soon picked up the basics and with some practice in the welcome area were ready for tougher stuff.

It was a steep learning curve but progress was swift and before long a lot of work had been done.

Soon it was time for a break after a long morning and we stopped for some lunch.

After a rest and some food we were ready to get back to work and set to with a will.

Work continued after lunch until the whole area next to the allotments had been completely cleared

The volunteers put in a lot of effort and worked really hard all day with no complaints. They were a pleasure to work with and achieved a lot. They will be welcome if they are able to return and help us again sometime in the future.