A Muddy New Year!

By the Session Leader:

First WGG day back after Christmas Day and New Year, so a good turnout not expected. 

In fact, nine volunteers turned up.  The steady rain did decide one person to turn back.  In hindsight, he was the sensible one.

Not that it poured down.  The rain was just a steady drizzle, so it was not till one got home that it was clear how wet it had been. 

In fact it was the mud that was the worst enemy, but this did not affect all the team.  The part of the group that tackled the coppicing just got wet, not muddy. 

They started by cutting down a section of hazel, three rows, eight deep with the help of our newest and youngest member.

Then the first problem arose: one photograph of this group at work, and soaking wet camera gave up the ghost.

Meanwhile the engineering members got stuck in and tore up one of the rotten sections of the boardwalk.  Unfortunately, the wood turned out to be sodden; and the ground underneath, soft mud.  Too late!  Having torn up the section, there was no alternative but to carry on replacing it.

In spite of warning notices posted either end of the site saying that the walkway was closed, several walkers and their dogs came through.  They admired our work.  Shame I can't post a picture to show it to the rest of the world.

Obligingly the drizzle eased for coffee, served from the back shelf of the car.

Then back to work. The coppicing group had to sort the cuttings, trimming to length, chopping up the brash and spreading the brash over the stumps to keep the rabbits and deer away.  They finished by our normal finishing time, rather wet but happy.

The engineering group was struggling.  The new ‘wood’ was reconstituted plastic.  It has a much longer life than wood in wet conditions, but it was slightly different in size and did not take kindly to having holes drilled in it.  By 2 pm [well after our normal finishing time - Ed.] the new long stretchers and supports were securely in place, ready for the wooden planks to go across to form the walk way; the workers were covered in mud; and all three cordless drills had flat batteries.

So the project had to be left for the time being, with blockades at each end; while workers returned to warmth, dry, and food.  I charged up my drill and went back again at 3.30 to see if I could help the site warden finish the boardwalk - and was taken aback to find he was just finishing!  Just a bit more netting needed and a few extra screws, another time.  So I took the dog for a walk by the lock instead.

The team did a great job today, and I hope the engineers have managed to get all the mud off!