I did not
know that the hill we had worked on before was called Bald Hill. Wishful
thinking perhaps? Or maybe once upon a
time it was bald, but the brambles and thorn have been doing their best to give
it a decent head of hair.
Today we
welcomed a new site warden, Kate, who took us to a different part of the hill
from where we had worked last time.
This had at
one time been an area where ponies were expected to graze. So the site of a beautiful yew tree had been
fenced off to stop ponies poisoning themselves on the yew. Then plans changed. The ponies never made an appearance. Brambles, thorns, and grass took advantage
and completely took over the site, the fence, and the surrounds.
Our task was
to clear and burn as much of the scrub and bramble as we could, but – to the disappointment of some
Green-Gymmers – not to take down the fence itself. Cutting back vegetation had to take priority,
as it had to be done before nesting season, which will be very soon.
Which are
the best tools for clearing such a mixture?
Shears could cut the grass and thinner brambles, but loppers were needed
for the thicker brambles and thorns, while a dashel basher was useless. A slasher could also be useful, but only where
there was more room to take a good swing without endangering fellow-workers:
sometimes a pause had to be inserted.
Ed: On the way over, from RV point to
work-site, someone asked if the view
would be good where we would be working.
“Absolutely marvellous!” came the reply.
This was the view from where I was working:
Though
I suppose it became more of a view once Green Gym got to work:
With lovely
weather, the usual enthusiasm, and disregard of scratches, the team made good
progress in hacking the scrub off.
A bonus: some of the fence did need to be
dismantled, so that there was room for a bonfire to dispose of our cuttings.
A much
needed break, an opportunity to enjoy the Red Kites’ flying display – and time
to admire the famous view:
Then the
team had to carry or roll reluctant piles of cut scrub to the fire. [Ed: The
‘piles’ were soon dubbed ‘(bramble)balls’ by other volunteers looking on in
admiration.] Getting the largest bramble-ball safely on to the small fire was the work
of several pairs of hands:
Next time, perhaps we shall be allowed to take down the rest of the fence, but we have heard tell of another volunteer group scheduled to work at the site on Thursday.
