Posted in Hedgelaying, tagged Cheshire East Rangers, Middlewood Way on January 21, 2024|
Another good day hedgelaying today, on the Middlewood Way with Ed from Cheshire East Rangers. We were working on a section of hedge which had previously been laid, adding to the usual fun puzzle of working out exactly what to do with each stem to get an even and structured laid hedge at the end of the day. We were even lucky with the weather finishing up just before the wind and the rain – phew!
Posted in Hedgelaying, tagged Cheshire East Rangers, Middlewood Way on February 19, 2023|
Today saw us in the same place and doing the same activity as last month. Another great crowd, another excellent day, and not one but two birthdays to celebrate among those taking part!
Posted in Hedgelaying, tagged Cheshire East Rangers, Middlewood Way on January 22, 2023| 1 Comment »
Today was our first activity of 2023 and it was great to be back with Ed, Cheshire East Ranger, on the Middlewood Way. We had a great turn-out with a total of 14 volunteers.
Hedgelaying is an ancient craft that has been practised for centuries, with many regional variations in style and technique. It is the process of partially cutting through and then bending the stems of a line of shrubs or small trees, near ground level, without breaking them, so as to encourage them to produce new growth from the base and create a living fence. In our case today we were doing this using hawthorn – being wary of the thorns! Thank you to Ed for the training and advice, and to all volunteers, both old and new, for doing a stirling job.
We’ll be back on Sunday 19 February 2023 for more of the same – get in touch if you’d like to join in!
Posted in Hedgelaying, tagged Cheshire East Rangers, Middlewood Way on December 5, 2021|
Nothing like getting into the spirit of the season by feeling the snow start to fall, but keeping warm by hedgelaying! That’s what some of us did last Sunday on the Middlewood Way, continuing the stretch of hedge we had worked on four weeks before.
Posted in Hedgelaying, tagged Cheshire East Rangers, Middlewood Way on November 7, 2021|
Last Sunday (31st October) was the group’s first day back in action since the start of COVID, and it was great to be out on the Middlewood Way, taking on some hedgelaying with ranger Ed. Unexpectedly, despite torrential rain before and after the event, there was no rain during our work and even a little sunshine! Big thanks to both the familiar faces and the new volunteers who came along. The section of laid hedge has now opened up views from the Way, and we’ll be back on 28th November to continue the same stretch.
Posted in Hedgelaying, Residential weekends, Woodland management, tagged Peak Park Conservation Volunteers on September 23, 2019|
This past weekend was our third and final residential weekend of 2019, again with the Peak Park Conservation Volunteers. We were back on the shores of Tittesworth Reservoir, and were pleased to see that the lakeside hedge we worked on last October and again in the January snow is well established and providing effective protection of the shore. In a hot and sunny late summer day we did further work on the hedge to keep its rampant growth under control and to extend it further along the water.
Sunday was a greyer, wetter day but nonetheless we made good progress with a new stretch of hedge in a different location, opening up views of the lake while also protecting the shore and enhancing the wildlife habitat.
An excellent weekend all round!
Posted in Coppicing, Hedgelaying, Ponds and lakes, Residential weekends, Willow structures, tagged Peak Park Conservation Volunteers on February 4, 2019| 3 Comments »
For our first weekend away of 2019 we were treated to a a beautiful sunny and snowy landscape on the edge of Tittesworth Reservoir! Working with the Peak Park Conservation Volunteers, on Saturday we were coppicing willow in an area being managed as an important habitat for willow tit. Then, on Sunday, we returned to the willow hedge that we began in October 2018, and extended it further along the shore. This barrier, created by a combination of dead hedging and the laying of living willow, is to discourage disturbance by walkers and dogs of an area of the shore important for ground-nesting birds.
Update, May 2019: Back in the area for another weekend, we were pleased to see our hedge thriving and sprouting well!
Posted in Coppicing, Hedgelaying, Woodland management, tagged Friends of Spud Wood, Woodland Trust on January 13, 2019|
We have started 2019 with a day with the Friends of Spud Wood. At this Woodland Trust site, we today helped the Friends with the preparation of a hedge for a forthcoming hedgelaying course, and then some coppicing within the wood. We were sustained, as always here, by plenty of tea and parkin – a great start to the year!
Posted in Hedgelaying, tagged Cheshire East Rangers, Middlewood Way on March 5, 2018|
The last Sunday of February saw our first hedgelaying of 2018 (after our abandoned plan for hedgelaying at Spud Wood earlier in the month). We had a very cold but bright day on the Middlewood Way and worked on a good section of hedge with Ed from the Cheshire East Rangers.
We’re back at Spud Wood on Sunday 18th March so might yet get some more hedgelaying this season!
SMCV 