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Autumn on the way.

The Dewy Pond in a light shower.

Workdays in the Wood have concentrated on preparing it for autumn as well as some general maintenance.

Vegetation like brambles, which had been choking the Am Brook was cut back a couple of weeks ago. However volunteers have cleared it back even further to allow more delicate plants a chance to regenerate. 

The Am Brook clearly visible, once brambles and nettles have been cut back.
 

Two years or so ago, a large tree fell down on the upper path and in the process, it took a couple of smaller trees with it. Once the debris had been cleared, the site was opened up into a new glade, which this spring hosted a wonderful display of foxgloves. The seeds had lain dormant until light levels had increased. It is hoped that this area will see this iconic woodland species spread and establish itself. Foxgloves are bi-annual, first setting seed, the plants emerging the following year but not forming flower spikes until the year after that.  To help this happen, another group of volunteers worked hard to  remove brambles and ivy which had begun to form a thick carpet on the floor of the new glade.

The newly cleared glade. 

 

On a more mundane level, a small group of volunteers tackled removing a trip hazard just inside the Cox's Walk western entrance. Probably when the railway was electrified in 1925, concrete posts were installed which held wire fencing alongside to prevent trespass on the railway tracks.  The broken base of one of these posts had been exposed by erosion and its reinforcing rods presented a hazard to visitors. It would have been difficult to remove the post without  heavy equipment, however, by excavating around it, sawing back the reinforcing rods and breaking the concrete, the remains were reduced enough to be safely below ground level. Then the hole was filled in and compacted. Many of these posts survive intact and still can be seen in the Wood, physical evidence of its history.

The reinforcing rods are being cut back. (photo Michael Cullingworth)

Well-aimed blows with a club hammer break up the concrete. (photo Michael Cullingworth)

A feather marks where the post used to protrude through the surface. (photo Michael Cullingworth)


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