Wednesday 27 November 2013

Coppicing at Bryan's Wood and Hedge Laying at Clifton: 26-11-2013

Editor's note: This week the group split into two in order to allow a small group to complete the hedge laying task at Clifton Village Hall whilst the rest continued working at Bryan's Wood.

New recruit, Laura, volunteered to tell the story from Bryan's Wood........


No wet walking boots this week! 
The Bryan's Wood party (eight of us) quickly got to work, carrying on where the hazel coppicing left off three weeks ago.  Before any work began though we thought it would be a good idea to eat some of  the lovely flapjack kindly made by Audrey (and delivered to site by Tony) as it was about 10:20am.  

The gentle sound of sawing through the hazel poles was broken briefly by Paul's chainsaw buzzing through the thicker stems of the birch trees growing amongst the hazel.  Very soon, there was enough brash for Ros E. to start off the next brash pile and this kept her busy throughout the day.  

Ros tries her best to orchestrate 
the ever growing brash pile.

(Editor's note: Hannah - you asked me to ensure that the brash piles were well built. This responsibility lay on my shoulders very heavily indeed. I trust that I have not let you down.)

There were quite a lot of long bramble stems to fend off around most of the hazel stools but they were easily cut down with the loppers and the new blades on the bow saws were a joy to use.  

Laura pays homage to the hazel 
- before cutting it off in its prime!

After lunch (alas-back to packed lunches) there was more hazel coppicing before we all joined in with cutting down the poles, bundling them up in 10's and helping Ros E. and Alistair to fill in the gaps in the impressive brash pile with smaller branches. 

Busy, busy , busy - 
the NCVs gradually clear the area.

Terry tries to woo a particularly shapely 
hazel stem but she's just not interested.

By 3pm there were still some hazel and birch thinnings left to trim so they were arranged upright beside the brash pile for another Bryan's Wood volunteer day or to be made into twiggy reindeer for Christmas? (Paul's idea).  In the meantime there should be plenty of insects, and at least a hedgehog or two, moving into the brash piles and settling down for a cosy winter.

Laura

(Editor's note - four NCVs were determined to finish clearing the brash and actually left the wood at 3:45pm, just as it was getting dusky. It was worth the extra time spent knowing that we have a nice clear start next time. However - it does mean that there will be no twiggy reindeer for Christmas!) 

Meanwhile, back at Clifton ......


Despite two previous weeks of hedge laying at Clifton village hall the job still had to be completed so an elite (?) taskforce of five assembled to finally lay this hedge (to rest)! Hannah and Dave were already hard at work before 9.30 am closely followed by Ros K. and Julia.  Anita, the straggler, at 10am prompt, was cruelly admonished for being late!

The NCVs get started from where they left off last week.


The experienced team and the plucky amateurs quickly got into the swing of trying to tame the  vicious blackthorn, hawthorn and rose to our will and before we knew it, it was time for lunch.


Julia trims off the tall hazel poles to size...



.... while Ros K holds up the hedge with a stick.

This holding up a hedge job started to pale as the day wore on. 
Hannah prepared to start the 100m dash in an 
effort to avoid being asked to take over.


Sitting in the sunshine on the village hall veranda with our picnics, talk quickly turned to important topics of the day such as the shock result on ‘Strictly’ on Sunday and the politics and personalities of the Paradise and Downton Abbey. 

Sadly this hedge was not going to lay itself, so it was back to work and as the daylight began to fade we were finally able to stand back and admire the finished result, which is a testament to all the hard work of so many of our volunteers over the last three weeks.  I can’t wait to see what our hedge looks like in the spring.




 
Nice and tidy at the back and at the front ......  

..... from every angle the hedge looks great! 

Off now to extract the last of the thorns from my fingers!

Julia

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Hedge Laying at Clifton - Part 2:19-11-2013

This week the NCVs returned to Clifton Village Hall to continue with the laying of the hedge that was started last week. We had another good turn out with 20 NCVs joining Paul. The promise of yet another lovely hedge layers' lunch provided by Hannah was obviously too good an opportunity to miss. It was superb. Chunky veg soup with crusty bread and no fewer than three different fruit crumbles to choose from for dessert - WITH CUSTARD!!! (my favourite thing to eat). Thank you Hannah - you are a star.

I suppose I should mention at least a little of what went on apart from eating.

It was more of the same as last week. The morning was spent clearing out all the unwanted material and pleaching each remaining stem ready for laying. The wonderful sunny day made the job a pleasure, even though it was a cold and frosty start.

The job ahead.

The brash pile grew ever larger. Tony (the new) took over Alistair's hazel stem sharpening job from last week and prepared dozens of poles ready for the afternoon. 

All the brash being loaded onto the magic 
carpet ready for transportation to the pile.

Tony (the new) busy with his axe.
So many poles to sharpen.......

There was a certain amount of bill hook envy as these essential tools were in short supply (and were rather blunt from last week's pleaching - we must remember to sharpen them before using them again!) My team of three worked well together, taking it in turns to pleach, saw or hold stems. By lunchtime the 5m stretch was ready for laying flat.

NCVs busy (and happy) in their work.

After lunch things became a little more difficult as those who were ready to lay were starting to impinge on the next door team's stretch. Some NCVs took to doing some ad hoc sculpting whilst waiting for some space to continue their work.

This effort is entitled 'The happy hedge layer'.

In the end my trio decided to leave the laying and go over to last week's effort to tidy it up a little. It needed more careful weaving, trimming and pushing down lower. This sometimes entailed having to stand on top of the hedge and use the extra weight of the fruit crumble and custard to force the stems down.

As the sun started to disappear behind the distant hills we gave in and tidied up. The job was not completed but is well on the way. One more week's work for a small band of NCVs should see it laid and tidied up.

So far, so good. Neat and tidy; tightly woven. 
Not too much more to do.

Below you will see a number of photos that were obviously taken on a different day. They show a group of NCVs at work when the hedge was planted in 2004.  I wonder if they had custard for lunch?

Ros (E)


A wall of plastic tubes and bamboo canes was planted 
- oh yes, and a few hedge plants as well.

Hannah and Dave looking almost as 
young as they do now.

Judith demonstrates her stick standing prowess.

Barry and Audrey practise their yoga postures.

A job well done - little did they think that it would only be 9 years 
before it would almost be destroyed in the hedge laying process!!

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Hedge Laying at Clifton Village Hall: 12-11-2013

A year ago many of our group had the opportunity to do a day's training hedge laying. This is a traditional country task to encourage new growth of hedging plants which then form livestock-proof barriers. We were hoping to use these skills in early Spring at Clifton near Otley, but unfortunately there was so much snow on the ground it was an impossibility!! Now that the birds' nests in the hedge are empty, it was time to try again. 

(Editor's note - The hedge was first planted by NCVs in 2004 and there was a photo in the village hall to prove it! Note the size of the trees behind the volunteers. Just a little bit smaller than they were today!)
The 2004 hedge planting team.

It was a beautiful day and 20 people, including leader Paul turned up. After a demonstration by Jan to remind us what to do, we split up into small groups with those who had never done hedge laying before joining those more experienced in this task. The line of hedging trees was marked out into 5 metre stretches and each small group took one stretch to work on.

Jan demonstrates how to pleach to the onlooking NCVs. You three at the end - pay attention!

Before we start - a health and safety briefing on correct tool use. 
Or is it a display of martial arts?

Hedge laying requires tools, familiar and otherwise. Loppers were needed first to clear out unnecessary branches. Next a saw to form a pleacher cut and then an axe or a billhook to cut away some of the tree near the cut and to make the final split to get the tree to lean at the correct angle.

This team is getting on really well....

....although further along the hedge Tony tries to 
hide away to avoid any more pleaching!

We gradually worked along our section until eventually all the trees leaned together. 

A perfectly pleached bit of hedge.

The experts at this end are working quickly 
and the hedge is soon laid down.

Such a high hedge to change into such a low one.

Stakes, which had been cut the previous week at Bryan's Wood, were sharpened and placed within the hedge to hold it all together. Paul suggested an AONB "Stake Night" or was it a "steak night"?

Alistair was a man with a mission. 
A stake is no use without a sharp end. 

As fast as Alistair sharpens them, Graham 
whisks them off and puts them to good use.

There are many styles of hedge laying - we were following the Yorkshire style of course, suitable for hillsides with strong winds.

 
The finished hedge. Well - one side of the field anyway!  
  
To finish, much tidying was needed of all the brash leaving an enormous pile of stuff. We were pleased to complete the first half of the hedge, leaving the other half for next week.

The hedge laying team 2013 

Clifton Village Hall is local to Hannah and Dave, long standing members of our group. Many thanks to them for organising the task and for providing a fantastic lunch which was much appreciated.
(See Hannah's recipes below.)

Hannah's delicious recipes for a lovely lunch:


Hedge layers' Aubergine Bake
  • Fry onions off, then aubergine slices (and courgettes if wanted). 
  • Layer up in a dish. 
  • Cover with a tin of tomatoes plus oregano or other herb. 
  • Sprinkle cheese on top . 
  • Bake 200 or gas mark 6 for 30 plus mins. 
Depending on how many you are making it for just keep layering it up. The oil/butter you use can make a difference to the taste.

Hannah's Ham and Egg Cake
  • Make a pastry base. 
  • Drop raw chopped bacon on top. 
  • Make a well and drop whole eggs in. 
  • Put sliced tomatoes on top. 
  • Cover with a pastry top. 
  • Bake for 40 mins hottish oven.
I often just use a dinner plate and that would take 4 eggs!  Also good cold but best hot.

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Coppicing at Bryan's Wood: 05-11-2013

The day started miserably, it had been raining all night and low cloud and mist hid the normally magnificent Nidderdale. Despite this, eleven volunteers and their leader, Paul, turned up for a day of coppicing at the agreed venue, Bryan’s wood. After getting suited and booted in waterproofs we set off into a steaming jungle with many hazards including swollen stream crossings. This was where some volunteers discovered their first mistake; walking boots were not going to keep their feet dry. Some time was spent by those in wellies helping the others to cross. Finally all were safely over and we trekked to the coppicing site carrying saws, chain saws and other cutting equipment.

Off to work we go - with a bow saw and the all important tin of flapjack!

The NCVs had to battle with raging streams.

The rain had stopped when we arrived but after such an arduous trek Tony produced flapjack to spur us on. 

The team consume flapjack before starting work,
 apart from Hannah who, as usual, uses the spare 
time to try to understand the workings of her new mobile phone.

Paul lays down the law with a stern finger point, 
indicating where the retribution will come from if we don't toe the line.

The work then began of clearing and cutting.  A system soon evolved with teams of cutters, trimmers and Brash builders. A large clear space started to appear and lots of fine Hazel poles were produced which are to be used next week for hedging at Hannah and Dave’s.


  
Off go the NCVs, looking for hazel trees to coppice 
and other trees  to clear - plenty to do then!!

Julia cuts.....

... whilst Ruth and Dave trim and the hazel poles begin to mount up against the fence.


That's what we like to see - an NCV happy in his work

Paul wonders if this head gear 
would do him for Ascot next year.

Lunch was called and the cake from last week appeared (thanks to Sparrowhawk Farm) and swiftly disappeared. The sun came out as forecast.

Jan feels left out of the 'balancing on 
a lunchtime log' competition.

Lunch is interrupted by some interesting bird life. 

After lunch we were joined by two new volunteers and work continued. Paul finally called a halt to cutting, the site was tidied and the brash piles completed, very tightly, as instructed by Hannah, creating a lovely home for wildlife.


All the cleared brash is stacked expertly into large brash piles. 
Alistair watches Hannah and then throws himself into the task with gusto.


What a difference a day makes.... nice and clear of unwanted 
undergrowth and tall hazel stems, the coppice is 
ready to grow another crop of hazel springs.

Then the bad news, all the freshly coppiced poles had to be carried back to the cars, through the jungle across the streams, as well as all the tools!

A weary NCV trails back across the stream 
- tools and poles in tow.


Terry