It really seems to have been raining non-stop for ages. Silly me left my wellies out in the garden and I could literally pour water out of them yesterday when I realised. I was dreading the soaking that we were going to get today, but somehow it stopped raining this morning and we even had a few glimpses of sunshine. Sadly it started raining again this afternoon, but the God of the weather looked down on us and gave us a little break for the first half of the day.

Seven wildlife warriors met with the main task being to clear out Charlie’s wildflower glade so it comes back next year, rather than turning to scrub.

We stacked the cuttings on the old pile from last year so burrowing insects and mammals can find a nice warm home.

And because there were so many of us, we spread out up and down the path to make it wider and more open.

We are going to go a little bit wider and incorporate some of the trees, similar to what we have done further south, but for now, it’s just about getting a decent width and creating scallops in the scrub.

We made the entrance to this point nice and wide so people can get on and off easily.

It’s always been a bit tight and a little bit snaggy so this should help loads.

After a very welcome blast of coffee in our all-terrain mugs we cracked on.

I added to our living hedge that I sort of tried to do hedge-laying with a couple of years ago.

I somehow don’t think that I am going to make the Midlands Hedge-Laying Team, but it is alive and is yet more varied habitat for mini-beasts.

We have a new tool, so this bit will probably be called Tool Talk Wednesday and it’s a humble rake from our sponsor Wickes.

At this point you are probably thinking “why?” But with wildflower meadows there needs to be a lot of ground disturbance to encourage seeds to germinate, so we will keep raking it, grubbing out the bramble roots and giving it a generally good kicking, a bit like what would happen with a meadow previously where livestock would have grazed.

It’s also important to get as much of the cuttings up as possible or the nutrients will go back into the soil and this will encourage nettles, docks and more bramble to grow and outcompete the more delicate wildflowers that prefer a soil that is not so nutrient-rich.

So that is why the humble rake is so important. Now that we have this one, I will, no doubt, find the one that I hid somewhere months ago and have been unable to remember exactly where I put it.

We sent Nathan over the top to trim the hedge and the view literally goes on for miles.

This is going to be so good as the leaves turn golden through the next month or two.

I repaired the bench that got nobbled last week at Berrybanks and really need to find the enthusiasm to rebuild it with a decent frame.

It will probably be a job for November.

All-in-all we covered about 500 metres today, so great progress.

Dunchurch Bridleway

We got our rebuilt picnic bench in. Thankfully it is out of my garden!!

When I say we, obviously I had the very important job of being the photographer whilst Ian and Nathan technically did all of the work. But I did bring coffee so hopefully I added some value.

Thankfully, Andrew saved the day with the weak legs. He made us some blocks to increase the footprint of each seat and really beef up the flimsy supports. Once we screwed it all together it really felt solid. I will stain the whole thing soon so it all blends in.

This is an absolute sun trap and as we edge out the glade it will be such a decent spot to sit and enjoy the peace and quiet, right in the middle of nowhere.

I have made contact with Tritax Symmetry (the warehouse developers) about clearing/joining the paths but didn’t find the time today to see if anything has been done. Hopefully they will clear off the bit that is their responsibility and Cawston Greenway and Dunchurch Bridleway will once again be connected and be a fantastic off-road route between the two locations.

Next week we are at the birdfeeder clearing stripping out the wildflower glade.

Until then!

Paul