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Four of us turned out today (Martin, Ian, Steve, and Paul) in what was another beltingly hot day. Records have been broken all week with high temperatures and wall-to-wall sunshine. Of course, being British, everyone starts to complain about it being too warm!!

We spent the session trying to keep the connection between the Cawston Trail and the Dunchurch Trail open and accessible. We covered about 500 metres, which was pretty good going with all four of us on the strimmers.

We started with this.

And ended with this.

It’s just easier to walk through without rubbing up against the vegetation.

I felt myself getting a bit (very) stressed-out because the wildflower strip between the path and the scrub is so tight.

Next year we really need to manage the scrub a bit better so that the wildflower bit has the width that it needs to support whatever wildlife is in there. I felt like we were robbing bees and butterflies of life-giving nectar, which left me feeling a bit conflicted.

We broke for coffee and decided that we would chance-our-arm at some sausages, instead of the usual bacon.

Not just any old sausages either. These were 95% meat “Taste the Difference” Sainsbury’s sausages. Do they look burnt, or is that just delicious caramelisation? No complaints so I am guessing the latter, although the stove does seem to have just two settings – OFF and FULL ON!!

The views from here are superb.

Even the new warehousing in the background cannot take away the beauty of the countryside.

We had two very generous buy-me-a-coffee donations the week before last (Anne and Irene) which enabled us to buy more batteries for our strimmers. This just keeps us all on it for the whole work-day and we can get so much more done.

We had a surprise fly-by from some huge beast of a plane which was very low in the sky.

It was a real “wow!!” moment. We could almost see the whites of the pilot’s eyes…

Dunchurch Bridleway

Dave, Ian, and Paul turned out last Friday and got to the end, this is why the connection between the two paths is so important.

We’re struggling to keep on top of it at the moment, but hopefully as more and more people use the trail, it will keep it worn down and open. If there is no connection it just gets overgrown and wild.

We had a bit of a French vibe to our coffee-break, and enjoyed some lovely countryside views.

Once again, the new warehousing sitting in the background doesn’t distract from it too much…

The circular walk connecting the two paths is here.

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/activity-february-2-2025-0e900ad

It’s a good’un, even if I say-so myself.

All in all, across both workdays, I feel like we have finally got back on top of the paths and are in a better place. Loads of learning points to take into next year, but that’s life, I guess.

Thanks for reading if you managed to get this far…

Until next time!

Paul