This is the start of the 2026/27 cutting-back season. What we do over the next six months will shape how the path looks for humans and wildlife in the spring and summer of 2027, so a bit of planning is required.

We also have our framework in the tab above, called September Jobs, where we split the trail into five sections and try to match the longer sections to months with five Wednesdays.

It worked really well last year, so we are following the same format.

As part of my intensive research, I felt that I had to spend a week in an actual forest to really understand what we are looking to emulate.

Notice the tree spacing, lack of lower branches, thriving understory, and ground cover.

The Workday:

Despite my absence, the lads cracked on. Marcus, Reece, Dave, Matt, and Andrew turned out on a morning that was threatening rain!!

Me, being my usual muppet self, had not managed to organise passing the tools to the guys, so they had to make do with a selection of gardening implements.

Pushing back the scrub and brambles before breaking for coffee and cookies.

Loads of traffic along the path whilst schoolboys enjoyed climbing the mature oak trees. I didn’t think kids did this sort of thing anymore… They are all back to school later this week, so a last-gasp attempt at freedom.

More cutting back followed the coffee break.

Really nice to see that the greenway machine worked just as well without me being there, but also quite a weird feeling.

I really must learn to let go a bit…

Buy Me A Coffee/Patron:

Lovely donations from Shindi (£15) and Simon (£5 monthly sub) this week, and we also have Paul signing up as a Patron subscriber in the last month (£5/m). Thank you very much. We have a new tool, which these generous donations have gone towards. We will get it out next week and show everyone what it does. If you would like to help, just click on Buy Me A Coffee. It really does give us a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Far Popehill Spinney and beyond:

Looking southwards, the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust are about to clear the path from Marton to Birdingbury.

This is the yellow-ringed section. They have already done the blue-ringed section.

There needs to be a tunnel built to get through this bit…

And hopefully we will get permission to work on the green-ringed bit on the map above.

The section between the yellow ring and the green ring is already a crushed limestone path surface, so potentially, we could have a through-path to Leamington by early next year, in one form or another…

Mile Marker Posts:

Another huge step forward by Martin and Dave.

All will become clear in a week or two.

I did the weekly litter pick the weekend before, and found a dead hedgehog. Bad news that it was dead, but good news that we have them.

We can contact Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and do a proper hedgehog survey in a couple of weeks to see what is happening.

Well, that’s about it for this week. Next week I shall be back from my all-expenses-paid “research” trip, and we can crack on…

And of course I’m joking about a paid holiday, before anyone gets their knickers in a twist. I don’t even get free coffee and biscuits on the workdays!

Until next time!

Paul