Another clearing, of sorts…

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

But before we get into it, you might have noticed a new tab on the menu bar named “Join In”.

If you want to join in, it needs to be with us, under a designated workday. This is for insurance purposes and also stops people saying, “can I do ABC” and ending up doing XYZ!!

If you are doing unauthorised stuff on the greenway and something happens, either to you or to a member of public, you are not insured and do not have permission from the landowner to be doing any activity except traversing it.

On your head be it!!

Today we started to tackle all the self-seeded tree whips… There are loads and loads. If we leave the scrub the path becomes bramble and then the bramble gives way to woodland that becomes a dense fight for light, so tree stems become straggly and leggy, all rubbing against each other and causing all sorts of problems.

I can see this area becoming an unplanned wildflower clearing, it will probably be full of nettles but that is not a totally bad thing for butterflies.

The Woodland Trust suggests that trees need to be between 1.5 metres and 2 metres apart to reach their full potential and maturity.

What I am going to do is work out some sort of rotational clearing regime for tree saplings and bramble scrub. This will help loads with biodiversity because it stops one thing becoming dominant.

Our snowdrop bank is looking good for its first year.

I am going to get more clumps and fill in the gaps. Our goal is a white carpet of snowdrops eventually.

We start to seed our newly made clearings with a wildflower seed mix in April. This month is just about getting as much sunlight onto the ground as possible.

Due to the teacher strike I had my young assistant helping…

We litter picked between the birdfeeder bench and the underpass. She then took charge of our coffee and cookie break…

There are a few Cawston Greenway mugs left and a couple of fridge magnets. If you fancy a unique gift for someone or yourself, be quick… It keeps us stocked up with coffee and cookies. Head over to the stuff on the right for ways to support us. Everything helps.

Our YouTube of the area.

Until next time!

Paul

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The bench rises from the ashes

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Firstly let’s talk about this bench. We inherited the frames from Rugby Borough Council in February 2011. They were surplus to requirements so they asked us if we would like to recycle them. The fact that they are made out of recycled car tyres means they were on their third journey with us, back then.

The bench went missing in 2013 and was later discovered down the bank and in a den made by the then youths. It had become quite rickety so moving it back up the bank seemed more trouble than it was worth.

Twelve years later, the bench is restored and now on its fourth incarnation.

Decent views across Lawford Heath, bird nesting boxes can be spotted from it, and good views up and down the path as well. The seats are a little “springy” so we might beef them up slightly. It depends on how we feel about throwing a tiny bit more money at it.

But all-in-all, we are very happy with it.

So that segways us nicely onto nesting boxes.

This season I decided to recycle all the old nesting boxes. Most are on the edges of the path and are out of view, and most have been ravaged by woodpeckers around the holes and are not very securely attached. I sorted the last five out this week.

We have 25mm holes for blue tits, 28mm holes for great tits and open boxes for robins. In total across the 2-miles of the path, there are over 50 nesting boxes. It’s going to be a ruckus in Spring!!

I have also mapped all the nesting boxes with what3words.com so we can monitor them when it greens up again and can no longer spot the boxes from the path.

Next, we have Charlie doing his DofE Silver Award. Charlie is creating a wildflower clearing by the Heath View bench and it’s coming on very well.

It’s just another area where the scrub opens up to wildflower-rich grassland and enhances biodiversity massively. Super job so far, Charlie.

Next we go to geocaching. I really thought this was a complete gimmick when I set it up in January last year… How wrong I was!

We have had people coming from as far at Nottingham and even Cork in Ireland to do the Dino Trail. How amazing is that!! I have cleaned out all the caches and put new logs in them ready for the 2023 season. How many times do you think they have been discovered over the last year? Over 1,500 times!! And I thought it was just a gimmick!!

Lastly (was that a collective “phew” I just heard), support us by buying a mug or fridge-magnet, become a Patron or buy-me-a-coffee.

Every last penny helps and keeps us happy with biscuits and coffee. But seriously, a dull green corridor is not my idea of fun and we have always aimed at trying to make the greenway a little bit more than this.

Our YouTube of the area.

Well that’s about it for this week. We have a really good piece coming on “joining in” so watch this space.

Until next time!

Paul

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Woodworking Workshop

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

This ticks so many boxes…

  • Recycling our old picnic bench A-frames, which are made out of recycled car tyres (double win)
  • Each wooden strip cost less than £3, so total cost is slightly over £30
  • We got to play with power-tools
  • We had to use our collective engineering skills to make it strong enough
  • It will have superb views over Lawford Heath and is surrounded by bird nesting boxes

We need to attach the table top next week and dig the legs into the track so that the seat height is about 45cm from the ground. We also need to stain the wood so it all blends together a bit better.

Some fots of the area where it’s going, plus the snowdrops where the Cawston Bridleway bridge crosses the greenway.

We’re really happy with this. It means people can enjoy a picnic without having to walk too far. The thing weighs a ton, and aesthetically, I don’t think anyone would want to carry it off and stick it in their back garden…

A good morning’s work.

For the railway buffs, here are some pictures of the three railway stations between Rugby and Leamington Spa, when the line was fully operational.

  • Dunchurch
  • Birdingbury
  • Marton

That’s about it for this week. Buy a mug or become a Patron if you want to support us.

Everything helps the cause, and it will send a little shiver of goodness down your spine and a little shiver of appreciation down ours.

Until next time!

Paul

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Change of Plan

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

The schedule was telling us to re-stain our picnic benches ready for the spring. The hoar frost told us different!!

So we extended our wildflower meadow slightly, and made it a bit more even on both sides of the path.

The path in general needs to be about 3 metres wide for cyclists and walkers to be able to share it without compromising each other. This is advice from Sustrans, so don’t go shooting the messenger!!

We also repaired our woodpecker ravaged bird-boxes and put up the ones that needed repair from last season.

Contrary to popular belief, the shiny metal plates do not scare or deter the birds using the nesting boxes.

We have more Cawston Greenway mugs available, modelled by our wonderful Head of Retail, Ruby.

Just head to the shop if you would like one. More exciting merchandise is on the way so keep your eyes peeled.

A quick YouTube of the area before we started today. Wonderful views as always.

Well that’s about it for this week, and a few bits from last week added in. Keep the faith – it’s going to look amazing from April onwards.

If you want to get involved pop along and see if it’s for you, or PATRON PATRON PATRON if you want to help the project financially. Just £2 a month multiplied by 40 or so people means we can keep delivering the good stuff. At the moment our costs are outstripping our income, but we really don’t want to be just another green path with nettles and bramble scrub dominating the edges.

Next week we are at the snowdrop area trying to rebuild the bench on the A-frame that Rugby Borough Council gave us about 12 or so years ago. There is a sad story attached to this, so it’s a bit close to my heart and maybe if I can find the right words, I will share it.

Hope you enjoyed reading and until next time!

Paul

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January Weekender

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

We enlarged the Potford Dam wildflower mini-meadow and doubled it in size.

The before foto, the work, and the after foto…

Thanks to Charlie, who is getting some Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award hours under his belt, for the photos. Some rare ones of me for a change.

Cutting back the bramble scrub needs to be done on some sort of rotational basis, according to the Wildlife Trust. If it’s just left it becomes horribly leggy and the understory is shaded out and it loses its thicket qualities, which decreases usefulness and biodiversity.

We can grub out the bramble roots when we overseed with a wildflower meadow seed mix in March.

What we are looking for is a mosaic of wildflower-rich grassland, scrub at various ages of maturity, and then the closed canopy woodland on the edges.

Some good news in the area where we had to rip out a load of Spanish bluebells that we inadvertently planted. We have our native English snowdrops coming up, and lots of them!!

A fantastic recovery and hopefully we will have a carpet of snowdrops as they thicken up.

A couple of fungi finds along the new Hawthorn Walk path.

  • Bracket Fungus
  • Velvet Foot Fungus

And lastly our YouTube showing the new clearing.

Well that’s about it for this week. We are putting up bird-boxes on Wednesday and I will update the rest of the month activities in a bit. I have put in a bulk order for our mugs, a totally unique gift. Just visit the shop on the right if you want one.

Looking forward to life at the end of the ladder next time…

Until then!

Paul

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This is as good as it gets…

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

…well, for now.

We will probably restart from the Berrybanks end in March, and work towards where we got to today. It’s just gonna have to be “little and often” or we’re going to be stuck here forever.

Just the three of us today and not a single passer-by came past. Probably for the first time ever!!

Our YouTube for people who like to see it in video format.

The goal here is to make the path wide enough so it dries out and a mobility buggy or pushchair can be used without any difficulty. We also need to get huge amounts of sunlight onto the left-hand side for wildflowers, butterflies and bees.

We have our weekender this Saturday down at the Potford Dam wildflower clearing, and then next Wednesday we are putting up birdboxes, meeting at the snowdrop bench and working northwards.

Until next time!

Paul

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That sinking feeling…

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

That sinking feeling when we realise that we’ve bitten off far more than we can chew!!

South of Berrybanks or north of the underpass, it feels like we are gonna be camped here for a long time…

The before foto, the work, and the after foto… It needs to be a flat bottomed V like this \_/ and everything is in such a tangle. It’s gonna be a long process to get rid of the sun-blocking overhang.

My new pole-saw broke almost immediately.

Next week I will bring a ladder so we can get up amongst it.

Here is our YouTube of the after…

We have some new graffiti in the underpass. This is what Kai, one of our volunteers, felt about it…

An interesting and thoughtful perspective.

We are gonna have to dig in and get this bit done. The ladder will help, I’m sure. It’s all about creating areas of sunlight on the southerly facing bank to encourage wildflowers and butterflies.

Which nicely moves us to our assistant showing our new book.

This will help us loads in getting the habitat right.

Until next time!

Paul

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The Three Pillars

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

A Path For Everyone

Creating a path that is accessible for walkers, cyclists, joggers, families, pushchairs, mobility buggies. Wide enough so people can pass comfortably or walk two abreast, can see far enough ahead so as not to feel intimidated, plenty of benches to stop at and rest. Areas for youth and areas for families to enjoy a picnic. Geocaching and dino trail activities. Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver and Gold Award Assessor.

A Wildlife Corridor

Joined up habitat for wildlife. Plenty of sunshine and clearings for wildflowers. Bird boxes and bat boxes. A bird feeding station. Biodiversity is maximised by continual clearing of scrubby bramble.

A Safe Place For Mental Wellbeing

Doing the workdays with a positive purpose, a reason, and a goal, is so good for mental health. But just using the greenway to walk or cycle, to have a little less screen time and a little more green time is so good for all of us. Connecting with nature reduces stress and anxiety.

So today I donned my hi-viz and went for the ultimate thrill of an hour on the brush cutter. My hands are still tingling some five hours later!

We need a nicely widened path with a decent transition from path to short grass, to longer grass and wildflowers, to scrub and trees so wildlife can move in and out easily. We also need to get rid of the overhanging branches and cut windows on the south-easterly side to allow lots of sunlight in.

Next week is just bow-saws, loppers and pole-saws. It’s gonna be a tough one!!

We also did a little bit of maintenance on our Bilton Grange underpass mural…

Remember, there are various ways to support the project. The best thing is to come along and get involved, but if that doesn’t work for you, please consider becoming a Patron. Just £2 a month multiplied by 40 or so people means more of the good stuff, or make a one off donation via our crowdfunding page or the “buy me a coffee” link on the side. Everything helps us enormously and it will give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Thank you to all who have, and continue to, support the project.

Lastly, you can get some Cawston Greenway merchandise to impress your friends and family with. Imagine going for a walk along the path in the summer and then heading back home and enjoying a coffee in one of our mugs…

What a fantastic talking point!! Just visit the shop on the right.

Until next week!

Paul

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Welcome to Season 14

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Yes, you read that right – our 14th year of keeping the path open for everyone.

That’s as many seasons as The Great British Bake Off.

Pretty amazing stuff and a double-bonus because food is always close to my heart!!

This week we finished off the underpass wildflower clearing, a delightfully sheltered suntrap with a bench to rest and enjoy a cuppa.

Whilst the westerly side did well last summer, the easterly side struggled with wildflowers. We can get some shade loving seeds to try and have a better go this summer. We started a dead-hedge to create a border and transition from the scrubby bramble, to the wildflower mini-meadow. This gives insect larva something to burrow into and then habitat to live in when they become adult insects.

A view from above.

And our YouTube for people who prefer to see a video.

This month is pretty bleak for a lot of people, with short and cold days, long nights, and the massive come-down from Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The third Monday of January is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year and has been dubbed “Blue Monday” because of this. So, as always, come and join in. It will lift your spirits doing something with purpose and a goal. There’s always plenty to do, from putting up bird-boxes to hunting for fungi…

  • Turkey Tail Fungus
  • Velvet Foot
  • Bracket Fungus

There really is something for everyone…

Next week we are carrying on northwards from the underpass, making the path wider and cutting scallops into the side that gets the most sunshine, and also adding to our dead-hedges with the cuttings.

Until then!

Paul

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Last workday for 2022

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Well, we finally got here! Lots of things learnt or re-learnt over the year as we try to keep the three pillars of what we do equally balanced.

A path for everyone

A nature trail for wildlife

A safe place for mental wellbeing

Today we cleared out the west side of the underpass clearing, pushed the scrub back by a couple of foot, and created a bit of a dead-hedge for insect habitat and larva to burrow into.

This is before:-

And after:-

This area is an absolute suntrap in the summer and will benefit from all the seeds dropping from the wildflowers last summer, plus we can over-seed it with some of the local seeds that I collected in the autumn.

Our YouTube of the area for those who prefer video to a slideshow:-

Next week we are in the same place doing work on the east side, and then we work towards Berrybanks making the path nice and wide, with deep scallops cut into west side as it curves eastwards and becomes almost south facing.

Until next time!

Paul

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