More Bench Work Today

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

But before we get into benches, look at the Dino Trail – Sophie C has created new maps and there are other bits that I just need to format to get on there – it looks really good. This is all part of the DofE Award that Sophie has been working towards. Brilliant work!

Poppies – if you cast your mind back to last year, you will remember that I harvested what felt like a million poppy seeds from a field next to the Dunchurch Bridleway (another trail that I have been working on). It connects to Cawston Greenway at one end and National Cycle Network 41 at the other, so it’s our umbilical cord to the Mothership. Anyway, Marcus and me spent ages putting the poppy seeds in, along with loads of others, in the autumn of last year.

Here is the result at Potford Dam clearing…

There is a whole load of other wildflowers in there, we just didn’t really have time to get into it, but we did spot a couple of new ones.

I restained the bench at the birdfeeder clearing whilst the technical guys fixed the second rectangle picnic bench. We will replace the first rectangle picnic bench with a couple of pedestal benches at some point.

Victoria also has something brewing so watch this space… Exciting just does not come close!!

Views up and down showing the path filling up with colour, and our next traunch of bird nesting boxes for the sections of path either side of the underpass, with 25mm (blue tits, etc) and 28mm (great tits, etc) hole protectors to keep the predators at bay.

Newly spotted wildflowers…

  • Common Vetch
  • Tufted Vetch
  • Creeping Cinquefoil

Next week we are at Potford Dam doing work on the picnic bench and clearing the bramble out of the wildflower clearing. Then staining the rest of the picnic benches working northwards.

Join us!! If you are worried about joining an established group just bring biscuits and we will love you forever. Or just pop along for a chat and get to know us for a few weeks before joining in, if that helps. We have all been there so we all know how it feels.

Lastly – PATRON PATRON PATRON!!! I know times are hard but if enough people donate £2, £3 or £5 a month it makes such a difference. We have some amazing things planned for the autumn to make the path even better for everyone…

Until next week!

Paul

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Urgh!!! Cock up with where we were starting!!

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Me and Marcus had in our minds that we were starting at the most northerly bench and working south. We did this and restained 12 benches.

Mike and Reece didn’t have the same.

I must make my communication clearer in future!!!

Sorry guys!

But anyway, 12 benches stained and next week we move southwards to the picnic benches.

Great views of the path, the meadow, and where we got up to…

A few more Geocaching hides worked on whilst we slowly moved along.

The path is about to burst into glorious colour, all the baby birds have fledged and are making loads of noise.

Massively excided about trying to work the pond into the trail. I saw ducks on it last week so it has potential to really enhance our path.

Join in and enjoy the ride. We are just a bunch of people with no wildlife experience (except Mick) and are just learning as we go and having a right old laugh as we do…

I know that I have a whole load of stuff to catch up on with the path (Sophie C, wildlife tags, iRecord) I have not forgotten, just need a quiet half hour…

Until next week!

Paul

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Back on that huge learning curve!!!

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

We learnt this last couple of weeks that out-of-the-way benches and other nice things like food for the birds, nesting boxes, bug hotels, etc, etc, just don’t mix. Wooden benches can be repaired, and bird feeders can be replaced. That is all I am going to say on the matter…

So back to our bench maintenance program. The benches are starting to show signs of stress and rot. We will do our best to replace or shore-up the broken bits. I am pretty proud of how we keep it all workable and it’s great for us lot to be challenged with repairing them.

A good old litter pick and sit down to enjoy a coffee and cookie afterwards.

See how the path is slowly creeping in. The colour explosion is about to happen!!

We have an upgrade to the Dino Trail which I will do over the weekend. Thank you Sophie C – it looks brilliant.

Geocaching is also getting an upgrade. I have done three out of the 12 so far. We are getting close to 900 finds in 4 months!!

We are also starting to collect nesting boxes for the two areas on either side of the underpass. We are probably looking at about six to eight on each side. So far we have five. Some new, some refurbs that we can rebuild.

There are also a load more older boxes that need the metal plate over the hole that the woodpeckers have wrecked. 25mm for blue tits and 28mm for great tits. Work for the Autumn.

Flora and Fauna spotted over the last two weeks-

  • Birds Foot Trefoil
  • Poppy
  • Sorrel
  • Dog Rose
  • Pleated Inkcap
  • Bloody-nosed Beetle
  • Yellow Rattle
  • White Clover
  • Tansy
  • Salad Burnet
  • Ribwort Plaintain
  • Red Clover
  • Ragged Robin
  • Mouse eared Hawkweed
  • Oxeye Daisy
  • Bearded Hawkweed
  • Mouse ear chickweed
  • Large White Butterfly
  • Green Veined White Butterfly
  • Hedgerow Cranes-bill

Any errors please just shout out. We are all in this together!!

Next week we are re-staining the benches (again) and strimming the vegetation around the bases. Working north to south.

There is a pond that we can build into the path. For the life of me, I cannot work out how to connect the two, but it is there and in the Autumn I think we should go for it. I shall apply to the CGF for a round bench in the area.

Usual stuff to finish – please drop us a couple of quid a month via the Patron link on right, if you can. But more importantly – just come along and join in. It’s so good for mental health to be doing stuff with a purpose.

Paul

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This Makes It All Worth While…

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Nearly every nesting box has chicks!!

So we learnt that when people walk down the path the birds do not advertise their nests. I honestly thought that they had all been abandoned and that maybe the path was just too busy. But no, the birds give that impression to not draw attention, and now it is a blooming raucous down there!! So happy!!

This week we did a bit of picnic bench maintenance. Sadly someone felt it was a good idea to throw the rectangular benches down the embankment.

Now bear with me here – there are four bits to Cawston – the shops, the parks, peoples’ houses, and the greenway.

For a long time there has been unsociable behaviour around the first three bits, so we created areas on the greenway for ‘youth’ to go, sit, drink beer, do their thing and not impact everyone else. It works up to the point when someone starts messing with the benches.

Keep messing with the benches and there will be nowhere for the ‘youth’ to go except back to the shops, the parks, and the streets.

It’s really not that hard to work out.

Anyway, I will get off my soapbox…

At the risk, now, of upsetting the consensus feeling in our group that a bench was written off, I went back today and rebuilt it. Tough one with my gammy shoulder!!

The bench gets to live another day, and has more steel in it than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator!! The ‘youth’ now have their bit back that is away from the shops, the parks, and peoples’ houses, and hopefully, some sort of peaceful normality can resume.

If anyone gets wind of who is messing with the benches – please just have a word… Everything on the greenway is kinda done for a purpose and for the greater good…

Loads of other stuff, Dino Trail revamp (really cool), Greenspace = Headspace. Victoria has got a plan for the underpass (amazing!!). Litter picks. Flora and fauna spotting. I have discovered a huge pond that we can work into the path and have picnic benches around. Geocaching is 800+ finds, but I am still a bit (a lot) triggered at the moment so will roll it over into next week.

Lastly, whilst having our cuppa and cake we realised that we were being watched…

Usual stuff to end – Patron us with a couple of quid a month, join us to help, or just bring biscuits and share a coffee. It is all about us reaching out and welcoming you into the group in whatever capacity we can. Honestly, we are just a bunch of folk just rubbing along and having a laugh…

Paul

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Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows…

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

It’s not always sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. Sometimes we have to seriously question what dragged us out in the driving rain and cold.

The first thing was an urgent bench repair.

And we litter picked the whole path.

We have something cooking with regard to the underpass – watch this space…

A few more bugs and wildflowers for the records.

  • Creeping Buttercup
  • Cardinal Beetle
  • Catchweed Bedstraw
  • Cat’s Ear
  • Common Daisy
  • Holly Blue Butterfly
  • Wood Avens

You might notice the TREE tab above – I have started recording all the trees. Click on it and let me know if it’s useful…

I have also changed the Mental Health tab to HEADSPACE. Headspace and greenspace go so well together. I will be exploring this more next week.

Lastly, I have done a nerdy little slideshow of the stations and line when it was working. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it.

  • Rugby Station
  • Bilton Sidings
  • Cawston Bridleway Overbridge
  • Dunchurch Station
  • Birdingbury Station
  • Marton Station
  • Marton Junction
  • Leamington Station

Until next week!

Paul

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What’s in it for you?

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Where does your money go if you become a Patron…

£1 a month is a 20% share in a bird nesting box.

£2 a month is a 25% share of a 4kg bag of peanuts for the birds.

£3 a month is a 60% share of a tub of fat balls.

£5 a month goes towards our Public Liability Insurance (£15/month) or an 8% share of specialist wildflower seed or a whole tub of wood-stain for the benches.

There are loads of other stuff that we want to do to make the green space as colourful and usable to as many people as possible. You are not supporting us, we will be here regardless. You are supporting your green space.

This week we litter picked from the snowdrop bench heading south, and snipped back anything trying to grow into the path.

Light duties for me for a bit due to badly hurting my shoulder (Doctor on Monday). I can just about manage a litter picker!!

The geocaching.com trail has gone absolutely mad with way over 700 finds since the end of Jan this year. Give it a go – it’s totally addictive and free!!

The wildflower spotting is gaining momentum and our database of what has been spotted is filling up. I am also starting to record trees (if you spot any errors, tell us. We will not hold it against you).

  • Common Vetch
  • Germander Speedwell
  • Comfrey
  • Cuckoo Flower

That’s it for this week. Come and find us if you want to join in. All you need is biscuits and we will love you forever. You can jump right in, or work on the edges of the group if you need a little time to get to know us. Either way, we just have a laugh and a giggle. The offer is always there.

Until next week!

Paul

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Bluebells

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

This week was the one where we had to do what I have been putting off for ages. I have tried to convince myself that the bluebells around the bridleway bridge are some sort of hybrid and will probably be OK. Looking at the native British bluebells around the snowdrop bench and it becomes really obvious that the bridleway ones are not right.

So out they came.

I feel conflicted in many ways – waste of time putting them in, waste of plants and colour, not listening to advice and thinking it will be ok, etc, etc…

However, we did have a secret supply of proper 100% native snowdrops that are “in-the-green”. This means that they have flowered and are about to suck all the energy out of the green stems, before going to sleep for the rest of the year.

I don’t feel quite so bad knowing that we have replaced the bluebells with something just as pretty. We can put native UK bluebells in on the other side when autumn gets here.

We also did our weekender this week where youngsters can get their Duke of Edinburgh volunteer hours under their belts. Litter pick and last of the ivy clearing and seeding with a wildflower mix.

It will be lovely to see all the colours in the summer.

We have not massively tried to spot wildflowers and minibeasts due to it being quite cold, but we do have a few to add to the list.

  • Forget-Me-Not
  • Garlic Mustard
  • Small White
  • Brimstone Moth

Next week we are in May!!

We are going to start at the snowdrop bench and work south for the first two weeks, and north for the second two weeks, snipping and picking litter.

No new Patron supporter sign-ups in April!! If you can spare a couple of quid it helps so much (link on right-hand side).

Our usual Mental Health message – if you are needing human contact – come on down and bring biscuits. We will love you forever!!

Until next week!

Paul

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It’s All Going Green!!!

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Boy-o-boy!!! Last week I was wondering why it was not greening up, and bang!! It’s greened up.

Nice to see the quadrant benches being used and nice to see the remains of a little fire in the centre. It’s good that people can get away from the residential areas and chill and stuff without impacting anyone else.

We litter picked and snipped back bramble with purpose this week. Definitely little and often is the way to go here.

We worked in a northern direction and it was nice that the normally challenging areas (underpass and The Bear bridge) were not at all bad.

It was great to see a family with the Dino Trail map looking for the dinosaurs and, the Geocaching Trail has nearly 600 finds since we put it in at the end of January. It just sends a little shiver of appreciation down the spine.

A couple of wildflowers and a couple of butterfly types were spotted, not that we were particularly looking.

  • Cow Parsley
  • Cow Slip
  • Dandelion
  • Orange-Tip
  • Speckled Wood
  • Herb Robert
  • Bluebell

I have updated the tabs above and iRecord.

Next one is Sunday 24th with the youngsters getting their DofE vol hours in.

Thanks for reading,

Paul

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Ooh – Something New…

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

I have rehashed the menu bar above to include a couple of new activities. Spotting and recording wildflowers, and the same with bug life. There is a brilliant smartphone app called Seek that makes identifying things easy and fun, and recording them using the iRecord menu tab keeps the national database up-to-date.

For us lot, it’s something new to do as a family or with friends, or by ourselves if we want. We can take a flask of coffee and a bite to eat to make a morning of it, and it is totally free.

Now if someone came up to me and suggested going on a butterfly hunt or wildflower spotting, I would more than likely decline, thinking, it’s not my cup of tea at all. However, it’s incredibly addictive, great exercise, fantastic for mental health being out and about getting ‘green time’ with a purpose, and it’s educational.

Dame’s Violet

And we get to fill in our list of finds in the Wildflower and Bug Life tabs in the menu above.

The Workday was snipping back bramble runners to keep the path clear, and a litter pick on the southern end. I have updated the Rugby Litter Busters site (right side menu).

Great views, great company, lots of laughs, and great to be outdoors with a purpose. Same time and place next week but working northwards.

If anyone can think of any other activities that we can build into the path, just let me know and we can see if we can do it. We have the Dino Trail, Geocaching, wildflower glades and benches galore, circular walks going north, east, south and west, mountain biking connecting to NCN 41/Draycote, jogging, picnics, quiet ‘green’ time, feeding the birds and squirrels, monitoring nesting birds and watching the chicks fledge, wildflower and bug spotting. We can even hop off at The Bear pub for refreshments.

The thing that makes all the above happen though, are the workdays and the generous Patrons who support us…

Until next week!

Paul

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First Attempt at Bug Hotel

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

What is going on with the weather!!! We seem to be forever waiting for those warm spring mornings and a flush of wildflowers. Slowly things are turning green, but taking time to do so. There is white blackthorn blossom, purple ground ivy and the bluebells are about to bloom, so we are getting there!

We finally got a pallet onto the path (long story!!!) and made it into a “bug hotel”. It is just a densely packed space with the ability for insects to travel up and down as well as back and forth.

We can see how it goes. Whilst it’s not the prettiest thing, it serves a purpose and hopefully, more insects means more birds and other larger wildlife. If it works, we can do some more.

We enjoyed our coffee and cookie break, the view is brill and there is no litter!! I picked up a small amount earlier in the week.

As I do this sort of thing, I am always on the lookout for wildflowers nearby, where I can collect seeds and add them to the path. Last year was huge for poppies, viper’s bugloss and ox-eye daisies. Hopefully, they will come up and spread. This year I am watching and waiting for green alkanet, orange hawkbit, red dead-nettle, wild mustard, and common fumitory to name but a few… Some might suggest that we are encouraging thuggish wildflowers, but the fight against nettles, bramble and ivy is what we are up against.

Well, that’s about it for this week. Become a Patron from £2 per month (right-hand side menu) to support the green space. I know things are becoming incredibly hard for people, money-wise. Just remember that the greenway has the dino trail map (in the menu bar above) for youngsters and the geocaching for older kids and adults. Picnics with amazing views or cheeky squirrels and birds to watch and enjoy. It’s all free and as soon as the weather gets warmer the wildflowers start to pop up, which is our next off-shoot – we want to record as much flora and fauna as possible this summer. It really is good fun using the phone app called Seek, which is part of iNaturalist, and gets quite addictive as well as a little bit educational.

Here’s a YouTube of the view to finish.

Until next week when we’re at the snowdrop bench working south!

Paul

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