Reschedule

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Waiting for the metal plates to go on the front of the nesting boxes around The Bear pub. They have been despatched but no sign of them so we had to reschedule. The plates have a 28mm hole and the next batch will have a 25mm hole. This will give us a range of nesting boxes with 30mm, 28mm and 25mm, so will cater for a wider range of birds.

This week we tried to steady our new boxes with a bracket. It works really well and the pictured nesting box is as solid as a rock.

We have capacity for more nesting boxes in this area. RSPB suggests 20 to 25 feet between boxes for territorial birds.

Moving to the birdfeeder clearing. The pesky squirrels have worked out how to open the top of the squirrel proof feeders!!! I don’t mind feeding the squirrels but the amount of fat balls that they get through is utterly ridiculous. To counter this I have wired the feeders shut. It is easy enough to untwist the wire and then retwist it after refilling. We can see how we get on.

I also restained the bench. Because we are always working on it, it tends to get a bit of a hammering. I might look at a varnish maybe in the future?

On the workday, we carried on with pushing the ivy back. It is just about one metre so plenty left for existing wildlife.

What we want to do here is clear as much as we can along the length of the path, and put something in that is thuggish enough to give the ivy a good run for the money. I am thinking orange hawkbit and something blue or white to contrast…

It is really trying to get the area buzzing with pollinators and looking vibrant and interesting.

Other stuff…

Geocaching has had well over 300 finds now. Someone is doing the trail as I am typing this (it comes up on my feed every time a cache is found).

Visitor numbers are looking good on the blog, more and more people are discovering the blog and the path.

We have coffee and cake at 11am on a weekday workday. Anyone is more than welcome to come along and share cake or just say hello.

Patron if you wanna drop us a couple of quid a month. Hopefully, you can see the improvements that the Patron scheme is driving forwards.

That’s about it for this week.

Until next time!

Paul

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Thank You Patrons

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Our generous Patrons are making a lot happen on the path at the moment. The big things are the new bird nesting boxes, the new bird feeders and food for the feeders, the stain for the benches, wildflower seeds that you will not see until the summer, and generally keeping the show on the road.

Sunday was our weekender with quite a few youngsters getting their volunteer hours under their belt for their Duke of Edinburgh award.

We will clear the ivy next to the path and sow with a wildflower mix that works with dappled shade. Really looking forward to seeing a bit of colour in this area, rather than just green ivy.

Wednesday was us against the clock. We need to get our new nesting boxes up as quickly as possible or we will miss the season. It was wet and cold and the boxes, whilst looking great, just didn’t have anywhere near enough of a solid fixing.

We put eight new ones up, six traditional boxes and two open boxes for robins. The difficulty is, we need to get them down at the end of the season and clean them out. Fixing them too firmly means we cannot get them down without damaging them. We need engineering brains to sort this out!!

Thursday I shinned up the ladder again and just did what I could to make the nesting boxes as secure as possible. It’s not ideal, but the more we mess about with them, the less likely the birds will use them. Hopefully this will see us through.

You will notice the hole protector in the last picture. I have ordered a load more of these and we can try and save the boxes that have been attacked by squirrels and woodpeckers around The Bear pub area.

We have loads of older nesting boxes along the edges of the path around the birdfeeder clearing. This is probably why we have such a healthy population of blue tits, great tits and long-tailed tits. I will be mapping all the nesting boxes and ensuring that they are all fit for purpose, over the next week.

Other bits-

There is an app called Seek that is very good at recognising wildflowers. We will be using this and recording what we find on iRecord this year. Just another off-shoot to help people to engage and get involved.

The Geocaching Trail has been updated with more robust boxes and the Dunchurch Bridleway trail is working now. We have had over 250 finds in the short time that it has been working and people have come from far and wide to do the two trails.

Thank you to Andrew, who made most of our nesting boxes. I will do my best to save as many as I can. So far just two have had to be scrapped. I am going to make the nesting birds a huge priority from here on in.

Please consider becoming a Patron. Just £2, £3 or £5 a month makes such a huge difference if enough people sign up, and it makes the path so much more interesting. The summer is going to be out of this world. By May it all dries out and bursts into colour.

A quick 360 of the path…

Thanks for reading if you got this far.

Until next week!

Paul

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Nesting Boxes

Posted on February 24, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

We are way behind the curve with the nesting boxes. Mainly due to stocking issues, not having a ladder, and generally with everything getting pushed back due to the restrictions in place last year. But mostly to me having a phobia of things dirty and maggots and things crawling about!! Pledge to do the nesting boxes in early Autumn from now on!!

However, we are catching up. We are starting to get replacement boxes for the ones that have been attacked by woodpeckers and squirrels. We have open boxes for robins and wrens. And we have protectors to go round the holes of the new boxes and the ones that are salvageable. New boxes have a 30mm hole and older boxes have a 32mm hole.

We will start replacing and repairing next week. Tom has made a load of open-fronted boxes and Andrew, who made a lot of our original boxes, has made some more for people’s gardens, and is offering them for sale with profits going towards new boxes on the path (details further down).

This week we cleared ivy and self-seeded tree whips around the snowdrop bench. Ivy is great for wildlife and we have left 90% of it. It is just the 10% next to the path that we need to knock back so other stuff like violets other wildflowers can grow. I would like to see orange hawkbit and forget-me-not if we can get enough sun on the ground in the summer.

Ivy is not massively welcome if allowed to get high up in the trees. It makes them top-heavy and prone to blowing over. We made little habitat piles with the cuttings and enjoyed a welcome cuppa and cookie in the clearing.

Our usual 360 of the area…

Our snowdrops are getting trampled on the west side of the path. We thought about digging them up and moving them, but the sheer number makes it a tough task. What we will try instead is two spurs so the snowdrops will be in a scallop and people will naturally drift into the centre of the path.

Over the summer, we can let bramble grow over the piles and help them follow the existing edge of the path to feel a bit more natural. They will make wonderful habitat for a host of insects and small mammals.

Here is a quick look at how the path looked when we first managed to cut through some 13 years ago.

The constant cuts from bramble were awful and if someone on a bike came the other way, we needed to send out a search party to find you, after you were forced to jump into the jungle on either side.

Other stuff:-

Dunchurch Bridleway, via Right of Way R168, has a geocaching trail. It’s half published and should be fully ready after the weekend. Great to get up there from Cawston Greenway and watch the development unfold if you’re into engineering and construction, or just enjoy a walk to Solstice coffee shop or Dunchurch centre.

We have t-shirts with our railway logo, on the way (possibly go for a lighter green for better contrast??)…

Family workday this Sunday 12 to 2pm. A good opportunity to get Duke of Edinburgh volunteer hours in the bag. Litter picking and cutting back ivy and tree whips north of the snowdrop clearing. Bring loppers and garden shears, decent gloves and clothing. Weather looks dry.

Andrew’s robin nesting boxes are £5 each if you would like to encourage robins into your garden.

The bird nesting season starts next month so we change tack. The main focus is getting as many of the nesting boxes replaced or repaired in March and hope that we have a few visitors.

Our information board maybe can look something like this? Work-in-progress at the mo…

Thanks for reading if you got this far.

Until next week!

Paul

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The Vision

Posted on February 17, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Sometimes it is good to pause and remember the vision that we had some 13 years ago. The railway line was not a path back then. It was an unofficial dump. We spent hours, days, weeks and even years just pulling out 40-odd years of rubbish.

It was back-breaking and seemingly there was no end to it. We could not even think about creating a path and every time we did, we just uncovered loads more junk.

But we persevered and kept pushing on with that vision that was so clear in our heads. And once we made our two-mile stretch good, our secondary vision was to push on southwards from Potford Dam to connect with the NCN41 at Draycote. That will be a story for another day.

So with this in mind, it was very encouraging to receive a note last week from Tom, the Sustrans Volunteer Coordinator, (West Midlands | Midlands and East), thanking us for our hard work keeping the path accessible and maintained.

This week five of us made it and we started on the bit just south of the snowdrop bench. There are loads of wildflowers that come up in this bit and also a lot of self-seeded tree whips that needed removing.

We don’t want loads of trees growing in uncontrolled clumps. They stifle each other and because they are all rubbing against each other, means there is a higher chance of disease.

It’s much better to let the trees stand proud and give them the space to grow.

The path needs to be wide enough for a lot of reasons, but the main one, in the summer, is so that cyclists and walkers can both use it in harmony. Leaving it narrow means some people start being rude to others. That’s not really what the path is all about.

The usual 360 of the workday.

A few other bits-

Tree down on the Dunchurch Bridleway – now sorted. I have pulled away from the Sustrans overlap on this and now just go up to where it connects with NCN41. Waiting for an exciting geocaching trail to be published and should prove popular.

Geocaching on the greenway has now hit 144 finds since the end of January. We are going to replace the containers very soon. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it was this popular. We have people coming over from as far as Nottingham to do the trail!!

Snowdrops are getting trampled a bit in their clearing. We need to move them to the side or define the path with straight branches staked into the ground. Considering how many we put in, I am thinking it would be easier to define the path a bit better.

Weekender at the end of the month – we will split into two groups. Litter picking or pulling up the ivy. Both are pretty horrid jobs but great for the character. We had a load of violets that have been swamped by the ivy so need to knock it back a metre or two so we have a bit of balance.

We have new bird boxes and are waiting for metal protectors to go around the hole. As soon as we have them we will start to replace the ones that have been attacked by squirrels and woodpeckers.

The Etsy shop is doing a reasonable trade and that is my next stop in terms of making it look a bit prettier. I am in talks with someone about T-shirts with our Cawston Greenway railway sign logo. Watch this space!!

Well, that’s about it for this week. Please subscribe to Patron if you feel we are worthy of a couple of quid a month. We have a lot of costs coming up like replacing the fat ball feeders, food for the birds, stain for the benches, postfix to reset the fallen down benches, replacement bird boxes, wildflower seed, and the real killer in terms of cost – Public Liability Insurance.

Thanks for reading and until next week!

Paul

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A Path For Everyone

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

The path cannot be just a nature reserve, or just a dog walking route, or just a mountain-biking trail, or just a walkers’ ramble. It has to be able to cater for everyone, hence the tagline – “more than just a path”. I cannot change that and I do not want to. We have kept ourselves in the middle of all the different needs and resisted going down one, at the expense of the others, ever since we started some thirteen years ago. There is no point in people being angry at me because the path does not cater for what they specifically want. We all have to share.

This week there were five of us. Victoria went ahead to stain the rest of the benches.

Super job and they look very inviting. Sustrans suggest a bench every 500 metres or so. I think we have done OK.

The rest of us carried on widening the path as it goes from cutting to embankment. We do not need to go anywhere near as wide now, because the path naturally drains. However, people still need to be able to see a good way ahead of themselves to feel at ease whilst using the path.

Before…

After…

This is our Snowdrop clearing starting to come up. We are always behind other snowdrops for some reason.

And just listen to the noise from the birds!!

The geocaches have been found 111 times since going active at the end of January. We are now replacing the containers with something a little stronger and more suitable.

Painted rocks go out for Valentine’s weekend so have fun searching for them.

http://www.facebook.com/RubysGemRocks

Had to postpone the Adventure Workshop next week. Double booked with a day out in the Cotswolds.

We have had over 64,000 visits to the blog and we are starting to sell our merchandise (hence day out in the Cotswolds to pick up).

That’s about it, I think. Patron if you want to help us with fat balls and other bits. We do actually need new fat ball feeders. Sends a little bit of fuzziness down our spines when people care.

Feel free to join in or just pop along for a chat and a coffee.

Until next week!

Paul

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So Much To Unpack This Week

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Grab a cuppa, I get the feeling this is gonna be a long one…

We had our weekender on Sunday and thirteen of us made it. We litter-picked from Berrybanks to the bird feeder clearing and back again. It was a lovely couple of hours with quite a few youngsters doing some of their Duke of Edinburgh Award volunteer hours. The next one is the last Sunday in February.

You may have noticed the new link on the right. If you cast your mind back to March 2020 we started running workshops for young autistic adults and had a fabulous day (March 4th 2020). And then COVID started and we were unable to continue. Well happily we are moving forward with this again.

This week on the Wednesday workday we welcomed back Aaron and restained all the picnic benches.

I cannot remember when we last did this, but they needed it. It’s all about them looking fresh and inviting. We also strimmed any vegetation underneath.

They look brand new again…

We did a little bit more snipping back and tidying up.

And enjoyed a lovely banana cake, baked by Victoria, on our coffee break. It was very yummy and also Belgian buns from Kerrie’s mum, who creates the beautiful http://www.facebook.com/MaggyAnneRocks

The geocaching trail is fully working and whilst we were working away a geocacher actually came past us looking for the caches – how random is that!!! The caches have been found a total of 67 times in the short time that it has been up and running so you can see how popular and addictive it is.

Our snowdrops are starting to pop up in their little clearing. We may need to define the path edges here because last year quite a few got trampled. The path was getting a huge amount of use due to COVID restrictions, but something to keep an eye on this year,

I love this bit at this time of the year. It just makes me feel hopeful for warmer weather and longer days. We should have 1oo% native English bluebells popping up this year, too.

We can have an information board (Sustrans have given us the OK) and the two Toms will be pulling this together.

Here is a 360 of the bird feeder clearing.

This is going to look absolutely amazing in the summer. Full of colour and wildlife. We will be doing wildflower and insect monitoring and recording via iRecord in the summer. This is just another off-shoot to engage people who are looking to hook up with others with like-minded interests.

Well, that’s about it for this week. I hope you made it this far and found it an interesting read. If you enjoy the path feel free to bung us a couple of quid via Patron, if you want to join in just pop along to one of the workdays. If you just need a bit of company pop along at 11am and share a coffee and a bit of cake. We’re a really friendly chilled out bunch.

Until next week!

Paul

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New Growth

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

I walked down to the bird feeders today to refill them. The whole of the path in the cutting is really pushed back to what feels like the extreme.

There is method to what appears to be madness, so don’t panic!

A bit like in life, for new stuff to grow – sometimes old stuff has to go. The bramble scrub simply stops anything else growing and will get denser and denser over the years. By managing the scrub in the winter we are giving wildflowers space to grow in the summer.

We do this every year and as people naturally gravitate back to the centre of the path as it dries out, the edges really come into their own.

We also did some general tidying up from last week, made habitat piles, and had a good old natter at our coffee and cookie break.

Whilst we are on the new growth theme I saw this in our snowdrop clearing. Hopefully one of many.

I have also snipped back the path for the first 250 metres past Potford Dam. This is to allow better access to the Public Right of Way that runs off to Dunchurch Bridleway and has loads of footpaths that go to Cawston Spinney, Thurlaston, Draycote and of course, Dunchurch.

Well, that’s about it for this week. Litter pick on Sunday from 12 to 2pm. Patron if you want to throw us a couple of quid a month and send a little tingle of appreciation down our spines. As always, anyone is more than welcome to join in. It’s super therapeutic and good exercise at the same time.

Until next time!

Paul

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Treated like Royalty…

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

We smashed it again today and got the whole of the section in cutting, cut back so people have the option of walking on drier and higher ground.

This is before…

And this is after…

Hard to imagine that we cleared all this off last year, and this is just one year of new growth. Here is a 360 of the area.

We made habitat piles with the cuttings and enjoyed a lovely cake baked by Victoria. To say it was lush is such an understatement.

Next week we are in the same area cutting the stumps to ground level and generally tidying the area up.

I have to say, I love it when we get the path this wide. I have always wanted the “woodland ride” look.

As always, if you like using the path, please drop us a couple of quid a month via the Patron link. It all helps to keep the bird feeders full and the benches stained and fresh looking.

Thanks for reading and until next week!

Paul

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This is the width that we need

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Five of us made the workday this week and after a very cold start, we all warmed up quite well.

Just to recap – the path needs to be wide so that there is higher and drier ground to walk on. The centre of the path is a mud bath. Sustrans advise that people need to have an open and clear 100-metre view ahead so as not to feel anxious, and getting rid of the scrub allows more wildflowers to pop up in the summer.

Here is what we managed.

It also allows people to walk side-by-side and actually have a conversation.

What else do I need to share-

The geocaching trail is half done and active. Sign up at http://www.geocaching.com to find them. I should have it totally working by the end of the weekend.

We have branded merchandise in the colour and design of the original LNWR scheme.

We have started to widen the Dunchurch Bridleway and the R168 Right of Way links this with the greenway. It is well worth a trek just to enjoy the green views.

Lastly, our all important coffee and cookie break.

Pop down if you need someone to talk to. Hit Patron and throw us a couple of quid a month if you can. Bring cake and we will love you forever!!

Until next week!

Paul

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Welcome to Season 13

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Yes, you read that right – this is the thirteenth year of us lot doing the path!!

That’s three more than the hit TV series, Friends.

Today was graft! Hard graft!! We need to clear the ridge of higher ground in the long cutting. The path really puddles up badly from now to about March so it gives people a slightly higher, and much drier option to walk on. The difficulty though, was that we only had manual tools.

Looking up and down, you can see how much we got done, and the puddles starting to happen. After March or April, a load of wildflowers will pop up on this cleared ground, as the main part of the path becomes dry and more useable. We will give it a quick buzz over with the strimmer next week to tidy it up.

A much-needed steaming cup of coffee was needed at the halfway mark. My back, arms, shoulders, and legs ached badly later in the day.

A couple of other bits – If you have a teenage child looking to do their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze or Silver award we can help with volunteering tasks. We have done loads over the years so we know what we are doing and how to get youngsters signed off.

The geocaching will go live very soon. I had to make some adjustments and today is the first day where I have been able to get out and do what I needed to do. Sorry for the delay.

Cawston Wildflower Meadow starts in the spring. It’s the big oblong of land off Trussell Way that sits between older Cawston and the newer part. If you would like to get involved and help out just keep your eyes peeled.

We have the OK to put an information board along the path – let me know what you would like to see on it and whereabouts it should go, in the comments below.

If you want to come along and help, or just hang out, or even share a coffee and have a bit of human contact, just do it. You don’t even have to make any conversation because us lot are gabbling on ten-to-the-dozen as it is. January can be a bit depressing at the best of times!! If you want to support us financially you can click on the Patron link and pledge a couple of quid a month, or click the Crowdfunding tab if you would prefer to give us a one-off payment. It all helps to keep the show on the road. Thanks to those who already do help us.

Lastly, if you like what we are doing click the like button below so we know and leave a comment telling us what you would like more, or less, of.

Until next week,

Paul

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