Cawston Greenway

Litter-Pick and More

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Aaron, Mick and me today. We started at the underpass and worked northwards to The Bear bridge.

The Sainsbury’s bag was for the coffee, so considering the ground that we covered, not a lot of litter to pick up.

But a massive problem here was that there was nowhere to sit!! So benches are required.

Looking up towards Rugby…

And down towards Leamington Spa…

And loads of fungi if we start looking for it…

The “more” bit was scoping out locations for benches. We need users to be able to stop and enjoy the path. Currently, my thoughts are – having a quadrant of four benches (longer than our normal size) around the underpass, and then having pairs of our smaller benches as the path runs towards Rugby. We cannot have picnic benches due to them previously being stolen.

It is all in-the-mix at the moment and I am sure we will reach a decent outcome, but whilst we thrash out the detail and the costs, here is a video-clip of the path after The Bear bridge. Listen to the birds…

It would be great to get some more volunteers on-board to add to this incredible adventure.

Paul

Posted in Newsreel | Tagged benches, cycling, Mountain-biking, Railway path, rambling, Rugby, running, walking | Leave a comment

New Bench

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

It seems like an age just talking about it, but this week Marcus, Reece and myself finally got a new bench in.

A little bit of background – benches placed between this area and Berrybanks have suffered from vandalism, theft and fire. We had to get a bench that was robust, unmoveable and not the sort of size that would encourage groups of people to hang around it.

I think this does the job perfectly and offers people a place to sit and simply enjoy the surroundings.

Great care was taken to get it level.

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And whilst we could not sit on it whilst the cement was hardening, we did make use of it for our coffee and biscuits.

We have another similar bench to put in near the underpass and if they work out, we can order some more and have them at Berrybanks. I will probably look at doubling them up so people are not forced to sit too close to each other!

There are plenty of people using the path, even if it is incredibly wet and, plenty of people stopping to chat and thank us for our hard work.

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Photos from the top of the bridge up and down, and then the same shot but from the ground.

Great to see the house-builders have made the Cawston Bridleway a decent path, but what a shame that they stopped where they did…?

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It would have been so good if it connected to the Western Relief Road footbridge.

Next week is our weekender – Saturday morning litter-pick and trim back, from the underpass working north.

Paul

Posted in Newsreel | Tagged benches, cycling, fun, Mountain-biking, nature, picnic benches, rambling, running, walking | Leave a comment

Year kicked off with a litter-pick

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Aaron, Reece and myself litter-picked and trimmed back the section from the underpass to the bird-feeders.

It was nice to get to the picnic bench and enjoy our weekly coffee.

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So many people using the path – walkers, joggers and cyclists and I think every single one that went past, thanked us for our hard work.

Looking up and down.

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And some shots of the bird-feeder area that will be full of wildflowers in the summer. The grass desperately needs a hard mow.

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The views to both sides of the path.

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Next week we are putting a small bench in at the Cawston Bridleway clearing. We need to post-fix it in place, so need to work out how to get water. There is a culvert further down, so maybe we just bring a bucket…?

Great start to the year and look forward to next week.

Paul

Posted in Newsreel | Tagged cawston, Cawston Greenway Nature Trail, coffee, Dunchurch Nature Trail, litter pick, NCN 41 | Leave a comment

Well that is it for 2019

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Reece, Aaron and myself did the last workday of the year.

Just a little bit of reflection – I have made some mistakes (steps) which probably were just bad timing, and done some great stuff, like setting up a group for disadvantaged young adults to build benches, a group to create wildflower mini-meadows in community areas for people who are feeling a bit isolated, and developed another greenway that runs from Dunchurch to the Cawston Greenway.

It is all about getting out and encouraging others who may be feeling lonely or isolated, to get out with us and develop new skills and build confidence.

But the main thing is our wonderful Cawston Greenway, that offers so many things to so many people. It really is more than just a path.

Today, we developed another scallop in our bird-feeder clearing. We are now able to switch from side-to-side so we still have banks of scrub. This is excellent cover for birds and mammals.

More wildflowers mean more insects and spiders, which means more birds and small mammals, which means some predatory birds and bigger mammals.

It all adds to the experience and there are plenty of benches to sit at and enjoy it all.

We topped up the bird-feeders and put some food on the floor to keep the ground-feeding birds happy.

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The new scallop before and after, along with the previous scallop on the other side.

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A few railway bits for the railway buffs…

Our coffee and cookie break…

And a quick look, up and down, shows how great it is…

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All-in-all, a great year! We have made some blunders, but wow!! What if we dithered and procrastinated so much. We would never have done what we have done.

It is great to be part of a grass-roots movement to help people. There are loads of us about. Creating football teams, or hockey teams, or theatre. It just takes groups like what we are to give others the opportunity to shine.

Merry Christmas all!!

Paul

Posted in Newsreel | Tagged cawston greenway, Dunchurch Nature Trail, wildflowers | Leave a comment

Missing in Action

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

It was a cold day in March when we lost two of our rakes. Someone had hidden them somewhere “safe” and then couldn’t find them!

Today I remembered where I had put them…

Welcome back, rakes.

It was me, Mick, and my new friend, Robin, today.

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He was watching my every move.

The bird feeders are full and ready for the cold weather…

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And our hot coffee was keeping us warm.

I will probably try and squeeze a workday in on Wednesday, and then work out what we are doing next year.

Thanks for reading.

Paul

Posted in Newsreel | Tagged Birdwatching, cycling, national cycle network 41, nature trail, photography, picnic benches, Railway path, running, sustrans, walking | 2 Comments

We Are Now Squirrel-Proof!

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Thanks to a fantastic Father-in-Law, John, we have squirrel-proof feeders and can now offer fat-balls and peanuts.

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This will save us a lot of money in fat-balls. I just need to remember to bring the right food for them now.

Arron, Reece, Dave, Kerrie and myself then went on and planted the rest of the tree saplings around bench #3…

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…and cut away existing tree branches to allow a decent view across Lawford Heath or the other way, towards the Newt Protection Area.

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A quick look, up and down, shows how lovely it is here.

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And lastly, our all-important coffee and cookie break!

Next week we are on Sunday 15th December, and then possibly try and squeeze one more workday in before Christmas.

Paul

Posted in Newsreel | Tagged coffee and cookies, cycling, fun, mental well being, nature, NCN 41, picnic benches, rambling, running, tree planting, volunteering | 2 Comments

Putting our mark on the Earth

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Well, we did that alright. To plant a tree for the next generation or two to enjoy, is a good thing.

Kerrie, David, Marcus and Paul planted about 55 tree saplings. It is pretty cool to think about how we will watch these young trees grow over the years.

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We have another 50’odd tree saplings to plant. They are a mixture of Rowan, Hazel, Elder, Crab Apple and other native trees. Come along and place a legacy in the ground…

Looking up…

And down…

A bit muddy, but that is how we like it.

Paul

Posted in Newsreel | Tagged c, community, cycling, friendship, fun, hobbies, mental health, Mountain-biking, nature, photography, rambling, running, tree planting | 1 Comment

Taking Green to the Extreme!

Posted on November 21, 2019 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

We have been keeping this path clear, open and as a nice nature-walk for about ten years now.

We have had a lot of people pass through, joining work parties for a few weeks, a few months, a few years, or been on it since the start. It is nice to know that everyone who has helped out has found the calming and therapeutic aspect of getting out into the countryside, as well as the physical exercise and just making friends with like-minded people.

It is also a bit worrying when I look at my wardrobe and almost every garment is a shade of green or brown!!

However, the greenway is not the only outdoor project that I have. I also do Dunchurch Nature Trail. A bridleway that connects Dunchurch to Cawston, and most of my working life is spent outside in green spaces, so maybe I am not as obsessed as it first appears!!

We have another project that is an off-shoot of all of these green spaces. It is making benches and aimed at helping young adults to gain skills and confidence, as well as helping the users of the benches to enjoy the green spaces that we are creating.

Find out more here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/paul-hayden-hart-2?utm_term=4Be68ky2d

This week we had Marcus, Reece, David, Mick and Paul pushing back the bramble scrub in our first greenway open space. We have four open spaces with picnic benches along this bit, and each one offers something different.

As you can see, coffee and cookies have become an important aspect of our workdays.

We are creating habitat piles for spiders, insects and small mammals.

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Our good friend, Andrew, gifted us a load of English Bluebell bulbs and a dibber to put them in with. Hopefully, as they spread, the nettle growth will be suppressed a little bit.

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Everyone hard at work clearing bramble and pulling up the roots.

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Or chatting to passers-by, explaining what we are doing and hoping they join us in the future.

All-in-all, a nice open space with bird-feeders. Great for a coffee or picnic, for walkers, runners or cyclists, or just to stop and feel the benefits of being in the countryside and connecting with nature.

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Next week we are planting trees given to us by The Woodland Trust. Start at bench #1 and work down towards bench #4. there are 105 of them in total.

Paul

Posted in Newsreel | Tagged bluebell, community, cycling, friendship, fun, mental health, Mountain-biking, nature, nature reserve, nature trail, photography, rambling, running, scrub clearance | Leave a comment

A Long Walk….

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

I had a job on in Woodlands, close to Sainsbury’s, on Wednesday morning so I gave myself a good 25 minutes to walk from that to the greenway – 45 minutes later I got there, totally knackered – and no tools to do any work!!! But I did have a flask of coffee and Marcus brought cookies – that made the long walk worth it!!

Marcus and David started at bench #1 digging out bramble roots. I joined them at bench #2 where we moved the bench so that it gets some sun. Under a tree is lovely, but the bench goes damp and green, which makes it a bit useless for sitting at and eating food from.

Mick joined us at bench #3 and we did a bit of work on our hedge and pulled nettles from under the bench.

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We need to cut the hedge to about 4 foot high and extend it. We have a Woodland Trust 105 tree, tree-pack to plant into it. We also have a load of Bluebell bulbs to put in… It’s going to be busy over the next few weeks.

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Looking up and down from bench #3 and I think it looks pretty good.

The developers have made this area for newts (Newt Protection Area) which is why I thought it was OK with the steps a bit further down…

Anyhow – just a quick one about volunteering, sure I get a buzz out of helping others to enjoy the green space – but boy-o-boy, I get so much for myself in terms of mental well-being. I could witter on about it, but really I would rather just say that it fills a need for me, and probably will do for you, too. So feel free to come on down and join us.

And that leads me to another project that we are working on. Young adults who need additional support – making benches for the greenway and as we get experienced, other public places and gardens. We could do with a bit of cash to help our start-up.

Check out our crowdfunding page here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/paul-hayden-hart-2?utm_term=wyxQXdRYR

Or find us on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Autiskills-106474564128648/

Thanks for sticking with us on this incredible journey.

Paul

Posted in Newsreel | Tagged benches, blokes, clearing, crowdfunding, helping others, mental health, mental well being, newts, path, picnic benches, sustrans, wildflowers | Leave a comment

Basecamp Operational

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

With the forecast rain, I thought it would be a good idea to put up some cover. Thankfully Marcus and Aaron came along to assist.

As it happened, the monsoon held off until the afternoon! It’s always good fun to make a bit of a den though…

Absolutely loads of people walking past today, and we could see that most wanted to join in with the laughter, coffee, and cookies.

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We scalloped a new clearing on the northern end of this section, leaving a little nub of scrub to separate it from the main clearing, and next week we will flip over to the other side of the path and carry it on for a few meters more.

In my excitement, I forgot to take a photo, so instead, here is a picture of some fungi that we found.

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Candlesnuff, if I am not mistaken.

The bird-feeders are full, so the squirrels are probably having a feast.

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As the path flora shuts down for the winter, we need to find a way to keep feeding the birds. We probably need squirrel-proof feeders – I will scrounge some from somewhere.

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And lastly, looking down on our camp from the observation bench. And yes, with practice I will get the tarp fully over the picnic bench…

Next week, same area, grubbing out bramble roots, putting in Bluebell bulbs given to us by our good friend, Andrew, and maybe mow the grass if it is dry enough.

Paul