Cawston Greenway

A fewer number turned out today but we got so much done. We cleared a load of brash and canopy, and made a bright and open glade. We pushed the logs way off the path, cut the stumps neatly and it looked like a really professional job.

Next workday I will bring some polythene tape to tie around the trees and branches that need to be removed and we can break into organised groups, because working in a smaller group with a clear focus on what we were aiming to achieve seemed a lot more productive.

The path between the glades can remain pretty much as they are for now, with just a gentle trim to keep them clear in the summer. There are natural kinks and twists along the path so this keeps it interesting, and also some lovely specimen trees along the way.

 We have a committee meeting at Cawston Grange School on Wednesday 29th September at 7:15 pm. Feel free to come along and see what we are up to or, get involved. We are a new group who are at the bottom of a huge learning curve so any suggestions or direction is always helpful.

Meet at the place where we used to meet, see the website for details (www.cawstongreenway.org)

Working on the clearings this time so we will probably be working in quite a dense group. With this in mind, we need to think about safety if we are taking trees down.

We need to organise ourselves so that the trees are cut into logs and then stacked as far back off the clearing as possible.

I have some wild flower seeds that Action Earth kindly donated so we can sow some of these, if we clear the ground, I also have rakes that BTCV kindly donated, these should help clear the scrub.

Some fantastic news – Hinckley and Rugby Building Society have donated £100 for us to buy a pertol hedge trimmer, this will allow us to rip into the scrub and get it cleared in no time.

I think we need to be a bit clearer on what we are looking to achieve on this next work day, so planning is key.

Look forward to seeing you all there.

Paul

Golly gosh – a few of us are going to ache tomorrow!!

Fantastic turnout again with about 20 people turning out. thank-you so much for your hard work.

We cleared a fair bit of the canopy by cutting down a load of trees, and also cleared the scrub to the sides of the path. It’s so rewarding when the sunlight finally makes it through. The whole feel of the greenway is transformed from a dark and damp narrow path to a light and airy open space.

The greenway after a lot of trees taken out…

… and looking the other way.

A few learning points from today, some of which we knew (if you look at previous posts), and a few new ones.

We need to work in a more organised way. We are all a bit gung-ho at the moment, probably because we have all been waiting to really let rip on the greenway since March. Fantastic to see such enthusiasm, but we maybe need to think about what we are trying to create, which is a series of woodland glades or clearings, linked by a series of woodland rides or paths. We somehow need to try and steer the path away from the straight line that it is, which is quite hard to even imagine seeing as it used to be a railway-line. The reason for this is we will end up with a huge wind-tunnel effect that will discourage butterflies. My thoughts are to alternate from cutting away to the left and then the right of the existing path between clearings to try and create a snaking effect. So in future maybe not string out quite so far, but work in denser groups with a clearer objective.

Second point is what to do with the felled trees. We need to stack the logs and branches further off the path, so maybe if we allocate jobs, such as cutting down trees, cutting them into manageable sections and stacking off the path, and then rotate so everyone gets a go at everything? Just a thought.

Tree stumps need to be cut as close to the ground as possible or they become a trip hazard, and when cutting overhanging branches from remaining trees, we need to cut as close to the existing trunk as possible, and the cut needs to be clean and even. The reasons for not doing this is it looks odd, the tree will sprout a load of stems from the cut branch, which then looks even odder, and it’s probably not healthy for the tree.

Lastly, don’t wear shorts and a tee-shirt like I did! My arms and legs look like I have been dragged through a hedge backwards…

Hopefully some good news in the pipeline regarding a some funding for tools. Next workday will be back down the greenway where we normally meet up, and we will concentrate on the clearings. Provisionally I am thinking 25th September, but will confirm nearer the time.

Again, thanks to everyone who turned out today. It was hard work but we got a lot done and, learnt a load of stuff on this great adventure of ours. Remember that we are all new to this so it will be a steep learning curve with the more technical points, but keep the faith and we will get there.

Until next time…

Paul

It’s gonna be a big one!!

We need to rip the canopy out. No more gentle pruning and cutting back. it’s gonna be brutal!

Me and someone else will lead and go down the path felling the trees and pulling them length-ways along the path.

They are low value Ash so don’t worry about loss of habitat. Any nice specimen trees will be left and the path directed around them.

Everyone else can work on the felled trees. They need to be cut into manageable lengths and stacked off the path in neat and tidy piles.

We need to be careful with falling trees, hence only two people doing the felling and getting a good distance ahead of the group.

I spent about three hours on the section between The Bear and Cawston roundabout this morning and did about twenty five trees, felled, chopped and stacked. It’s hard work but the wood is quite soft so it is not too difficult to saw through, or cut the thinner branches with loppers.

In the small area that I did, about 20 metres along the path maybe, the difference was rewarding. Sunlight streamed through the opening and the dark dreary undergrowth was suddenly bright and airy.

We have six bow saws, three pairs of loppers and 5 pruners in our tool-box. If you can bring your own tools, all the better. Gloves are a must and wear old clothes, it’s a dirty job!!

Meet at The Bear car park and push southbound into Cawston.

Look forwards to seeing everyone on the day at 12 o’clock.

Great day with a great turnout of about 20 or so people. We pushed on past The Bear pub and cleared all the rubbish under the Victorian bridge. It was really bad so a good job done.

Bags and bags of litter and also lots of random items dumped over the years.

We also dug out the original steps, which made life a lot easier getting back up to the top.

And finally this is the path as it runs past The Bear northwards to link up with Sustrans cycle route 41 on the Western Relief Road. The  canopy above the path has got to be cleared to let sunlight in to encourage plant life, and then wildlife. At the moment it is a very dark, very wet place. 

Thanks to everyone who turned out, we seemed to get loads done and slowly we are making good progress. As a priority I think we need to clear the canopy and open up the natural clearings to encourage grass and berry producing shrubs to grow. The scrub clearance should ideally start in October and run through to February in the following year.

Sunday 15th… meet in the Bear carpark and hit the section from there to the WRR cycle path spur. There is loads of litter around the bridge that is by the Bear, and it is passable along the greenway, but quite overgrown, so I suggest we break into two groups. One group getting the litter out and the other group cutting back the path to make a clear run down to what will actually be the start of Cawston Greenway!!

I have sent the cheque off today to get the insurance upgraded so we can use power tools, I have also got a load of hand tools from BTCV which include bow saws, cutters and rakes. Having never done anything like this before, I hope we are on the right track. If anyone feels or knows that we should be doing something differently, just give me your input. I will listen to all ideas and suggestions warmly.

Lastly, we will be having a much needed committee meeting in early September. By then we will have our Management Plan and we can coordinate our work efforts throughout the winter. For me, it’s all about creating a superb habitat for wildlife such as badgers, foxes and butterflies, but just as importantly, creating a place for people to walk or cycle and kind of just get away from it all. This is why I want picnic benches in some of the clearings and benches in others.  If anyone else wants to add their ideas or wants, this is the time to do it…..

cawston greenway

We are upgrading our insurance to allow us to use power tools. This means we can cut through the scrub with a brush cutter, which is like an industrial strimmer.

This is going to make our job so much easier. I have been trawling ebay for one, and Michael already has one.

Boys and their toys… hehehe 😀

Cawston Greenway

Right then – time for a radical change in plan!

I walked the greenway past The Bear pub and Carrillion who built the Western Relief Road and the cycle path that runs along side it, have created a spur that joins the greenway about half a mile down from The Bear, with the cycle path (which is now part of National Cycle Network Route 41).

I suggest that we extend our efforts to where this spur connects to the WRR cycle path. It’s a lot more work and it really is overgrown, but it creates a complete corridor and alternative route from A to B, with B being Potsford’s Dam where Sustrans will pick up the task of managing the greenway down to Draycote.

The wildlife that I am seeing already is fantastic. Butterflies, foxes and badgers to name but a few. Wild berries are starting to ripen and it feels like a really good place to be. I am hoping to get some picnic benches put into the clearings and cut back the rides between the clearings. There are a lot of wild raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and sloe berries, which are the fruit of the blackthorn plant. There are also cherry trees, so what we have is a solid foundation to build from.

So the August workday is all about clearing the litter from the new underpass, to The Bear and down to the spur. Pretty horrible but it needs to be done.

I hope that we can get a good number of us on this. It will be well worth the extra effort.

Cawston Greenway

Fantastic workday, a lot of cutting back to keep the path clear and saw some wonderful butterflies such as Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Large White, Comma, Red Admiral, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell. Made some good plans for the open areas. We are going to make a feature of the Victorian bridge by clearing the area and having a couple of picnic benches either side of it. A really enjoyable day.

We now have a facebook page as well as the website and blog . You can find it at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cawston-Greenway/144446008903732

Or just press the button on the website  As you can see, there are also buttons at the top of this blog to take you to the facebook page and the website. This is for people who stumble across the blog. I will try to remember to put them at the start of each blog from now on.

We also have an article going in the Parish Council magazine in September so that should generate a bit of interest.

Thanks everyone for the help today, nice to see a few new faces too. Next light workday will be in August and then the hard work really begins with the clearing back of the scrub. I personally cannot wait!!

See you all soon,

Paul

This is a photo of the Offchurch Greenway. Hopefully we can achieve something similar, but with a much denser strips of trees on either side, especially between the greenway and the Relief Road.

This is a photo of the Cawston Greenway, obviously there is a lot of work to do.

The efforts will be very well rewarded though. Offchurch Greenway is well used and has a massive amount of wildlife. It’s a really great place to be.

I would like to have a picnic bench at the clearing by the gate that looks out over the fields, and maybe clear the area by the bridge and have one there too, eventually putting a ramp to make easy access to the Cawston Bridleway, of which the bridge is part of. 

Lots to do!!!