64 kids, 3 rangers, 50 things????

School visits to our woods are becoming a fairly usual occurrence these days, and so when our friends at Lorton Primary rang to say they’d like to come out for a 50 things day at Holme Wood in Loweswater, of course we said yes, and then we looked at the numbers! This wasn’t going to be easy but was certainly doable with a bit of slick timing and a fairly flexible plan, a quick plan was cobbled together and Rangers Dan ,Paul and Mark talked it through got the kit together and hoped for fair weather amongst the thunder storms of previous days.

 The morning arrived and before even getting to the wood the children, and staff with parent helpers, had already completed one of the tasks, to take a long walk! Our narrow lanes weren’t suitable for the school buses so the day started with a 1.3 km hike along the farm track, where the mobs of lambs took minds of the long walk, and made it a tad slower as well!

Once on site we split into groups with Ranger Dan taking charge of the younger kids who set off pond dipping, we didn’t actually have a pond, the lake had to suffice. They would follow us, using a treasure map and making a stick trail on the way.

Rangers Mark and Paul led the rest of the group in to Holme wood, where after a swift talk about the day and a bit of health and safety we split again, Paul taking 2 groups off den building whilst Mark’s group set about lighting fires without matches, and then cooking marshmallows and trying out the rope swings over the lake.

We’d had to time each session to about 30 minutes, necessary in order for everyone to have a go at most tasks but we needn’t have worried, the quality of den building was impressive with some very sturdy examples and some good innovative designs being created well within time, really good to see how the builders organised themselves and got a system going, and all with the smell of roasting marshmallows drifting through the woods.

A couple of whistles from Mark and the groups changed over, and now the infants and Ranger Dan had caught us up and were busy bug hunting, turning over piles of bark and leaves and finding all sorts of weird and wonderful mini beasts , using magnifying glasses and work sheets to identify their captures.

Lunch time! So far we’re on schedule for the day, Things are being done, den building, rope swings, map reading, going on a  long walk, cooking on a campfire, after lunch we have mud pies, climbing trees out over the lake, slack lining, dam building, pooh sticks and grass trumpets, we need a snack for sure.

The afternoon sessions flew by with everyone having had a go at everything, the long walk back to the buses was accompanied by varying degrees of grass trumpet playing and laughter, it was as once again brilliant to hear our woodlands filed with giggles, both from the kids and the staff and parent helpers, who it must be said were excellent we really couldn’t have managed the day without their help, Thank you.

 

We had lots of kids asking if they could come back?  Of course you can, just let us have a wee rest first!

 

 

 

Something nice that made us smile

Most of our blog posts deal with the day to day tasks involved in keeping our countryside in tip top condition, occasionally we have some fun and occasionally we even touch some hearts!
A few weeks ago we took some children from Ennerdale Primary School on a very wet and windy hike up Rannerdale Knotts, on the day we were impressed by the positive attitudes of the children who smiled and laughed all day despite the horrendous conditions, how lovely therefore for us to receive some letters  thanking us for being there with them, definitely worth sharing their thoughts on what was a truly fantastic day

Thanks kids, let's do it again real soon!

Mini Mountains Should Have Mini Mountaineers

Normally our blogs concern our day to day practical conservation work and of course our engagement with the public, on some days however this engagement become much more closely focused, and in this case definitely a lot of fun
We have always had connections with local schools and are keen to help get the children outdoors and closer to nature, well this week the children from Ennerdale & Kinnisde School got a wee bit closer to nature than they might have intended

Class teacher Mrs Watson leads the juniors up a very wet Rannerdale Knotts

On a very wet and wild Wednesday, Ranger Dan and myself, along with our guest blogger, intern Becky Ingham took 29 children aged 7-11 up Rannerdale Knotts to look at a range of subjects from glaciated valleys, NT footpath management, the water cycle and farming.

Becky explaining the Water Cycle while Ranger Dan shows us an ancient Potash Kiln

I’ll hand over to our guest blogger Becky to give you her impression of the day

“As an outdoor events intern I have been able to do so much with the National Trust in the last six months and I’ve found how much I enjoy being outside whatever the weather. That definitely came in handy on Wednesday when I went out with Rangers Paul and Dan and Ennerdale School up Rannerdale Knotts

Heading for the summit

The weather was magnificent, in the almost blown off your feet and wet enough to make a duck think twice about going out kind of way. It definitely proved the saying that ‘there is no bad weather, just bad clothes’ as we were mostly kept dry and warm by our waterproofs. We had truly fantastic views as the clouds moved, showing us the fells and then hiding them again. At one point we could see the rain shadow hurtling towards us over Crummock Water and making the fells behind almost disappear.
The Ennerdale kids were fantastic, as Paul said; ‘mini mountains should have mini mountaineers’ and that’s definitely what we had. I don’t think I heard a single moan about the weather, even from the littlest.

Are we there yet?

 I hope they enjoyed learning about the footpaths that wind their way all over the fells, the Rangers who look after them and the history of that beauty spot as much as I did”

We'd like to thank the children, teachers and parents, and of course Becky for giving Ranger Dan and I, a cracking if wet day out, looking forward to next time.

Beavering Away

From time to time what seems to be a simple task, becomes a bit of a challenge for Ranger Dan and myself, not such a bad thing though as it allows us to be slightly  imaginative  and change how we do things, also makes life more interesting I reckon!

A piece of footpath maintenance at Dunthwaite was a case in point, easy enough job but access to the site is a major problem, so what do we do? well we just use what's already there!
A steep section required some steps to make the ascent easier on the knees, these were constructed by using hazel cut from nearby coppices, easier to get at than carrying in treated timber and to my mind looks much nicer, we'd no sooner finished than we were thanked by a couple on behalf of their aged collie who apparently found it much easier, and we were amazed to then see the dog climb a custom made ramp into the back of a waiting Mercedes!!! ( Ranger Dan is now trying to source similar in order to get me in and out of the landrover more easily)

A little bit further on, a section of post and rail fencing which prevents our visitors plummeting down a slope to the river Derwent had over the years slowly started to lean over towards the river, on inspection the timber seemed sound so  rather than rip it out and replace it we ripped it out and re sited it, standing upright and braced against the slope it should last a good while longer, and to be honest looks much better than a shiny new bit of fence in amongst the old, cheaper too which should please our accountants!

before and after picture, not a lot different but that's the beauty of the repair

Another opportunity to carry out a repair using only what was on site presented itself at Holme Wood in Loweswater where following a very localised storm a stream had burst it's bank deposited a huge amount of debris in the wood and washed out a considerable section of all access path.
On another day we'd simply have got a digger in and rebuilt the bank but not this time, co-incidentally as we were in a wood there were a few trees around, and some of them right where we needed them, Ranger Dan and myself set about felling the trees so they lay across the breached banks forming a structure that we hope will catch silt and debris from future flood events and become a natural dam, and if it doesn't? well we're no worse off, the trees will coppice back up and we haven't spent a fortune, happy accountants again!!

 

Filling the gaps in stream banks, beaver style!

Ranger Dan beavering away

and there we arrive at the title of the blog, North Lakes Rangers beavering away, simples !!

Spring is sprung

Ah spring, when a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love, but alas as we are mostly greying, old and grumpy (excepting of course the dashing Ranger Dan) we are content to enjoy the sunshine and the crisp cold mornings.

It’s a grand time of the year for us, we’ve seen the last of our hedge laying season and are looking forward to getting our property in good fettle for the rush of springtime visitors, and also we can now catch up on the some of the little jobs which crop up.

Ranger Dan and myself have been busy clearing fallen trees from our woodland paths and felling trees on the edge of our Dunthwaite estate, opening up drainage ditches and generally tidying up the appearance of the roadside woodlands, we took the opportunity there to try out our carving skills…steep learning curve ahead but at least one family who wandered past enjoyed our efforts.. A nice smile from them all.

Not bad for a first effort

 Of course not many of our blogs go by without mention of our regular Thursday Volunteers and last week's adventures certainly bear mentioning. We were joined by David and Phil on the task of repairing some high fell walls alongside the Coffin Road above Holme Wood in Loweswater, a steady steep walk up in glorious sunshine brought us out onto the open fell and tremendous views over the valley.

 Some days walling can be a frustrating challenge but not this day, excellent quality stone certainly makes the job easier and with the sun on our backs, birdsong in the air and a degree of concentration we had two gaps mostly complete by lunchtime.

Phil concentrating perhaps too much?

 Once the walling was finished off and we had ambled gently back down through the woods we had some time on our hands.

In these harsh economic times we are all conscious of making the most of our resources and saving money where we can. We were aware of the need for a rescue boat for Loweswater and our other lakes and had in our spare moments begun designing such a craft, today it was decided was time for a test launch

We're gonna need a bigger boat!!!!

Work in progress I think you’ll agree?

Bonfires and some vanity



Volunteers and Rangers after a long hard but fun day

 

It may seem odd to start with a picture of the end of a job but without the freely given help of our regular Thursday volunteers the end would be a bit away yet. On the Buttermere side of the property we have Jim  ( and Theo) Phil and David, who when he promises to behave is often joined by his much much better half Christine, Borrowdale rangers Andy and Jack are supported by Rod and Robert.

One day a week may not sound a lot to some people but when we get this team together on a busy project a truly astonishing amount of work, and fun results.On this occasion rangers Dan and Paul were in the last throes of a large hedge laying project at Dunthwaite on what turned out to be a very wet and boggy site.

Hedgelaying is a country craft which has been practised for hundreds of years, Caesar described the process of hedgelaying in detail in 57BC in his Gallic War when he encountered laid hedges in the territory of the Nervii in Flanders, but it is just as relevant today as it always has been. As a hedge grows it becomes more tree like and gaps appear,laying the hedge restores this living boundary and provides an effective wildlife corridor allowing small animals and birds a route from field to field unseen by predators.

 



A newly laid hedge and the new growth of the following spring



The downside is that it produces a lot of 'brash' unwanted trees and branches which are removed as part of the process, our preferred method of dealing with this would be to use a mechanical chipper but the wet and boggy conditions prevented this so we reverted to the traditional method, a damn good fire.... or in this case two!

 

Now, you can almost guarantee that if you gather a group of men of a certain age in a field they will all know the 'correct' way to light a fire, some favour diesel and tyres, some like firelighters and some just stick to paper and dry kindling, everyone is correct of course with the proviso that my method is always best, this time we used bags of old jackdaw nests, removed from a barn some months ago and kept for this very purpose.. Forward planning in the NT??? What ever next!

 

We have mentioned the wet and boggy conditions, what we failed to mention was the steepness of the site, as the morning progressed it became evident that the fire at the bottom of the hill was much more popular but after what seemed a rather extended lunch break everyone gathered at the much larger and beautifully constructed fire at the top.

I was doubtful that we would clear the field that day but this is were our merry band excels, driven by an unwillingness to admit defeat and I suppose the enjoyment of showing us 'young'uns' how it's done, they pulled ,dragged pushed and stumbled until they had gathered every piece of brash from the site, a slow trudge down the field dragging bags of firewood and they were off for a well earned pint, no doubt looking forward to the next Thursday's task........................more hedgelaying and burning!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

One day you're up....the next you're down

(re posted as original mysteriously went away last time)

November has been a month of changing weather and work sites, firstly we carried out the finishing touches to our joint project with the Fish Hotel in Buttermere, there were a few unkind comments about the length of time the project took but overall we’re happy with the results.

Next off, with Ranger Dan back in Borrowdale leading some farm walks at Seatoller farm (a place he knows only too well) I was joined by contractor Craig Shaw and his dog Jamie, our task? To repair- rebuild the boundary fence at the top of Kirkclose Wood by Buttermere, luckily as it was quite a steep walk up to site, the materials had been flown in previously, unluckily they had been dropped a considerable distance away!! So first we were forced to make far too many trips up and down the hill with posts and wire.

We were blessed with magnificent autumn weather, crisp bright and cold with just the odd flurry of snow, and offering some stunning views.

Could you wish for better views?

A classic indication that we were well into autumn was the presence of several hundred fieldfares and redwings, a sure sign of cold weather approaching.

Jamie says "You expect me to carry this?.........."

 Our peace and quiet on site was interrupted occasionally by the sound of chainsaws drifting across the lake, our forestry team were working in Burtness wood and on particularly calm days the sounds of falling trees could be heard, click here to see and hear how fast they work.

Following on from this and after a well earned half term break we re grouped, our usual Thursday volunteer team joined us at Netherhow on the shores of Crummock Water to help us repair a gate and fence which had been repeatedly vandalised over the summer, you have to wonder why given the amount of fallen trees and branches lying around, someone would prefer to burn a gate?

David had promised Christine a romantic picnic by the lake

 Now this was a fairly straightforward task but as we once again had combined work with water and our volunteers and some miserable weather, it was almost guaranteed to turn into yet another Whitehall farce. The end of the fence was deep in the lake, not a problem, we had some waders, Ranger Dan seemed quite pleased to tell me that they didn’t fit him so I did the decent thing and struggled out into the lake looking like a cross between MC Hammer and some demented water based superhero, can’t quite think which one.

Captain Whatever about to enter the abyss

 All was going smoothly with me in the water and the volunteers and Ranger Dan on dry land when suddenly a large piece of wood fell as if from nowhere right into the water beside me causing a large splash and soaking me entirely! Volunteers David ,Christine and Jim told me an enormous bird had flown across and dropped it and of course I had no reason to doubt them.

Just before the splash!!!

Very soon it was lunchtime and the job was completed, a quick tidy up of the site and all the rubbish loaded onto the quad and trailer and we were away again, off to Fletcher Fields to finish  some walling which we’d begun the day before.

Anyone know where this bit goes?