As a National Trust working holiday, this group spent a week in the Wastwater valley carrying out a variety of work to help manage the property. Warden, Colin, and a long term volunteer, Melissa, worked with the group throughout the week. In common with almost all of the rest of the country, the week saw almost constant rain, not unusual in Cumbria though not usual for this time of year. The bright spells that we did get were all the more welcome when they occurred.
Ben, Dolores, Adam, Ali, Richard, Eleanor, Sophie, me, Clyde (Co-Leader), Nancy, Adam, Melissa & Jean.
Cumbria, and Wasdale in particlar, has miles of drystone walls, many that are hundreds of years old. Wasdalehead Farm was the site of our first task; repairing sections of wall that had collapsed due to weather slippage and made worse through climbing by sheep. Colin provided instruction and saw that we completed risk assessments before we began.
First clear aside the fallen stones. Nancy at work (The group split into pairs, each with a section like this)
Most of the stone was fairly well rounded, having been washed and rolled down the mountains over many years. Finding the right size and shape when rebuilding was therefore tricky (at least, it was for me). the frequent heavy rain during the week put a limit on the amount of walling that we could attempt as muddy ground and wet stones provided hazards that the volunteers need not be exposed to.
A proud group! The slight differences in colour/shade shows the rebuilt sections that were completed.
To the West of the valley a farm had developed an invasion of Hemlock along the course of a stream. Although sheep can nibble the flowers without coming to serious harm, the plant is toxic and very attractive to stock if left lying on the ground. We all donned additional hand protection (Latex inner gloves) and pulled the plants out, complete with roots wherever possible, to be taken away for disposal. I thought that the plant smelled like fennel, although a little research showed it to be of the carrot family. A couple in the group suffered mild Hay Fever reactions to the strong smell of the hemlock.
Clyde pulls the roots from the stream bed. Plastic buckets were used to collect the crop into the Wardens trailer.
We returned to the Hemlock later in the week, when rain prevented any safe walling. Alongside Wastwater (the deepest lake in England) are several grassy areas where parking is permitted. However, some visitors drive down onto the lakeside, causing damage to the banks and also often getting stuck. The solution was to make the approach, beyond the permitted areas, impassable to vehicles. This we did by "transplanting" large boulders from a local field to make a natural looking random barrier.
Sophie and Adam prepare a "bed" for a transplanted boulder.
A working holiday just would not be right without some Rhody bashing! Sure enough, we tackled a large area of wetland that had self seeded with Birch and lots of young Rhododendron. The plan was to get them out complete with roots; not so easy, even with young plants like these. A considerable amount of digging and heaving with ropes saw the majority removed by the end of the day. The area worked had lots of interesting plant life, Bog Myrtle being the only one for which I remember the name!
That hole used to be a Rhody!!
The Basecamp has one of the best locations that I have experienced, right overlooking the southern end of Wastwater. Three intrepid volunteers even had a swim in it! Warden, Colin made sure that we all saw the sights by leading a guided tour, on Friday, of the Eske and Duddon valleys (both largely NT owned and managed) and which included an "Alton Towers" type drive over Hardnott Pass (Thankyou Clyde for driving). We also had a chance to visit the famous Roman fort which overlooks the pass, then finished with a visit to the restored Duddon Ironworks. Despite the weather a great week, enjoyed I am sure, by the whole group.
