The weather hasn't stopped us yet!

This is a post from Ranger Roy's blog that will be of interest to many volunteers. You can follow the blog here: http://www.northlakes.blogspot.com/

As I write this, the weather we are having right now reminds me that it sometimes controls the jobs we can tackle. We are now into the fourth day of freezing temperatures. Today is sunny but even in the valleys the temperature will struggle to rise much above freezing throughout the day. Fortunately we were still able to do the planned work last weekend (one of my working weekends) but at times the ground can be just too hard to work.

On Saturday morning I went with three of our regular volunteers up to Watendlath. We replaced a step-stile over a fence to allow access to a walk along the river. It isn’t actually a public right of way (PROW) but the Trust does want it to be accessible for walkers. This was a day that gave us the opportunity to stop and take photographs from Surprise View – you can see why this is a hugely popular viewpoint and the skilled, patient or lucky can take some stunning photos. Actually, you’d probably have to obscure the lens with a finger to take a bad picture!

Surprise View

In the afternoon we moved on to Castlehead. There is a small crag there that we are encouraging outdoor centres to use for children to learn and practice abseiling skills. Because it is a small crag, it isn’t used by experienced climbers so there are no conflicting users. But, it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) so we are limiting the area being used at the top and foot of the crag to minimize both damage to vegetation and erosion. That’s why we were there working on a fence.

That was two good jobs completed on Saturday and on Sunday we tackled another.

This time there were 12 volunteers and we joined Naomi on her foreshore project. There is an access-for-all path that runs from the large car-park through Cockshot Wood to the lake shore. Like many of these paths it was accumulating a surface layer of mud and leaves. If we don’t clear it. vegetation will reclaim the path very quickly. So we set to work and, with a good deal of scraping and brushing, we gave the path its annual clean up. It’s hard, physical work but it does feel good when we look back at a good, clear path.

BBC at work

BBC Look North provided an interesting diversion by coming to film and interview Naomi about working with volunteers on her Derwentwater Foreshore project.

Where better to take a break?