Who Pays the Ferry Man?

Well it`s like this, the blog title is a story related to us by the master of story telling Ranger Supervisor Paul. More of this later.

It started as the normal Thursday volunteer day for David, Christine, Phil, Jim and Theo. The task was to put the NT boats back onto Crummock Water, Loweswater and Buttermere lakes. It should have been a straight forward task but as with some things today was not going to go smoothly!

The theme of this post is best described as a story of sorts. It started well with us getting one boat onto Buttermere but the lake level was so low we could not get it off the trailer without seeming to drive the length of the lake in the Trust Land Rover!

Ranger Dan and volunteer Jim at the ready to row the boat off the trailer if we could get it in deep enough!

Volunteer Christine watches over them quietly laughing to herself!











Not working lets go a little deeper. No that`s not working either.

So, it was down to the good old fashioned time honoured method, we man handled the boat off the trailer into the water.

Just in case the health and safety people are watching we did have life jackets as seen in the next photo.








Life jackets on Dan rows the boat across to Hassness where we had to put in a new mooring for it.

Ranger Dan still dressed for safety knocks in one of the four new mooring posts. This was the second mell used on the day the first one`s shaft split on the very same post.












 Once we had the new mell the posts split and we had to get some more!

Volunteer Christine drew the short straw.

Now how the title of the blog arrived.

It was whilst we were waiting for the new posts to arrive Ranger Paul was left guarding the boat to ensure no one rowed off in it. During this time the title of the blog was arrived at.

Paul explained that whilst we were away two elderly walkers came by and quizzed him, "Don`t you respond to a wave then?" A quizzical Paul responded in line with his training, "I am sorry I don`t understand!" The question was repeated by the walkers who then went on to explain they had seen him from the other side of the lake and thought he was the ferryman who could row them across the lake!

You can understand how from a distance they could have thought he looked like a ferryman. 

The next problem was knocking in the deeper of the posts. The water was too deep to stand in and get any good swing at the posts so the only way was to stand in the boat to do so - yes about as daft as it sounds.

Don`t worry it was not as bad as it looks and Dan did not put the post through the bottom of the boat as the picture might show!

The task was eventually completed on what must be one of the funniest days we have had as National Trust volunteers.

A great day out volunteering in such a special place.

Very relaxing. Why not come out with us and have a go?

Countryside Update May 2012 Part One!

It has been another busy month for us with some extra special guests. Upland Footpath supervisor Joe was joined by the organisers of the Keswick Mountain Festival Lucy and Amy plus volunteers John and David for a bit of path maintenance nr to Ashness Bridge. We undertook some landscaping and built a drain in weather that could only be described as changeable!

Amy and Lucy admire the hole they have dug for the foundations of a stone drain across the path. Had it of rained much harder it would have been taken over by some amphibians as a home!

Most of the day seemed to be taken up by changes of clothes, waterproofs on, waterproofs off.

Still the sun did put in an appearance and dried out the ground quite quickly.




It was not all rain as the photo below shows. Amy hard at work whilst ranger Joe moves a la`al stone for landscaping purposes.

Amy took note of how Joe moved the stone and decided if he could do it so could she!













Volunteer John looks on as Amy moves not quite such a small stone down the hill also to be used for landscaping. Anything you can do?

Amy soon mastered the technique. She made it look far too easy.














Amy takes a photo of her hard work. Stone drain nearly finished, just a bit of tidying up to be done.

It was not just all about Amy, Lucy was also hard at work landscaping with Joe. They were busy making three paths into one with a good result.











Lucy below hard at work as well. Inn the background Ashness Bridge.

Even though it was a weekend, lead Ranger Penny found time to come out and see the good work put in by Joe and four volunteers.

It allowed Lucy and Amy to find out the hard way about all the effort staff and volunteers  put into maintaining the paths and landscape for ever for everyone! Now where have I heard that saying before?

The end of the day, Penny chats to Lucy and Amy about the day whilst John and Joe get ready to leave. A grand day out on the fell in good company. Who knows Lucy and Amy may even come back for another go?