Work Party Plans/Reports

Overall plan for November 2023 to March 2024

The work plan for the period up to March 2024 can be accessed by clicking on this link: FOLK Work Party Programme Oct 2023-Mar 2024.  If you would like to see what progress was made on the work plan for the previous six months ending in September 2023 then click on this link: FOLK Work Party Programme April-Sept 2023 – Final Status Report.

Work planned for the next work parties in March 2024

Our main job will probably be to burn gorse cuttings that we generated back in January and that contractors generated in February.

Should you wish to contact the FOLK work party coordinator about this, or any other matter, then please send an email to folk.workparty@gmail.com

Work done on Thursday 14th March 2024

We did a bit more hawthorn clearance today but in an area a bit further East from our last site.

During                                                                         After

Work done on Tuesday 20th and Sunday 25th February 2024

We spent two work parties clearing more hawthorn, and other scrub, on the Common above Daisy Bank Road.

During                                                                        After

Work done on Sunday 28th January 2024

A bit more general scrub clearance today.  This time on the semi-open area at the top of the Sandy Lane track just below 5-Ways.

Work done on Tuesday 16th January 2024

Back to gorse cutting today! This time we were at the East end of the site and cleared an area where the density wasn’t too high. This was an easy win to create a nice open area of grassland. There is more we could do here and we’ll need to come back to burn the cuttings.

Work done on Thursday 11th January 2024

Today we went back to clearing hawthorn on the lower slopes of the Western half of the Common.  We cleared a route through an area that had become constricted with hawthorn so as to open up a link between areas of grassland to make it easier for the likes of butterflies to move between them.

During the clearance

After the clearance

Work done on Thursday 4th January 2024

After being thwarted by the wet and windy weather in December there was a dry day so we held an extra work party to burn all the gorse cuttings left on top of the West  end of the Common that had accumulated from previous work parties.  We had a good turnout of volunteers who enjoyed the nice weather and a bit of outdoor exercise following the festive season.

Work done on Sunday 24th December 2023

We went back to the area we had previously visited with the High School pupils and cleared a bit more gorse to stop encroachment on the footpath and open up the views from the path.  Unfortunately it was rather windy and hence not safe to have a fire so we have quite a few more cuttings to burn at some time!

Work done on Thursday 14th December 2023

We continued the scrub clearance work in the same area as last time and managed to cut down all the gorse and some hawthorn that we wanted removed.  We also burnt all the cuttings from both work parties.  A very productive session!

Work done on Sunday 26th November 2023

We continued our scrub-bashing work on the lower western end of the Common today.  We started removing mainly hawthorn and gorse in an area that was becoming a bit overwhelmed in places to try and revert it back to open grassland.

Work done on Tuesday 21st November 2023

Something a bit different today! We majored on completing the ‘haloing’ around the base of the 5 veteran ash trees alongside the Gallops (we also did some bramble clearance with the mower).  Specialist contractors did some work about a year ago to help preserve these trees which included partially clearing the ground around their bases to open them up to light and free them from competition.  The full haloing could not be done at this time as it can shock the trees too much which is why this completion work was delayed until now.

Work done on Friday 17th November 2023

We had a special work party today organised by the Cheltenham Borough Council Rangers when a party of nearly 30 pupils and staff from the High School Leckhampton visited the Hill for a conservation themed trip.  They were split into two groups and took it in turns to have a guided wander around the site and to do some conservation work.  They enthusiastically got stuck into cutting down an area of gorse on the ledge at the top of the Hill at the West end of the Common which was most helpful.  You can see the area cleared in this photo

Work done on Thursday 9th November 2023

We started our winter programme of scrub bashing today by removing and trimming hawthorn and bramble in an area in the North-West corner of the Common – see the before-ish and after photos below.  This area is now much more open which should give the grassland an opportunity to recover.

We were ably assisted by some volunteers from Spirax-Sarco in this work.

Work done on Sunday 22nd October 2023

Having completed the gorse burning we could get on with some other jobs.  Firstly we gave the sidings area their annual cut to ensure they remain visible.  Secondly, we cut back some gorse in a nearby area with the aim of maintaining a population of fly orchids here.

Work done on Thursday 12th & Tuesday 17th October 2023

We continued, and finished, the burning of the gorse cuttings.  On the second session we were joined by the cattle who took a close (!) interest in the fire.  The second photo shows the end product of the project: a large area of grassland now clear of gorse.

Work done on Tuesday 3rd October 2023

Another big help from a local company!  This time organised by Keir who are involved with the new A417 link.  We again attacked the gorse cuttings and managed to burn a large quantity, but there is still some left for the FOLK volunteers to work on.

Work done on Thursday 28th September 2023

We were joined by a group from the local company Capita who helped us to burn some of the gorse cuttings generated by contractors.  These visits by volunteers from local companies is a great help to us, particularly breaking the back of big jobs.

Work done on Thursday 14th, Tuesday 19th and Sunday 24th September 2023

The focus of these work parties was on clearing the regrowth of scrub, mainly gorse and hawthorn, on an open area above ‘The Gallops’ and starting to burn some of the gorse cuttings from work done by contractors on the dense patches of gorse at a higher level up the slope.

Work done on Monday 14th, Tuesday 15th & Sunday 27th August 2023

We did our annual mowing of the open area (known as ‘Area 16’) above Bridge Car Park on Daisy Bank Road and used these sessions to train up a number of our volunteers to use the new mower.  Our overall impression of the new mower is that it is very effective and easier to use than the old one (once you get used to all the controls!)

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Work done on Thursday 10th August 2023

Today we had the first significant outing of our new mower.  We managed to mow around the ancient Barrow to make it more visible, alongside the nearby Cotswold stone wall to keep it exposed, along the length of the ‘Butterfly Motorway’ which was becoming overgrown and trim each side of the footpath we know as ‘Judy’s Ride’.

Barrow

Wall

Butterfly Motorway

Judy’s Ride

Work done on Thursday 13th, Tuesday 18th & Sunday 23rd July 2023

We had a blitz on removing Hemp Agrimony this month.  It is a ‘weed’ that is not native to the site and, after doing little removal in the last couple of years, it was beginning to form dense clumps on various parts of the Common potentially smothering the grassland we are trying to protect.  We managed to pull out a large quantity but we will probably not be able to eradicate it.

At the same time we also pulled up Ragwort and removed it from the site as it can be potentially harmful to cattle.  We try to do this annually to keep it under control and thinly spread.

Work done on Sunday 25th June 2023

We went back to the far Eastern end of the site to finish off the clearance of growth on and alongside the main Cotswold wall.  The wall is much more visible now and the creeping plants, e.g. bramble, that would have potentially damaged the wall have been removed.  See the ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ photos below.

Work done on Tuesday 20th June 2023

We did some tidying up work around the lime kiln ruins.  This included removing growth on the walls of the ruins in advance preparation for a planned contract to re-point these structures to stabilise them (see the ‘after’ photos below).  We also moved some of the ash brash left over from the ash tree felling done in 2022 to reinforce the blockage of the unapproved mountain biking route that had been established in this area.

Work done on Thursday 8th June 2023

We had 25 volunteers today!  Quite a turnout, boosted by a group on volunteering release from Spirax Sarco.  We went up to the woodland area above the Daisy Bank Road car parks where a number of old Larch trees have been felled by contractors.  We are hoping that now that this area has been opened up to light, and rain, that it will start to self-regenerate but, to help it out, we moved a lot of brash that was covering this area down to lower levels where there is no ground floor vegetation.

Spirax Sarco helpers

Work done on Sunday 28th May 2023

Today we went back and collected up the gorse that had been cut at the previous work parties and burnt it.

Work done on Thursday 11th and Tuesday 16th May 2023

We did some footpath, fence and wall maintenance during these two work parties.  It was mainly up at the East end of the site alongside the Cotswold Way,  The main jobs were to cut back the gorse that was starting to overhang the footpath and to remove scrub that was obscuring, growing on and potentially damaging the Cotswold stone wall.

Work done on Sunday 23rd April 2023

Something different for a change!  We did work on and near to the Cotswold stone wall that is being rebuilt up from Hartley Lane.  We moved stone, cleared vegetation off the old wall and tidied up the area by burning the various cuttings that had been left lying around from precious work parties.  We also moved brash from a nearby fallen tree down to a lower level so that it can be burnt at a later work party.

Work done on Tuesday 18th April 2023

Today we finished burning the gorse cuttings near to the Cotswold Way which we started at the last work party.  That’s now, at last, the end of the gorse cuttings that need burning!

Work done on Thursday 13th April 2023

We did a number of jobs today: clearing away a fallen tree by Five-Ways; burning the gorse and hawthorn that had been cut previously in the paragliders take-off and landing area; starting to burn the gorse that we had cut down along the track through the dense gorse between the Cotswold Way and the main Cotswold stone wall.

Work done on Tuesday 21st and Sunday 26th March 2023

We had to cancel the Thursday work party this month due to rain but were lucky to find some relatively dry patches for the other two work parties and managed to burn all the gorse cuttings that had accumulated at the lower levels of the Common.  However there are still quite a few more piles on the top level of the Common to do.

Work done on Tuesday 21st and Sunday 26th February 2023

For these two work parties we worked on widening the track that runs through the dense area of gorse between the Cotswold Way and the main Cotswold stone wall on the top of the Common which has been getting rather narrow in places.  We were joined on the Sunday work party by our friends from the Gloucester Vale Conservation Volunteers who are always welcome.

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Work done on Thursday 9th February 2023

As well as cutting some more gorse in the same area we worked on in January we also finished off clearing the remaining gorse and hawthorn in the area on top of the Common used by paragliders which we started work on in early January.

Work done on Thursday 12th, Tuesday 17th and Sunday 22nd January 2023

We have had contractors back on Charlton Kings Common to cut gorse on the steep slopes and our job over the last three work parties has been to burn the resulting cuttings.  We have also taken the opportunity while in this area to cut some of the gorse at lower levels which is more easy to access.

Work done on Saturday 7th January 2023

We arranged a special work party for today so that we could be joined by local paragliders who wanted an area on the top of the Common that they use for take-off and landing to be cleared of gorse.  Despite the horribly wet weather 10 volunteers turned up and we managed to cut down all the gorse they wanted removing, but we’ll have to wait for a dryer day to burn it!

Work done on Tuesday 20th December 2020

We spent our time clearing scrub that was encroaching on a couple of clearings close to Five Ways and the bottom of the Windass track, but we did find time to take a break for cake!

Work done on Thursday 8th December 2022

Back to the same place again but this time to recover and burn all the cuttings from the previous work parties.  The fire was welcome on a freezing morning!

Work done on Sunday 27th  November 2022

We continued our work to clear gorse and hawthorn to the East of the turning circle at the end of Daisy Bank Road.  It was good to be joined by a number of new volunteers, some doing it as part of their work towards Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Work done on Thursday 22nd November 2022

We had a third party of students and staff help us today.  This time they were from the new High School Leckhampton.  They continued the work to clear the growth from the old Cotswold stone wall and the edges of a third quarry hole.  They were also given a tour of the Hill to see the cattle and some of the other interesting features.

These visits have been very productive and all appeared to enjoy themselves.

Work done on Friday 18th November 2022

We had to cancel our regular Tuesday work party due to the heavy rain but managed to re-arrange it for today.  In this slightly extended session we managed to burn all of the gorse cuttings that contractors had generated when they recently finished off clearing the large bank area that they had started doing in September.

Work done on Thursday 10th November 2022

We started work today on cutting and treating gorse and hawthorn just to the East of the turning circle.  Now that the cattle are back on the Common we also did some work to open up the cattle tracks to the West of the turning circle that were getting closed off by scrub encroachment.

Work done on Friday 4th November 2022

We were joined by another group of 30 students and 3 teachers from Cheltenham College.  This time they worked on clearing growth partially obscuring the new Cotswold stone wall leading from Hartley Lane and cutting down scrub that the tractorised flail used previously had not been able to reach.  They were also given a guided tour of parts of the site.  Thanks to them for their help.

Work done on Tuesday 18th October 2022

Another session clearing and burning gorse and tidying up the area cleared by contractors.

Work done on Thursday 13th October 2022

We went back to the same place today and continued the burning of the gorse cut by contractors.  We managed to clear the majority of the cut gorse in this extended work party.

We were helped in this work by volunteers from the local company Talogy.

Work done on Thursday 6th October 2022

We had an extra, extended work party today to start the big task of burning all the gorse that has recently been cut down by contractors.  We were lucky to be joined by a group from the company Capita who had been released in the afternoon to volunteer with us.

Work done on Friday 30th September 2022

We held a special work party today for 30 pupils and 3 teachers from Cheltenham College.  They spent some time cutting down and tidying up the edges of Brownstone Quarry car park.  They also joined in with the mowing and raking up of long grass and cutting down scrub in the quarry area itself.  They were also given a guided tour around parts of the site.  Thanks to them for their help.

Work done on Sunday 25th September 2022

Another of our annual tasks today: mowing the clearing we know as ‘Area 16’ above Bridge car park on Daisy Bank Road and raking up the cuttings.

Work done on Tuesday 20th September 2022

We went up to the top of Leckhampton Hill today and worked in a couple of areas.  Firstly we gave the tramway sidings area its annual haircut in order to keep this historic feature visible.  We also but back scrub that was encroaching on to one of the nearby footpaths.

Work done on Thursday 8th September 2022

We went back to the area where the Cotswold stone wall is being rebuilt, as we did on 9th June, and moved some more stones and cleared the undergrowth and wire fencing off another section of the old wall.  This was to enable the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens to continue rebuilding the wall.

Work done on Sunday 28th August 2022

We were joined today by the Gloucester Vale Conservation Volunteer which enabled us to get quite a few jobs done.  This was mainly to open up various footpaths and tracks that were getting overgrown and to give the Limekilns area its annual trim.

Work done on Tuesday 16th August 2022

We had to cancel the last work party due to the high temperatures but the weather was much kinder today and we got a lot done.  We were also joined by a number of young volunteers who are working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

We did our annual cuts of the grass obscuring the ancient barrow and the nearby Cotswold stone wall, and mowed the edges of the ‘Butterfly Motorway’ track and ‘Judy’s Ride’ footpath.  We also removed some scrub that was obscuring the views from one of the benches.

Work done on Thursday 14th & Sunday 24th July 2022

Back to one of our regular summer jobs, pulling up Ragwort on Charlton Kings Common and removing it from the site.  Sorry, no photos!

Work done on Sunday 26th June 2022

Today we went back to our long term task of clearing the growth off and alongside the main Cotswold stone wall that runs along the top of Charlton Kings Common to prevent it from being damaged by this growth and to make it more visible again.

Work done on Tuesday 21st June 2022

We started off by doing a little bit more tidying up of felled wood on the main incline to clear and reinstate some of the mountain bike trails.  We then went further up the Hill to clear growth off a section of wire fencing that, as can be seen below, had become smothered.

Work done on Thursday 9th June 2022

Today we majored on the demolition of a section of old Cotswold stone wall so that it can be rebuilt by the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens to create a memorial wall.  The work involved moving new stone from the farmer’s field to the front of the wall and then removing stones from the old wall and segregating them into piles of larger reusable stones and smaller infill material (before and after photos below).  We also managed to squeeze in some litter picking in a nearby area that had been opened up by removing a wire fence which had exposed quite a bit of accumulated rubbish.

Work done on Tuesday 17th & Sunday 22nd May 2022

At the Tuesday work party we continued with the dragging and chipping work started at the previous work party.  On the Sunday the chipper was not available and so we progressed the clearing of the felled wood and brash from the footpath and used some of it to create ‘dead hedges’ on the edges of the footpath – see photo below.

Work done on Thursday 12th May 2022

Dead/dying ash trees affected badly by ash dieback are having to be felled alongside some of the main footpaths on the site for safety reasons.  Today’s main job was to help clear up some of the felled wood and chipping it.

We were lucky to be helped out today by a group from GCC/Atkins Structures Team who had been released to do some volunteering with us.  We are always grateful when companies offer to do this.  It helps us enormously.

As we had good numbers today we also managed to do some work to clear growth from fences, walls and footpaths nearby.

Work done on Tuesday 19th & Sunday 24th April 2022

We went back to the main Cotswold stone wall to continue the work of clearing it of growth that we started last year.  Although we haven’t yet cleared the full length, you can see from the before and after photos below that the wall is now becoming more visible from the local path.

Work done on Thursday 14th April 2022

Something different today!  We worked on clearing the growth of a section of the old Cotswold stone wall on the top of Leckhampton Hill where it is planned to rebuild it to form a memorial wall.  Our volunteer numbers were boosted by a group of young people working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Before and after photos below.

Work done on Sunday 27th March 2022

We did our last batch of gorse cutting for the season today.  This was at the Eastern end of the site.

Work done on Thursday 10th and Tuesday 15th March 2022

We went back up to the top of Charlton Kings Common alongside the Cotswold Way to burn the gorse cuttings we had generated in February and to cut a bit more so as to stop the Cotswold stone wall from being overgrown and obscured.  Also, on the first day, two volunteers took a detour to remove a small tree that had fallen across Judy’s Ride footpath near Brownstone Quarry.

Work done on Sunday 27th February 2022

We went to an open area on the Western side of Leckhampton Hill which was being slowly invaded by scrub.  We removed all this scrub so as to retain it as an open area of grassland.  Before and after photos below.  As can be seen it was frosty work to start with but after a while the sun came round and warmed us up.

Work done on Tuesday 15th February 2022

We ran out of luck today!  It was continuous rain all morning so the work party was cancelled.

Work done on Thursday 10th February 2022

Another session of gorse removal but this time to open up the views from the Cotswold Way on top of the Common.  This was quite effective as can be seen from the before and after photos below.

Work done on Sunday 23rd January 2022

The gorse cutting contractors has also worked in a nearby second area so we went back to this and burnt their cuttings.  We also cut, treated and burnt some more gorse in the lower parts of this area.  Before and after photos below.

Work done on Thursday 13th & Tuesday 18th January 2022

As the contractors had done quite a bit more gorse cutting since our last work party of 2021 we started 2022 by going back and burning their cuttings and clearing a bit more gorse ourselves to fully open up the area.  We now have a significant area of species-rich grassland that has been cleared of gorse as can be seen in the photo below.

Work done on Tuesday 21st December 2021

We had a very good turnout today with our numbers boosted by quite a few young people who are volunteering as part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards efforts.   With such large numbers we split into two groups.  The first spent their time burning gorse cuttings that had been produced by contractors working on the site.  The second group cleared an area of gorse nearby, also in support of the contractors.  Before and after photos below.

Work done on Thursday 9th December 2021

To have a change from gorse clearance we visited a number of clearings above Bridge Car Park to remove saplings and to brushcut away the long grass and bramble growth which was getting quite dense in places.  We want to keep these clearances open and not reverting to scrub so that they can be enjoyed by the likes of butterflies.

Before After

Work done on Sunday 28th November 2021

We continued our work cutting back the gorse encroaching on to the Windass track and managed to reach the top.  We also cut back gorse on the diagonal path leading up to Windass.

Before After

Work done on Tuesday 16th November 2021

Some more gorse cutting today.  This time on the track we call Windass which runs up to the middle of the top of Charlton Kings Common.  The gorse was beginning to narrow the track and block the views.  The before and after photos below show how much we opened it up.  Enjoy!

Work done on Thursday 11th November 2021

We went up to the area between Salterley Quarry and Hartley Lane and removed gorse and some Holm Oak saplings along with brushcutting and raking up the long grass.  This was to try and improve this area for butterflies.  The result of our work can be seen in the photo below.  The whole area looked a bit like that on the right of the photo before we started.

Work done on Sunday 24th October 2021

Today we continued our work to open up the views from the top of the Western end of Charlton Kings Common by removing tall gorse, hawthorn and bramble.  This has been quite effective as can be seen from the photo below.

Work done on Tuesday 19th October 2021

Today we did some clearance work in Brownstones Quarry.  We removed scrub (e.g. hawthorn, ash and cotoneaster) that was encroaching into the open grassy areas.  We also mowed some of the grassy areas where the tall species were becoming too dominant.  We also took a break!

Work done on Thursday 14th October 2021

Today we started the job of removing gorse and bramble to open up the views from the Western end of Charlton Kings Common.

Work done on Sunday 26th September 2021

We were assisted today by a group from the Gloucester Vale Conservation Volunteers and worked on cutting a wide route through a thick bank of gorse to open up a path that it is hoped will be used by butterflies as well as the cattle.  See the before and after photos below.

Work done on Tuesday 21st September 2021

Today we went up to the top of Leckhampton Hill to do our annual mowing of the Barrow so as to make it more prominent.

Before cutting

After cutting

In addition we cut back the growth on some of the sidings which were getting obscured and removed the growth covering the Cotswold stone wall near the Barrow.

Sidings

Work done on Saturday 11th September 2021

We held a special work party today for a local church group who volunteered to help us.  They helped us to clear some gorse that was blocking the views from the Cotswold Way.  As you can see from the before and after photos below this was a big improvement.  A big thanks should therefore go to those who helped.

Work done on Thursday 9th September 2021

Today we thinned out a patch of gorse in an area on top of the Hill where fly orchids grow.  These orchids were being shaded out by the gorse hence the need for our work.

Work done on Sunday 22nd August 2021

We were joined today by Gloucester Vale Conservation Volunteers so we had a really good turnout of 18 people which allowed us to get a lot of work done.  We did our annual cut of what we call ‘Area 16’ which is the open area above Bridge Car Park on Daisy Bank Road.  This involved mowing the area, raking up the cuttings and dumping them in a convenient hollow.  With the extra help we managed to do it all in the one session whereas it usually takes us two.  A big thank you therefore to Gloucester Vale Conservation Volunteers.

Work done on Tuesday 17th August 2021

Today we did one of our regular summer jobs: pulling up Hemp Agrimony.  If left to its own devices Hemp will form dense patches that kill off the underlying grass and so we try and thin it out each year.  We have found that this approach doesn’t eradicate it but it does seem to keep it under control.

Work done on Thursday 12th August 2021

We had a good turnout today and continued with clearing the fence line at the bottom of the site along the track we call ‘The Gallops’.

Work done on Sunday 25th July 2021

Our main task today was to walk over Charlton Kings Common pulling up Ragwort, bagging it and removing it from the site.  (Ragwort can be harmful to the cattle if they should eat it.)

Ragwort

We also had a number of young people who are doing the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme join us.  They helped to burn some hawthorn cuttings that were left over from a work party some time ago.  They also helped to collect the bags of Ragwort and added these to the fire.  Thanks for your help.

Work done on Tuesday 20th July 2021

We continued the work started at the last work party, clearing the fence line along the bottom of Charlton Kings Common, and managed to get part way along The Gallops.  We also did some brushcutting: cutting down the growth alongside the Cotswold stone wall by Hopkins Fields at the far eastern end of the site.  You can see from the photos below how necessary this work was and how nice it is to be able to see this wall again.

Work done on Thursday 8th July 2021

Today we had a change of scene.  Instead of clearing the wall on the top, this time we were clearing the fence line alongside the top end of Sandy Lane which was getting overrun with bramble and other growth.  Hopefully this will stop the fence from be pulled down by this growth.

Work done on Tuesday 15th and Sunday 27th June 2021

We were still working on clearing the growth along the main Cotswold stone wall but this time on our (Charlton Kings Common) side.  We removed some patches of gorse and a lot of Old Man’s Beard clematis that were obscuring the wall from view.  Our clearance work has now got as far as the gate in the wall that leads to the footpath to Hartley Farm so we can now call a halt to this work and start on something else next time.

Work done on Thursday 10th June 2021

We are continuing working on clearing the main Cotswold stone wall and managed to remove all the gorse from the farmer’s side and burn most of the cuttings.

Just to show I’m not a hard task master I thought I’d include this photo of the volunteers taking a well-deserved break.

Work done on Sunday 23rd May 2021

We were back in the same area today but this time we concentrated on burning the gorse cuttings that we had generated.

Work done on Thursday 13th and Tuesday 13th May 2021

A good number of brave volunteers turned up on Thursday despite the weather forecast, and the rain held off, mostly!  Our task was to start clearing the growth on the back of the main Cotswold stone wall on the top of the Hill.  This was beginning to obscure, and potentially damage, the wall.  We continued this work on the Tuesday and were quite pleased with the progress we had made, but there is still quite a bit to do.

One disappointing thing we found was the amount of rubbish, particularly dog poo bags, that had been thrown over the wall.  Out of sight, out of mind presumably.  It is not nice to have to work with this mess underfoot.  Why do people do it?

Work done on Sunday 25th April 2021

We did a bit more tidying up today.  This time of hawthorn that we cut last December in an area above Daisy Bank Road between the pull-in and the turning circle.  Even though we had two fires going we didn’t manage to burn it all so we will have to go back at some time.  (Sorry about the lack of photos, I’m out of practice!)

Work done on Thursday 8th & Tuesday 20th April 2021

The work parties are back in action following the lifting of the lockdown.  Yippee!

Our first tasks were to clear up cuttings in various places left from previous work.  The first to address was the gorse cuttings left in 2 places.  The main place was at the East end of our site where a route had been cut through the gorse to make it easier for butterflies, particularly the Duke of Burgundy which relies on Cowslips, to move between areas.

The other place was further up the slope, above the Cotswold Way, where a fire break had been cut into the area of thick gorse.

The other thing we noticed while up there was that other fire breaks we had cut in the 2019/20 winter season were now showing a healthy crop of violets which was nice to see.

Work done during January to March 2021

Although the Covid-19 lockdown was in force during this period, and formal work parties were not held, a number of individual volunteers did go out and do some work.  This mainly comprised litter picking and cutting down gorse to create another fire break and to open up a butterfly flight path between two areas.

Work done on Sunday 27th December 2020

We went back up to the top of Charlton Kings Common today to burn the gorse cuttings we had left a couple of work parties ago.  We struggled a bit at first to get the fire going as the gorse was rather damp but eventually we had a good blaze and managed to burn all the gorse cuttings as you can see from the before(ish!) and after photos below.  We also had time to cut a bit more gorse to open up the track that runs through this area.

Work done on Tuesday 15th December 2020

As a change from cutting down prickly gorse we had a session today cutting down prickly hawthorn!  This was in an area above Daisybank Road near to the turning circle.  There were quite a few hawthorn bushes here which, if not removed, would start to form an impenetrable copse in a few years.  As you can see from the before and after photos below we chopped down quite a number, but we will have to go back some time and burn the cuttings.

I think that the general consensus from today’s volunteers was that they prefer gorse!

Work done on Thursday 10th December 2020

Another session of chopping down gorse.  This time we were on the top of Charlton Kings Common alongside the Cotswold Way cutting out another fire break.  The wind was a bit strong and blustery and we weren’t confident about controlling a fire if we tried burning the cuttings.  As such we will need to go back another day to do the burning.

Before and after photos are shown below.  The after photo may not show the full extent of the clearance we did due to the amount of cut gorse still lying on the ground but at least you can now see the Cotswold Stone wall.

Work done on Wednesday 2nd December 2020

We had to stop work parties during November due to the second Covid-19 lockdown but have now started up again.  To try and catch up we are holding an extra work party on the 1st Wednesday of each month for the next few months.  This was the first one.

We went back to an area we worked on last year alongside The Gallops which has some good species-rich grassland which is being encroached on by gorse.  We set to in removing, treating and burning more of the gorse.  No doubt we will be back there again.

Work done on Tuesday 20th & Sunday 25th October 2020

We had a couple of good sessions working on the top of Charlton Kings Common.  We created a new fire break in the thick stand of gorse and…

…we also cut back the gorse nearby that was blocking the view from one of the benches.

Work done on Thursday 8th October 2020

We had a good session today, despite getting caught by a rain shower!

We were working above Daisy Bank Road near the (dry) pond.  Some of the volunteers spent their time on removing Cotoneaster and the remainder did some scrub clearance to keep an area of grassland open.

I forgot (again!) to take the before photos so the after photos below don’t really show how much we cleared.

The cattle enjoyed our bonfire!  Anyone for roast beef?

Work done on Sunday 27th September 2020

We started what is usually one of our major winter jobs today: gorse clearance.  We did this at the far East end of the site, below the Cotswold Way, where the gorse has grown particularly thick over the last few years.

We only(!) had 10 volunteers today, but that’s still a good number for a Sunday, boosted again by new volunteers.  Lovely!

Work done on Tuesday 15th September 2020

We did our last round of annual clearance jobs today visiting both the Limekilns area and the Sidings on the top of the Hill.  We brushcut and cleared away the annual growth which tends to obscure these industrial archaeological feature.  (The sidings are shown in the photos below.)

We had an even better turnout today: 18 volunteers.  Wow!

Work done on Thursday 10th September 2020

We went up to Brownstone Quarry today and, using the mower and brushcutters, we cut and raked up the grass  in the areas which were getting dominated by tall species which could well be shading out the more interesting but smaller varieties.

We had a very good turnout today with 17 volunteers attending, including a number of new people which was nice to see.

Work done on Sunday 23rd August 2020

We went a along to the East end of the site and cleared back the plants growing over and in front of the main Cotswold stone wall that had slowly been obscuring it since it was rebuilt.  It can now be seen in all its glory.

Work done on Thursday 13th & Tuesday 18th August 2020

Another annual job, but a bit more exciting than pulling Hemp Agrimony!  We mowed and cleared what we call ‘Area 16’ which is above Bridge car park on Daisy Bank Road.

Work done on Thursday 9th, Tuesday 14th & Sunday 26th July 2020

We did our least exciting summer task this month: pulling Hemp Agrimony.  This ‘weed’ can form large and dense clumps that damage the protected grassland.  Over the years we have been doing this task we have managed to get rid of the worst patches but there are still a lot of more dispersed plants which we try to keep under control to try and avoid other dense patches from forming.  We have also removed Ragwort from a number of places during this period as well.

Work done on Sunday 5th July 2020

Because of the significant increase in the amount of litter on the Hill during the Coronavirus period we decided to hold a special litter picking work party.  Ten of our regular volunteers turned up and we spread across various parts of the Hill picking up litter as we went.  After 2 to 3 hours effort we had collected 10 or more full bags of rubbish which we put into the the back of the council’s truck for proper disposal.

Unsurprisingly I suppose, most of the litter was booze and snack related, along with used disposal barbecues.  We also collected 2 chairs, a galvanised bucket, an umbrella, some drug paraphernalia and various other objects, unfortunately too many to mention them all!  We hope this work party made an impression and left the Hill looking better.

We are aware that quite a few unsung heroes regularly pick up litter whenever they visit the Hill.  Without them the Hill would look a lot worse.  We don’t really know who they are but we do thank them all.  It’s just a pity that a minority of uncaring people drop the litter in the first place.  It would be nicer for all if they didn’t.

If you don’t want to take your litter home with you please, at least, take it back down to the car parks where you will find rubbish bins.  If you don’t want to do this then leave it piled up where some kind soul doing litter picking can find it easily.  Please don’t throw it over the edge of the Hill thus making it difficult to recover.

Work done on Sunday 28th June 2020

We were back to one of our regular summer jobs: pulling up Hemp Agrimony which is an invasive ‘weed’ which if left to its own devices will produce dense patches which smother out other more important plants.  We also removed some Ragwort (which can be poisonous to the cattle) from the top of Charlton Kings Common.

Work done on Tuesday 16th June 2020

Today we finished off the job of burning the piles of hawthorn cuttings above the Gallops and so we have now finally managed to tidy up from the jobs we did before the lockdown started!  We can now get on with new jobs at our next work parties.

Work done on Thursday 11th June 2020

Hurrah! We’ve now restarted our regular work parties, albeit with a maximum of six volunteers at a time who need to be pre-booked in.

We went up to the same site as the special work party in May when the gorse cuttings were burnt to start clearing away the piles of cut hawthorn that were also left there. We managed to cut and burn quite a lot of this (see photos below) but there is still more to do.

We all agreed that it was good to get back onto the Hill and being able to do some work again.

Work done on Wednesday 27th May 2020

Although regular work parties have been cancelled until further notice we were given special dispensation by Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) to do a special work party.

Just prior to the start of the Covid-19 lockdown we had been cutting down gorse and hawthorn in an area above the Gallops to open up a flight path for butterflies, particularly the Duke of Burgundy which frequent that area.  However, the lockdown prevented us getting back onto the site to burn the resulting cuttings that had been piled up.  We were getting concerned that these piles, particularly the gorse, had become very dry and were a potential fire hazard which, if they should catch light, could result in an out-of-control and devastating fire on the site.  As such, 6  FOLK volunteers and 2 CBC Rangers went up to the site and burnt all the gorse and some of the hawthorn cuttings in a controlled manner (and following a specially prepared risk assessment) so as to remove this hazard.  The dried gorse proved to be very flammable which confirmed the importance of doing this work.

Work done on Thursday 12th March 2020

We went back up to where we had created a fire break at the last work party and managed to burn all the piles of gorse cuttings that had been left.  As you can see from the second photo below we now have a nice wide fire break.

Work done on Sunday 23rd February 2020

Again the weather wasn’t brilliant but we managed to get quite a bit of work done despite the passing showers.  We went up to the top of Charlton Kings Common to finish off a job we started in November.  That was to create a wide fire break in the thick bank of gorse just above the Cotswold Way.

Work done on Thursday 13th and Tuesday 18th February 2020

We spent two work parties clearing an area towards the East end of the site of hawthorn and gorse to try and open it up and make a better environment for the Duke of Burgundy butterflies.  On one of them we were joined by Wayne and his chainsaw which speeded up the process.  We now have a large pile of cuttings which we will need to come back to to burn.

Work done on Sunday 26th January 2020

The weather forecast for the late morning was not good so we worked close to our meeting point so that we could make a swift exit should the heavens opened.  As it happens it only started drizzling about midday so we managed to clear the remainder of the gorse and some hawthorn in the North-West corner of Charlton Kings Common where we had previously worked in October.  We were helped enormously with this work by being joined by 7 volunteers from Gloucester Vale Conservation Volunteers.  Many thanks to them.

Work done on Thursday 9th and Tuesday 21st January 2020

We continued the task we started in November to clear an area of gorse from above the Gallops.  We have now managed to clear a significant area which we hope not to have to revisit again as we have chemically treated the stumps.

Work done on Tuesday 17th & Sunday 22nd December 2019

At last some decent(ish) weather.  On the first work party we cut down a lot of gorse and hawthorn above Daisybank Road between the pull-in and the turning circle.  The mist was swirling around a little but at one stage it cleared to give us an interesting view – Cheltenham was covered by a bank of mist and all we could see was Cleeve Hill peaking out from this.

At the second work party we managed to burn all the cuttings from the previous one.  A good job by all.

Work done on Thursday 12th December 2019

Another work party cancelled due to rain!

Work done on Friday 29th November 2019

We added an extra work party today, partly because we missed one earlier in the month due to bad weather, but mainly because we were joined by 9 volunteers who had been allowed to join us by their company SHS-Sales.  We decided to continue some work we had started in September: clearing a fire break in the large, dense gorse area on the top level of the site alongside the Cotswold Way.  With all that help we not only finished the area we had previously started but also made very good headway in clearing another fire break a little further along.  Thanks very much to our extra volunteers.  Come again sometime.

Work done on Sunday 24th November 2019

We continued where we left off at the last work party and managed to clear another section.  We are steadily getting higher up the slope and leaving a sizable clear area behind us.

Work done on Tuesday 19th November 2019

The weather obliged today and we had a good turnout.  The main job we did was cutting, treating and burning gorse just above the Gallops track at the lower level.  This is an area we cleared maybe 5 years ago but didn’t treat so it just grew back more vigorously!  Hopefully we did a better job this time but it will take a few work parties to finish it.  As you will see below, the cattle enjoyed the fire.

Work done on Thursday 14th November 2019

The weather was awful today so the work party was cancelled.

Work done on Sunday 27th October 2019

Today was such a lovely sunny day after days of rain! We spent the time in a glade in the North-West corner of Charlton Kings Common alongside Daisy Bank Road where we removed hawthorn saplings, bramble and some gorse to avoid them stealthily taking over the area.

Work done on Tuesday 15th October 2019

We did some grass mowing on the top of Leckhampton Hill today, and also cut back the plant growth that was partially covering and obscuring the Cotswold stone wall opposite the ancient barrow that is nearby.

Work done on Thursday 10th October 2019

We got on with one of our usual Summer/Autumn tasks: mowing the barrow, ‘butterfly motorway’ and the sidings up on the top of Leckhampton Hill.  Now these interesting features are more visible.

Barrow after grass cutting

Sidings before grass cutting

Sidings after grass cutting

Work done on Sunday 22nd September 2019

It was not the nicest of days weather wise so turnout wasn’t large!  However, we managed to clear some gorse just above the end of Daisy Bank Road.

Work done on Thursday 12th and Tuesday 17th September 2019

We made good headway in creating a fire break in a dense gorse area on the top of Charlton Kings Common.  In the process we cleared out the gorse that had been damaged by fire earlier in the year which was unsightly.  Before and after photos are shown below.

Work done on Tuesday 20th and Sunday 25th August 2019

We continued with the task of pulling up Hemp Agrimony.  As the seed heads are now beginning to form we plucked off the flower heads (before pulling up and dropping the plants), bagged them and removed them from the Hill.  We also pulled up and removed some flowering Ragwort.

Work done on Thursday 8th August 2019

Today we were joined by 5 people from THB Group who are a local company who allow staff to do volunteering days.  They helped us with our annual cut of the clearing above Bridge Car Park on Daisy Bank Road (what we call Area 16).  By cutting this annually we prevent scrub growing back and hopefully encourage the growth and spread of interesting flowering plants.

Work done on Sunday 28th July 2019

We were joined today by 9 people from Gloucester Vale Conservation volunteers which was nice.  We all went for a good wander along the lower levels of Charlton Kings Common and on to the Hopkins Fields pulling up and removing ragwort which can cause problems if eaten by the cattle.  On our walk back to base we did a bit more Hemp Agrimony pulling as well.  (Sorry, forgot to take any photos!)

Work done on Tuesday 16th July 2019

Back to one of our regular summer tasks: pulling Hemp Agrimony.  This is a weed that can become very dense if we don’t try and manage it.  We will probably never get rid of it but at least it now appears to be under control.

Work done on Thursday 11th July 2019

We managed to finish off our footpath clearance work, this time around Five Ways and the Gallops.  Hopefully the horse riders will not have to duck as much!

I don’t know whether you can tell the difference from the before and after photos below but we cut down quite a few branches here.

Work done on Sunday 23rd June 2019

We continued our task of wandering around the footpaths and tracks, this time on the lower slopes of Charlton Kings Common, cutting back encroaching scrub and overhanging branches.  We even found time to have a break and enjoy home-made cakes and home-grown strawberries!

We also replaced some capping stones that had been knocked off the top of a short sections of the main Cotswold stone wall at the top of the site.

Work done on Tuesday 18th June 2019

We finished off burning the pile of brash left at the back of Brownstone Quarry Car Park.  We also walked along the front edge of the top of Charlton Kings Common above Daisybank Road and cut back the encroaching scrub along the various tracks in the area, some used by the cattle and others also by walkers.

Work done on Thursday 13th June 2019

A few days before our work party the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens had cut down a number of trees at the back of Brownstone Quarry Car Park and left a pile of brash.  (The intention is that this area will be used to increase the area of the car park which overflows at busy time.)  We went along and used some of this brash to construct a protective barrier around an area in Brownstone Quarry where adders are found.  This will hopefully deter people and dogs from entering this area and disturbing the adders.  There was more brash in the pile than we needed for this purpose so we started to burn it, despite the rain!

Work done on Sunday 26th May 2019

We had a good turnout today and managed to do a number of jobs.  We burnt a couple of piles of brash left from previous work parties: one on Hartley Lane and another near the limekilns.  We reprofiled some steps along the Woodland Walk which had become a bit silted up.  Finally we walked a number of footpaths and tracks on the top of Leckhampton Hill and cut back encroaching scrub and branches.

Work done on Tuesday 21st May 2019

We again split up the work party.  One group dug out some drainage channels on the Standard Gauge Incline up from Bridge Car Park to try and get some of the rainwater to run off the sides rather than all rushing to the bottom and creating a muddy pond.

Another group replaced some supporting boards on the side of one of the tracks to the East of the Limekiln Ruins where the path was subsiding.

The remainder wandered round the various paths and tracks, mainly above Daisy Bank Road, cutting back encroaching shrubbery and branches.

Work done on Thursday 9th May 2019

Today we split the work party up a bit.  Some of us spent time repairing steps on one of the paths that goes up from Daisy Bank Road.  The remainder worked in the area above Bridge Car Park and burnt the pile of ash sapling cuttings that we had left from a previous work party.

Work done on Sunday 28th April 2019

Another fire again today!  We returned to Salterley Quarry and gathered together and burnt the ash saplings that we had cut down during an earlier work party.

Work done on Thursday 11th and Tuesday 16th April 2019

We thought we had finished our gorse cutting for the season but, because of the unsightly mess left by the malicious fire at the top of Charlton Kings Common, we decided to remove and get rid of the damaged gorse in this area.

damaged gorse before we started

damaged gorse removed

Work done on Tuesday 19th & Sunday 24th March 2019

This time we went up to the site of the old tramway sidings, used back in the quarrying days, and cleared away a lot of saplings that were taking over the place.

Before                                                                After

 

There were quite a few walkers about who stopped for a chat and were surprised to hear what the original function of this area was.  Our aim is to keep this area cut back to try to improve awareness of the industrial archaeology of the site.

Work done Thursday 14th March 2019

We visited Salterley Quarry today and cut down and treated ash saplings that were re-growing around the edges of the quarry.  We removed quite a few but there are still some standing which we will have to return to some time.

Work done on Sunday 24th February 2019

We had a massive work party today with 30 volunteers!  That must be a record.  The reason was that we were joined by local paragliders who fly from the Hill and who wanted some clearance work to be done in the areas they used.  With so many people we managed to clear, treat and burn a lot of gorse and remove one hawthorn tree.  This should now give the paragliders a much clearer area for them to enjoy their sport.

Work done on Tuesday 19th February 2019

Another good turnout today!  We worked alongside the track that goes up from the Woodland Walk to the top of the Hill and removed a lot of ash saplings that were crowding in this area.  We also removed some cotoneaster and other unwanted bits and pieces from the open grass bank just below the track.  There were a lot of walkers and dogs passing us while we worked, some of them stopping for a pat and a stroke (the dogs that is!).  We also had the Cheltenham Borough Council Executive Director, Senior Ranger and photographer join us which was nice.

Work done on Thursday 14th February 2019

It was definitely a change today!  Not only were we not removing gorse but we also went to a site we have not visited for a long time.  We went up to Deadman’s Quarry (which is just below the topograph) and cleared away various saplings that were beginning to get a bit too big and too extensive.  We also removed and treated a large bank of cotoneaster.  This has now opened up this area (which is used by quite a few people) a bit more although there is a bit more we could do at some time to open up the far views from this spot.

Work done on Sunday 27th January 2019

Today we had a really good bonfire and managed to clear all the remaining gorse cuttings on the top of Charlton Kings Common.  Apologies to anyone passing by who was affected by the smoke.

Work done on Tuesday 15th January 2019

An even better turnout today so we managed to finish cutting the gorse in the same area as last time.  Although we had two fires burning we still didn’t manage to burn all the cuttings.  I wonder what we will be doing at the next work party!

Work done on Thursday 10th January 2019

We started the new year off with a good turnout, but an old job!  We went back to cutting, treating and burning gorse on the top of Charlton Kings Common.  Everybody was full of vigour after their Christmas break and managed to cut more than we could burn in the time so it’s probably back to finish of next week.

Work done on Sunday 23rd December 2018

Today we moved our base around to Salterley Quarry and spent the time removing and treating ash saplings along the edge of Hartley Lane.

Work done on Tuesday 18th December 2018

Similar to the beginning of November, the weather forecast wasn’t too promising today so we worked near to our meeting point and finished cutting and treating ash saplings.  We also removed some dogwood which is flourishing in a patch in the same area.  Fortunately the rain held off for most of the morning but by midday we were getting a bit cold and damp so we finished a little early.

Work done on Thursday 13th December 2018

Back onto cutting gorse again but in a slightly different place a bit further East.  We removed, treated and burnt gorse in a thick patch that is blocking the view from the Cotswold Way.

Work done on Sunday 25th November 2018

A couple of jobs today.  Firstly we removed the temporary paddock in Daisybank Field that the young calves had been kept in.  Secondly we went along Daisybank Road and worked in and around a hawthorn copse to cut back some of the hawthorn growth to give better access to the cattle to get into and through this area.  This is an area used by the cattle quite a bit and some of the tracks through were getting a bit overgrown.

Work done on Tuesday 20th November 2018

After a month off we went back up to the top of Charlton Kings Common and continued the rotational cutting of gorse.  It was a very productive session with a good number of volunteers attending and the use of the new saw attachment on our brushcutter.  We have now cleared and burnt the cutting from quite a large area.  We will probably leave this area now and move elsewhere next time.

Going,

going,

gone!

Work done on Thursday 8th November 2018

As the weather forecast wasn’t too good today we decided to stay close to our meeting point so we could make a run for it if needed!  We went to the top of the clearing above Bridge Car Park and continued the task of cutting and treating the thicket of ash saplings.  With the rain holding off we managed to make good inroads on this job and ended up with quite a large pile of cut saplings we will probably need to burn sometime.

Work done on Sunday 28th October 2018

We did some tidying up work today by going up to the lime kilns area and burning a piles of cut ash saplings and other debris we had cut back a month or two ago.

Work done on Tuesday 16th October 2018

Today we were up on the top of Leckhampton Hill raking up and removing grass that had been cut by a contractor.  Unfortunately, access is not good enough to get a baler in there so we have to clear it by hand to prevent the cuttings suffocating the live grass below it.

Work done on Thursday 11th October 2018

We had quite a jamboree up on the Hill today with 30 volunteers from FOLK, Cheltenham Borough Council and Cotswold Voluntary Wardens.  With so many people in attendance we were able to blitz what we call Area 16 (the open area above Bridge Car Park on Daisybank Road).  We try and come here once a year to cut back the annual growth so as to keep it as an open area with long views over Cheltenham.  As you can imagine, we achieved a lot.  Thanks to everybody who came.

Work done on Thursday 27th September 2018

We should have had a work party on Sunday but the weather was bad so we slipped it to today when the weather was really nice.  We had a really good bonfire and burnt a lot of the gorse we had cut down at the last work party.

Work done on Tuesday 18th September 2018

Today we started one of our winter tasks: cutting gorse.  Gorse has become rather prolific, particularly on the Common and needs to be reduced in area.  However, we don’t want to get rid of it all and so some areas will be rotationally cut every 5 to 10 years (rather than being cut and treated to kill it off).  Today we started to rotationally cut an area at the top of the Windass track and above the Cotswold Way path.  This will take a few work parties to clear and to burn the cuttings.  Some photos taken at the start and end of this work party are shown below.

Work done on Thursday 13th September 2018

We did a bit of footpath maintenance today.  The track that runs from the Woodland Walk, just along from the Limekilns, fairly steeply up to the top of the Hill had become rather overgrown so we got out the brushcutters and rakes to open it up again.  (Sorry, forgot to take photos!)

Work done on Sunday 26th August 2018

It was a wet and miserable day so we did a bit of tidying up around Daisybank Car Park and then went home early!

Work done on Tuesday 21st August 2018

And another annual task…at the limekilns area where we gave the undergrowth a trim and cut back a few overhanging branches to open up the views.  We also removed parts of a tree that had fallen onto the remains of the plant house.

Work done on Thursday 9th August 2018

Yet another annual task!  This time mowing around the ancient barrow to expose it and also mowing what we call the ‘Butterfly Motorway’ which is nearby.

Work done on Sunday 22nd July 2018

Another of our annual tasks today: erecting a temporary paddock in Daisybank Field.  This will be used to hold the new calves which have now been separated from their mothers.

Work done on Thursday 12th & Tuesday 17th July 2018

As a change from Hemp Agrimony pulling we did some Ragwort pulling!  On the first day, some of us wandered along the full length of Charlton Kings Common at various levels pulling up and bagging the dispersed Ragwort plants.  After this we joined the rest of the volunteers in Hopkins Fields where there is a lot of Ragwort.  The second day concentrated on Hopkins Fields.

Because dried Ragwort plants can be poisonous to the cattle we have to remove the pulled plants from the site.  As you can see from the photo below we pulled up quite a quantity, but there is still didn’t manage to clear it all!

Work done on Tuesday 19th & Sunday 24th June 2018

We continued with the Hemp Agrimony pulling job on these two days.  It’s a bit tedious but we did manage to remove quite a lot of plants.  As they have not yet started to flower or form seeds we could leave the pulled plants on the ground.  If the cattle find these they may well eat them.  We have found previously that the cattle tend to nibble only a few of the growing plants but are happy to eat much more after they have been pulled!

Work done on Thursday 14th June 2018

Today we started our regular summer job of pulling up Hemp Agrimony plants above the Gallops that can grow into dense patches that kill off the grass underneath if we don’t keep them under control.

In addition we did a bit of grass restoration work in the same area.  We brush cut a couple of patches to remove the small hawthorn and bramble scrub and the old rank grass.  Hopefully this will allow the smaller more interesting plants to regrow in the area.  (See the before and after photos below)

Work done on Sunday 27th May 2018

As the weather was not promising today we stayed close to our base and spent the time, before we were rained off, cutting down overhanging and broken branches along the standard gauge incline path that runs from Bridge Car Park on Daisybank Road up to the limekiln ruins.

Work done on Thursday 10th and Tuesday 15th May 2018

On these two work parties we did some grass restoration work.  We cut grass on the banks above the West end of Hartley Lane that had not been cut for a long time and had become a bit rank.  We also removed gorse in this area which was beginning to spread.  (We have enough of a gorse problem on the East side of the Site and don’t want it to get too much of a foothold in this area as well.)  On our second visit we managed to burn the gorse cuttings and most of the grass cuttings.

Work done on Tuesday 17th & Sunday 22nd April 2018

We finished burning the various piles of gorse cuttings that we had generated in previous winter work parties.  We also did a little bit of footpath maintenance.

Work done on Thursday 12th April 2018

Today we spent the time with our heads in the clouds, quite literally, but we still got a good deal of work done.  We went back to an area on top of the Hill, where we had cut down gorse earlier, to get rid of the cuttings.  We had a nice fire to keep us warm and it was lovely to be serenaded by a lark singing his heart out despite the low cloud.

Work done on Sunday 25th March 2018

We returned to the same area today but this time we attempted to remove bramble runners in an area that had previously had trees removed and is now bare earth.  We would like t to be colonised by something more interesting than bramble!  It was a bit of a tedious task but hopefully it has helped.

Work done on Thursday 8th & Tuesday 20th March 2018

We only went a short distance from our meeting point these two days, to the clearing above Bridge Car Park on Daisybank Road.  Here we attacked the proliferation of ash saplings.  We have been here before, and they have regrown since then, but this time we treated them to hopefully stop them regrowing again and us having to return again in the future.

Work done on Sunday 25th February 2018

We cut and treated a bit more gorse today but in a slightly different place, below the area worked on at the last two sessions.  This area was getting rather overgrown with gorse, hawthorn and bramble and blocking the tracks the cattle use to get through to grazing areas.  They now have clearer routes.

Work done on Tuesday 20th February 2018

We went back to the same site today and cut down and treated more gorse.  As we are getting to the end of the scrub-bashing season, when we are required to stop cutting to prevent disturbance to nesting birds, we concentrated on removal and will come back another day to do the burning.  When we don’t burn at the same time as cutting we are always pleasantly surprised to see how much we do in a single session as shown by the large piles of cuttings.

Work done on Thursday 8th February 2018

To continue our work on trying to push back the steady encroachment of gorse on Charlton Kings Common, today we worked on the top just below the Cotswold Way and removed and treated old, leggy gorse that was blocking off the views.

Work done on Sunday 28th January 2018

To have a break from the prickly stuff we revisited a site we worked on a couple of years ago.  Then we opened up a clearing alongside the lower level woodland walk close to the West end of Hartley Lane by removing a thick stand of ash saplings.  These have now started to grow back quite vigorously as we didn’t originally treat them with chemicals to kill them off.  We therefore went back, cut down the regrowth and treated the stumps.  Hopefully we won’t need to revisit this area again.  (See before and after below.)

Work done on Tuesday 16th January 2018

Another session on gorse today, but somewhere different.  We were on the top of the site towards the East end opening up a track through the block of gorse that is above the Cotswold Way.  This track is used by the cattle and our butterfly surveyors and was becoming rather narrow in places.  After last week’s trials we didn’t try to light a fire today so we will have to go back at some time and burn the cuttings.

Work done on Thursday 11th January 2018

We started the new year with a session on gorse.  We continued removing and treating gorse from the same area as on 21st November.  We managed to clear quite a bit but struggled to get a fire going because of the damp conditions so didn’t manage to burn it all.  In the photo below all the lank grass in the foreground is where we have cleared gorse.

Work done on Sunday 31st December 2017

A good number of volunteers came out for some early New Year’s Eve celebrations!  We went up to a small clearing (Area 16a) a bit above the Daisybank Road car parks and cut down and treated a number of ash saplings that were threatening to close in this area.

Work done on Tuesday 19th December 2017

We revisited a site we went to at the beginning of November and finished off removing a block of gorse – see the before and after photos below.

Work done on Thursday 14th December 2017

The heavy snow on the Hill at the weekend caused a bit of damage so we spent the work party wandering around the site cutting back branches that had fallen across fences, paths and roads.

Work done on Sunday 26th November 2017

A good turnout today despite the cold.  With a little help from our 4-legged friend Chunkie we removed the temporary electric fence from Daisybank Field and then went on to cut and treat ash saplings in the clearing above Bridge Car Park.

Work done on Tuesday 21st November 2017

We had another session of cutting, treating and burning gorse today, but in a different location: along the Gallops.  We also found time to celebrate a special occasion.  It was Mike’s 70th birthday so we had a break for special cake and coffee.

Work done on Thursday 9th November 2017

We started our regular winter task today by cutting, treating and burning a patch of gorse above the Daisybank track as can be seen from the before and after photos below.  As you can see there is still more to do here.

Work done on Sunday 22nd October 2017

We paid our annual visit to the limekilns today and trimmed back the year’s growth, cut down and treated sapling and removed some branches that were starting to obscure the entrance to the area.  It all looks a lot more open and accessible now.

Work done on Thursday 12th & Tuesday 17th October 2017

We returned to the Brownstone Quarry area for 2 work parties with full complements of volunteers.  We started by clearing a patch of Michaelmas Daisies, which were garden escapees, and then spent the rest of the time cutting back scrub that was encroaching on and killing off the grassland.  We haven’t worked in this area for some years and scrub growth has advanced a lot.  There is still more we could do here so we’ll be back sometime!

Work done on Sunday 24th September 2017

Only a small number of volunteers today but a lot was still achieved.  The thick patch of Canadian Golden Rod, that is not a native and was killing off the grass underneath, was pulled up at the start of the path next to Brownstone Quarry car park.  Work was also done to clear the edges of the footpath (known as Judy’s Ride).

Work done on Tuesday 19th September 2017

Today we did one of our regular annual tasks: trimming the open area above Bridge Car Park which is on Daisybank Road.  Using our mower and brushcutter we gave this area a good haircut to remove the annual growth which we raked up and dumped in a handy nearby hidden hollow.  This annual clearance helps to maintain a good variety of plants and butterflies and keeps the area open and accessible for visitors.

Work done on Thursday 14th September 2017

Today we gave the historic barrow on top of Leckhampton Hill its annual haircut!  Over the spring and summer the grass grows sufficiently to cover and hide the barrow hence the need each year for us to visit it each year to give it a trim and re-expose it.  While we were there we popped next door and did a bit of trimming on what we call the ‘Butterfly Motorway’.

Sorry there is no photo for this session.  I got so engrossed in driving the mower around that I forgot to take one!

Work done on 10th, 15th & 27th August 2017

On a dry day at the beginning of the month a contractor came in and did the annual grass cut up on top of Leckhampton Hill.  Unfortunately there is not enough room to get a baler up there so it’s down to the volunteers to rake up the grass cuttings.  That’s what we did…and it took us three work parties!  If we don’t rake up the grass cuttings they would smother and kill off the plants below which would rather defeat the object of doing the cutting in the first place.

Work done on Sunday 23rd July 2017

Today we did another of our annual jobs: erecting a temporary paddock on Daisybank Field which will be used for the Dexter calves.  People might notice that this seems to encroach on the footpath down the slope but we did this on purpose to try to reduce the erosion caused by footfall and to give the bare ground a chance to recover.

Work done on 8th, 20th & 25th June, 13th & 18th July 2017

We spent 5 work parties on our regular summer task of pulling up Hemp Agrimony.  This plant can form large dense patches that would shade out other more important grassland species and hence we need to keep it under control.  Over the years we have managed to get rid of the dense patches but there still remains quite a lot of more dispersed plants which we want to remove and reduce before flowers and seeds are formed.  We also spent time removing Ragwort from various areas on Charlton Kings Common and in the new grazing fields, Hopkins Fields, to the East of the site.

Work done on Sunday 28th May 2017

We finally finished burning all the cuttings that we had piled up from our winter work.  The last piles were of ash along the Woodland Walk that runs below the Devil’s Chimney.  It was all nice and dry and burnt well as can be seen from the photos below but at least it’s all looking a lot tidier now.

Work done on Tuesday 16th May 2017

Today we had a break from burning and instead did some brushcutting of the grassy banks alongside the West end of Hartley Lane.  The grass in this area has not been cut for a long time and a lot of dead thatch has been building up which is not good for the other plants and invertebrates we want to encourage.  We also pulled up and cleared a thick patch of Rosebay Willowherb.  All of the cut grass and pulled plants were raked up and removed from the site.  The end product is shown in the photo below.  Sorry, I forgot to take a before photo!

Work done on Thursday 11th May 2017

We may have finished burning the cut gorse but there a few piles of ash cuttings on the Leckhampton Hill side of the site that we created in earlier work parties.  Today we started attacking those and managed to burn a large pile that was in the small clearing above and slightly to the East of Bridge Car Park.

Work done on Sunday 23rd April 2017

At last, we finished burning the cut gorse.  The last remaining embers and today’s team can be seen in the photo below.

We also re-erected the exclosure on the side of Charlton Kings Common to repeat the trial we did last year to exclude the cattle from an area for a period to see what impact they are having on the number of flowers seen.

Work done on Tuesday 18th April 2017

We split the work party today.  One group went back up the Hill to continue the burning of the cut gorse.  The other group went to the East end of the Gallops, where it meets Hartley Lane, to cut back some of the overhanging branches.  This was to enable a delivery of stone to be made to support the rebuilding of the dry stone wall below Cowslip Meadow and alongside Hopkins Field.

Work done on Thursday 13th March 2017

We went back to a site on top of the Hill that we had visited in February to tidy up by burning the pile of cut gorse we had left behind.  We had quite a bit of chopping up to do but we managed to move all of the gorse down to the burn site.

We had to be a bit careful in burning the gorse as it had dried out a lot since we had cut it and was very flammable.  We had to feed the fire slowly to avoid setting the nearby grass on fire!  As a result we didn’t manage to burn it all so will have to return again to finish it off.

Work done on Sunday 26th March 2017

Today we did some experimental work.  We have noticed that there is quite a lot of ivy working its way upwards from the Woodland Walk that runs below the Devil’s Chimney and potentially encroaching onto the open grassland which we want to preserve.  We therefore did a trial where we treated 2 small strips with chemicals, hand-pulled ivy in 2 adjacent strips and left 2 strips between these alone.  We will monitor these over the next month or so to see what effect this has had.

Work done on Thursday 9th & Tuesday 21st March 2017

In these 2 work parties we focused on opening up 2 clearings alongside the Woodland Walk which runs below the Devil’s Chimney by cutting down and treating ash saplings which were taking over the areas.  There is open grassland above these areas which we hope will now be able to spread into these clearings now they are no longer shaded by the saplings.  Some photos of the before, during and after stages are shown below but, as can be seen, we do need to go back soon to burn the cuttings.

 

 

Work done in February 2017

In our 3 work parties this month we have concentrated on cutting down and treating gorse on the top of Charlton Kings Common alongside the main track that runs on the edge of the escarpment.  Most of this was rather old and leggy, of limited ecological value and some of it was obstructing the views.  So that we could cut down as much as possible, before we have to stop removing scrub to prevent the disturbance of nesting birds, we didn’t burn all the cuttings but have left some big piles which we will return to at a later date to burn.

As a small respite from cutting gorse, a couple of volunteers spent time repairing some steps during the last work party of the month.  These were by the Cotswold stone wall at the start of the footpath to Hartley Farm.  A number of the boards forming the steps were broken and the surface of most of the steps had been eroded.  Hopefully these steps are now more serviceable – see photo below.

Work done on Sunday 22nd January 2017

More of the same – removing gorse at the top of Windass track.  We have now finished that area and it is much clearer – see before and after photos below.  Although it was a bit chilly up the Hill today we could keep ourselves warm by the fire!

Work done on Tuesday 17th January 2017

We went back up to the top of the Windass track and did some more gorse removal, treatment and burning.  We have now cleared quite an area and re-exposed the grass that was being smothered by it.  Some before and after photos below show the results of our efforts.

Work done on Thursday 12th January 2017

Despite the poor weather forecast we had a good turnout for our first work party of the year.  Because we were expecting rain we stayed close to our ‘base’ and cut down and treated ash saplings growing in a small clearing.  Some of the cuttings were taken away to be used by one of the local schools and the rest were left stacked up to be burnt another day.  Eventually the rain did appear.  We persevered for a while but in the end we gave up a little earlier than normal as it was becoming uncomfortable.  Still, we got some useful work done.  See the before and after photos below.

Work done on Tuesday 20th December 2016

We went back up to the top of Windass track and continued the gorse removal, treatment and burning we started on 15th November.  See the before and after photos below.  We were kept nice and warm by the fire and were treated to mince pies produced by one of our lady volunteers.  Much appreciated!  Merry christmas and happy new year to all our volunteers.  Where would we be without you?

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Work done on Thursday 8th December 2016

We went back to the area we worked on on 13th October to continue the removal of ash saplings and treating their stumps to prevent regrowth.  We also burnt all the cuttings we produced today as well as the significant pile we had left from our previous visit.

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Work done on Sunday 27th November 2016

Our main job today was to remove the electric fence forming the temporary paddock in Daisybank Field.  After all the rain this week the area was rather wet and slippery and so, instead of having a tractor to help us to take away all the posts we needed something more sure-footed.  Enter our four-legged volunteer who did a really good job!

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Work done on Tuesday 15th November 2016

We started our winter campaign on gorse today by cutting, burning and treating an area just off to the West of the top of the Windass footpath (the one that runs up from ‘5-ways’ to the top of Charlton Kings Common).  Our aim is to steadily clear as much of the gorse as we can ‘below’ the footpath that runs along the top edge so as to reduce the spread of gorse and keep the views open.  Photos of before, during and after our work are shown below.

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Work done on Thursday 10th November 2016

Today we went up to the small clearing in the woodland that is accessed via a track leading up from Bridge Car Park.  Here we extended the clearing by cutting down a fairly prolific area of ash saplings and treated the stumps with herbicide to hopefully stop them regrowing.

Work done on Sunday 23rd October 2016

We had a good turnout today, which was nice, so we split into two groups.  One cleared back the footpath which goes up from Daisybank Road by the side of the new houses that are being built.  This had got very overgrown but is now easily passable.  The second group went up to the limekilns and cut down some saplings, mainly ash, that were growing on and around the limekilns.

Work done on Tuesday 18th October 2016

We went back to the area above Bridge Car Park on Daisybank Road  where we started to cut back the annual growth on 8th September, before the machines failed!  The machines were back in action after receiving some TLC and we managed to clear quite an area.  There is still a bit more we could do so we may be back here again but it’s looking good as shown by the before and after photos below.

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Work done on Thursday 13th October 2016

Today we spent our time cutting down ash saplings alongside the footpath that runs from the steps at the South end of the Woodland Walk up to the top of Leckhampton Hill.  These were beginning to encroach on the path and the adjacent grassland.  We also did a bit of clearance work on the path onto the Hill that starts at the West end of Hartley Lane.

Work done on Tuesday 20th & Sunday 25th September 2016

We spent these work parties raking up grass that had been cut by a contractor on the top of the West side of Leckhampton Hill.  Unfortunately the access to this area is too tight for a baler to be used hence the need for human power.  If the cut grass was to be left in-situ it would suffocate the living grass and plants beneath it which would defeat the object of cutting – to promote new growth and healthy grassland.

Work done on Thursday 8th September 2016

On this work party we revisited an area we try to get to annually to cut down and trim the annual growth of grass, scrub and saplings.  This is the open area just above the Bridge car park on Daisybank Road, or Area 16 as we tend to call it.  We started attacking this area with our sturdy all-terrain mower and two brushcutters but after a while they started to fade and fail so we didn’t get as much done as we would have liked.  Time we serviced our machines!

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Work done on Sunday 28th August 2016

Today we removed the wires from the electric fence around a small area on the slope to the East of the site.  This was the ‘exclosure’ we had erected a few months ago to keep the cattle off the area for a period so that we could see what impact restricting cattle grazing would have on the numbers of flowers and invertebrates present.  There are indications that the numbers of flowers inside the exclosure were more than outside it but the plan it to run the same exercise again next year so that we can get a fuller picture over a longer time period.

In addition, we pulled up ragwort in various places on the East of the site and removed the plant material off the site.

Work done on Tuesday 16th August 2016

We did a couple of jobs today.  Firstly we helped the grazier to erect a temporary paddock in Daisybank field which will be used to hold the Dexter calves when they are separated from their mothers.  Secondly we helped to clear the scrub and plant growth on and around the bike jumps, which are also in Daisybank field, as they had become rather overgrown thus preventing their use.

Work done on Thursday 11th August 2016

Today we got onto one of our regular summer jobs on Charlton Kings Common: pulling ragwort and hemp agrimony, both of which have started flowering.  We had to pull and remove from the Common the complete ragwort plants to stop them from spreading seeds and because they are poisonous to cattle (and humans!) if eaten.  We pull hemp agrimony as it is an invasive plant which can form thick clumps which prevent anything else from growing, e.g. the grass and its wild flowers we are trying to promote.  For this plant we just remove the flower heads from the Common, to stop seeding, and pull the remainder of the plant and drop it on the ground where the cattle will quite often eat it which is quite safe as it is not poisonous.

We managed to pull up a large quantity of these plants but there is still more on the Common so we will probably need to make a return visit to this job.

Work done on Sunday 24th July 2016

We went back to the area we had mainly cleared of ash saplings in June and removed the remaining few saplings and burnt all the cut wood that had been left there.

Work done on Thursday 15th & Tuesday 19th July 2016

On Thursday we did our annual grass cutting on and around the ancient Barrow on the top of Leckhampton Hill.  Throughout the year this Barrow (in the form of a round Barrow within a square enclosure) slowly disappears from view as the grass grows such that it is hardly noticeable as you walk past it.  But, as can be seen from the before and after photos below, once the grass is cut it becomes quite visible.

Barrow-before Barrow-after

Starting on Thursday and finishing on Tuesday we also did some brush-cutting and mowing on an adjacent site (what we call the ‘Butterfly Motorway’).  This area was cleared of scrub and trees last year by the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens but regrowth was beginning to build up so we gave it a trim as can be seen from the photo below.

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Work done on Sunday 26th June 2016

We decided to revisit an area that had been cleared of trees/saplings 18 months ago above the woodland walk that runs under the Devil’s Chimney.  Since the trees that were shading this area have been removed there has been a lot of low level growth.  Some of it is desirable, e.g. grass species and wild strawberry but some isn’t, e.g. sycamore and ash seedlings.  We spent this work party pulling up these seedlings which, at present, come out easily, but it is a slow process and there is still more to do another time.

Work done on Thursday 9th & Tuesday 21st June 2016

We did some more ash sapling removal and burning in these two work parties but this time we worked in an area just off Hartley Lane and below the escarpment.  It was an area containing a thicket of ash saplings with a good area of grass above it in the sunshine but a lot of ivy below it in the shady area.  Our work certainly introduced a lot more light into the area (see the dramatic before and after photos below) so hopefully the grass will start to repopulate this area and push back the ivy.

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Work done on Sunday 22nd May 2016

Only a small number of volunteers turned up today but a useful job was still able to be completed.  Salterley Quarry was tidied up and the encroaching scrub and saplings along one of the paths up to the top of the Hill were cut back.  This will help with the public event being held on the Hill on 18th June 2016 – see the Programme for details.

Work done on Thursday 12th & Tuesday 17th May 2016

We spent two work parties removing ash saplings from an area on top of Leckhampton Hill which the Cotswold Way runs through (it’s close to but to the West of the gate into Charlton Kings Common at the start of the rebuilt Cotswold stone wall).  We attempted to burn the cuttings but the fires were very reluctant to get going, probably due to the rising sap, and so we have a few piles of cuttings we will need to go back and burn at some time when they have dried out a bit.

Work done on Sunday 24th April 2016

We split the work party today.  The majority went along to the open area above Bridge Car Park (on Daisybank Road) and cut down and burnt ash saplings.  Two others went along to the woodland walk that runs below the Devil’s Chimney to install some steps at the point where it starts to rise and go up to the top of the hill.  This point has always been difficult to descend on because of the awkward camber and slippyness when damp.  Five steps were installed on the Sunday and they then went back on the following Friday to add the final two steps (see photos below).  This should make it much better.

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Work done on Tuesday 19th April 2016

It was fire and brimstone today!  We cut down a lot of ash saplings in the triangle area above the top of Sandy Lane and lit a fire to burn them.  During the work party we were joined by a brimstone butterfly.

Again it was a strong turnout with a total of 13 volunteers including 1 new FOLK member volunteering and 3 staff from the Yorkshire Building Society, all of whom we were happy to see.

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FOLK volunteers taking a well earned rest

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Volunteers from Yorkshire Building Society

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Brimstone Butterfly

Work done on Thursday 14th April 2016

Today we had a strong turnout of 14 volunteers so we got a lot of jobs done.  Firstly we assisted with the completion of the cattle ‘exclosure’ above the Gallops by running the electric fence wiring around the fence line and fitting the poly-posts.  This exclosure, now protected by the electric fence, is intended to exclude the cattle from an area during the wild plant flowering period to check whether or not the cattle grazing is affecting the number of flowers seen.

Secondly we finished burning the gorse that had been cut earlier in the year in this area which has resulted in a substantial area now being gorse free.  Thirdly, we removed ash saplings from a nearby area.

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Work done on Thursday 10th, Tuesday 15th & Sunday 20th March 2016

We spent these work parties collecting up and burning the gorse we had cut in February above the end of Daisybank Road.  We had to do this burning slowly and carefully as the cut gorse was very dry and produced some spectacularly large flames when put on the fire.  With the grass being very dry as well we didn’t want to set the whole area on fire!

You can see the effect of the gorse cutting and burning work in the before and after pictures below.  This is just a small part of the areas we have been working on but you can clearly see that we have recovered quite an area of grassland.

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Work done on Sunday 28th February 2016

This was our last opportunity to do scrub bashing before we have to stop for a while to ensure we don’t disturb nesting birds.  We therefore took the opportunity to have a last go at gorse removal in the area above the Gallops which we started in November.  It’s looking a lot clearer now.

Work done on Thursday 11th and Tuesday 16th February 2016

We were back onto gorse removal again!  This time we were working above Daisybank Road, just past the last house.  The main aim being to push back the western spread of gorse along the slope – if we don’t stop it, it will spread inexorably.  We also cut a fire break through a large block of gorse in the same area.  We concentrated on cutting the gorse and plan to come back in March to clear up and burn the cuttings.

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Work done on Sunday 24th January 2016

We dismantled the temporary paddock in Daisybank Field today.  We usually have the assistance of a tractor and trailer to take the removed posts off the hill but it was too wet and muddy for this.  But, galloping (well walking!) to the rescue came ‘Chunky’ the horse who was able to manage the conditions and help us complete the job.

Work done on Tuesday 19th January 2016

We continued with the clearance and burning of the old gorse at the Eastern end of the site.  This area now has much less gorse and more open grassland for the cattle to graze and the native plants and flowers to hopefully thrive.

Work done on Thursday 14th January 2016

We had a very good turnout today and so we split the work party into two.  A small group went to Hartley Lane to burn the piles of cuttings left from the last work party and the contractor’s work there.  The remainder of us went to the Eastern extremes of the site to cut and burn some rather old and straggly gorse which has little ecological value in an area we haven’t worked on for some years.

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Work done on Sunday 27th December 2015

Despite the weather being a little damp a few people turned up for this post-Xmas/pre-New Year work party.  We spent the time clearing the last area of ash saplings on the edge of Hartley Lane near the entrance to Salterley Quarry car park.  This patch remained following work by Cheltenham Borough Council contractors to clear a long length of the roadside verge and banking.  Because it was wet we were unable to burn the cuttings so we will have to come back sometime to do this.

Work done on Tuesday 15th December 2015

We continued clearing and burning the gorse we started on in our Thursday November work party.  As usual, the cattle came to investigate what we were doing and to see if we had generated any tasty treats.  But we hadn’t so they eventually wandered off.

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Work done on Thursday 10th December 2015

Because the weather forecast was predicting a very wet morning this work party was cancelled.  But guess what, it didn’t rain!!

Work done on Sunday 22nd November 2015

We did a couple of tidying up jobs today.  Firstly, we opened up a footpath that had become a bit overgrown.  This path is towards the Eastern end of the site and starts at the Gallops (the main track at the lower level) and runs down to Hopkins field.  The entrance to Hopkins field was particularly overgrown as can be seen in the photo below.  Secondly, we spent time pulling up ash saplings in the hazel coppice area just above this path.  Some hazel trees were coppiced a few years ago in the area where you can see us working in the second photo below.  (Some more hazel trees have been coppiced recently in the area above where we are working.)  As usual, if you clear an area other things will try to establish in the resulting space, this time ash saplings, but we want to retain the area as a hazel coppice and not an ash woodland hence the need to remove the ash saplings.

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Work done on Tuesday 17th November 2015

We did some tidying up around the edges of Salterley Quarry car park – litter picking, cutting down and burning saplings, mainly ash, and pulling up Golden Rod.  We were joined again by Wayne who used his chainsaw to cut down some trees which seemed in danger of falling down.  We burnt the resulting brash.

Work done on Thursday 12th November 2015

We spent time cutting and burning gorse on the eastern side of our site above the main track we call the gallops.  Wayne, the Cheltenham Borough Council Senior Ranger joined us and used his chainsaw to fell 2 ash trees which were the nuisance source of ash seeds and saplings in the area.  We helped to clear away these trees.

Work done on Sunday 25th October 2015

We removed ash saplings from a small copse above Bridge Car Park on Daisybank Road.  This copse is used by butterflies as a nice sunny spot to rest but the saplings were starting to shade and fill in this area which would have made it much less attractive to the butterflies.

Work done on Tuesday 17th October 2015

We cut down and burnt an area of gorse on the top ridge, adjacent to the top of the Windass path and alongside the area where a contractor has been removing trees.  The reason for this combined work was to re-open the views from the ridge and to reduce the extent of gorse encroachment westwards.  Before and after photos of the gorse areas are shown below.

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Work done on Thursday 8th October 2015

We were pleased to welcome 5 members of Cheltenham Borough Council staff who joined our regular work party.  We spend this working in Area 16 which is a clearing near the Daisybank Road car parks which has had trees and scrub removed over the last few years to open it up.  To stop this from becoming overgrown we visit it at least once a year to mow and trim back any growth.  This year we gave a light rotavating to a patch with poor growth and sowed seeds that had been collected earlier from the ‘Cowslip Meadow’ at the Eastern end of Charlton Kings Common.

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Work done on Sunday 27th September 2015

Although there weren’t many volunteers today we managed to do quite a bit of work.  We finished off the raking up of the grass cuttings on the top of the Hill.  We also responded to a plea for help from a walker by cutting back the nettles that were partially obstructing the path that runs over the top of Salterley Quarry.  We also spent a bit of time pulling up a weed called Golden Rod which has grown rather densely in a patch within Salterley Quarry, but there is more of it to do…!

Work done on Tuesdays 15th & 22nd September 2015

Cheltenham Borough Council employed a contractor to cut some of the grass on top of the Hill on the western side.  We spent the first work party raking up the grass and gorse cuttings and removing as much as we could off the Hill.  Some piles of cuttings were left on the Hill so we came back for a special short session the following Tuesday to clear them.  There is more raking up to do.  To be continued…!

Work done on Thursday 10th September 2015

The long grass that was obscuring the ancient barrow on the top of the Hill was cut and the barrow is now a lot more visible (see below).

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We also did some work, including using the brushcutters, to clear away vegetation on the East side of the ramparts near and that overhanging a section of dry stone walling, both in the nearby area.

Work done on Thursday/Friday 27/28th August 2015

We had a couple of special sessions working on footpath steps.  We created some steps at the end of Daisybank Road car park where a slightly hazardous (steep and slippy) path had been formed by people taking a short-cut into the car park (see photo).  We also cut back some scrub here to improve visibility onto and from the road.  Hopefully this will now be a bit safer but people will still need to take care when stepping out onto the road.

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We also repaired some steps leading up from the Cirencester Road that can be used to access the Charlton Kings Common side of the hill.

Work done on Sunday 23rd August 2015

We did some footpath maintenance on the paths leading up the hill from the limekilns area and on top of the Hill on the path that drops down from the topograph and winds around the edge of the Hill.  This involved cutting back scrub and branches that were encroaching from the sides and overhanging the paths.  Typically for the present weather, the heavens opened when we were at the furthest point from the car park!!  We decided to give up then.

Work done on Tuesday 18th August 2015

We had our last session of the year removing Hemp Agrimony.  We worked in the areas above the Gallops we had been working on previously and on a small area just above and to the East of Shackleton that had recently been spotted.  With the Hemp Agrimony now beginning to flower, and potentially set seed, we focused on removing those plants with flower heads and totally removing them from the Hill.  We also deployed one of our brushcutters to speed up the cutting.

Work done on Thursday 13th August 2015

As the weather forecast was for rain for most of the morning we decided to forgo the pleasure of cutting Hemp Agrimony and work closer to home.  Instead we went back to the area above the ‘under cliff path’ where ash trees had been cleared last winter and did the final clearance and burning of brash and tidying up of the log piles.  In the end it didn’t rain but at least we finished the work in this area!

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Work done on Thursday 9th, Tuesday 21st & Sunday 26th July 2015

We spent the three sessions pulling up Hemp Agrimony (an invasive weed).  Following our work doing this in previous years it is not now as extensive or as dense.  We have now cleared a good proportion of this year’s regrowth but there is still a bit more to do.Hemp-Agrimony

Work done on Sunday 28th June 2015

Despite the rain we managed to complete a couple of important jobs.  Firstly we helped to erect a temporary paddock in Daisybank field which will be used to hold the calves from the Hill.  Secondly we cleared Ragwort from one of the Hopkins fields which needed to be done prior to cutting for hay.

Work done on Thursday 11th June & Tuesday 16th June 2015

On Thursday we started clearing away scrub from off the top and areas around the limekiln ruins so as to make the ruins clearer to see by visitors and to complement the work done by Cheltenham Borough Council’s contractors to stabilise the structures.  We still have a little more clearance to do.  The photos below show the start of the work and the position as of Thursday.

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On Tuesday we finished clearing around the limekilns – see final photo below.IMG_8161

We then went on to Area 16 (above Bridge Car Park) and brushcut and removed the tall weed growth in the area that was cleared last year.  This work was in preparation for re-seeding the area later in the year.  The cleared area is shown below.IMG_8155

Work done on Thursday 14th May, Tuesday 19th May & Sunday 24th May 2015

On Thursday we cut up and burnt the scrub cuttings that we had piled up alongside Daisy Bank Road as a result of the isolated scrub clearance we carried out on the last three work parties.  On Tuesday and Sunday we cut up and burnt the ash cuttings at the bottom of Area 16 above and to the East of Bridge Car Park.

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Work done on Thursday 9th April, Tuesday 21st April & Sunday 26th April 2015

Following receipt of a specific dispensation from Natural England, we removed a number of isolated and small scrub bushes from a number of areas above (to the South of) Daisy Bank Road and either side of the turning circle.  These included hawthorn, gorse and ash saplings.  Some of this was re-growth following more extensive clearance we had done in previous years.  It was clear that the cattle were not fully grazing these patches – they don’t like prickly shrubs up their noses!

(Normally, Natural England would require us to stop any significant scrub clearance from 1st March to avoid disturbing nesting birds.  However, Natural England gave us dispensation to continue minor clearance of small and isolated scrub until the end of April provided we checked there was no nesting activity nearby.  This we did, and there wasn’t.)

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