EVENTS & NEWS
Spring Ball Update
Raffle Prizes Update: see what you can win!
by Matt Hughes on 27-Jan-12 16:40
Conservation Weekend
Conservation Weekend on Exmoor 12th – 13th March 2011
by Gavin on 15-Mar-11 23:21
Twenty Do Battle With The Elements
The Black Mountains, 14th - 16th January 2011 (new members weekend)
by Gavin on 27-Jan-11 13:08
Home » News » Conservation Weekend
By Matthew Bamfield
Well this time we were unable to secure the usual Pinckery Centre but instead stayed in Exford YHA, which rather usefully is located right next to a pub called the White Horse Inn. We all travelled down on the Friday night with the general plan to meet in the pub that served some good tucker. Most people ended up having the Chefs Steak and Ale pie which was so large it filled the plate washed down with some good beer.
On the Saturday we all arose bright and early (8am) for either a large YHA breakfast or a self catered whatever we could conjure up type breakfast, everyone being well aware that the day was going to consist of something that would involve the use of muscles. We all piled into 3 cars at about 10am and went to Wimbleball Lake where we met Exmoor National Park Rangers Pat and Richard (& Jet the dog) who had a nice little job waiting for us. Put simply a fence was rather broken and our mission was to repair it to stop the Exmoor ponies from escaping or from becoming entangled.
Our first job consisted of sawing (with bow saws) the offending overhanging branches above the fence. This was rather fun, with shouts of Timberrrr followed by a crash of the branch falling to the ground from up and down the tree-line. While we were working Ranger Pat was tending to the Kelly Kettles for our tea breaks. Another job saw us untangling the tangled fence and removing it from the damaged posts and digging new holes for the new straining post & new smaller larch posts.
In the afternoon Ranger Richard oversaw the installation of the new fence line with encouraging words such as ‘bang this in here bang this in there - game on!’ Soon the field was resounding to the sounds of the post whacker (boing - boing - boing) which is a rather heavy implement manned by two people. Most of us had a go and found it rather difficult when someone told a joke as it is impossible to laugh and whack at the same time.
Our last job was to tension all the wires along the 200m length of fence and connect them to the straining post which AOAC Richard had been working on for most of the day. Rangers Pat & Richard installed a length of chain about the nearest tree, connected it to a ratchet with the fence wire on the end of it and slowly tightened it up. When we had finished we contemplated a job well done over a nice cup of tea from the Kelly Kettle.
Steve then suggested we have a look at the dam while we near the lake so Ranger Richard gave us a lift over there in his trailer (not on a public road) and the ride was extremely bumpy in places. The dam was very high and has a fish staircase up one side of it.
In the evening we all helped AOAC Richard with a huge curry washed down with some YHA beer and wine – (yum yum).
On the Sunday after having another large breakfast we went over to Minehead where we had an AOAC favourite job of ‘slash and burn’ waiting for us in Dunster Park and Heathlands. The mission this time involved a protected butterfly and a type of glow-worm that likes to live in heath-lands. Unfortunately this area was being invaded by the accursed Silver Birch. The mission, remove the Silver Birch from this area. We had a nice little bonfire going initially that soon turned into a large crackling fire. Im not sure how many silver birches we removed but as many of them were small in girth and could be removed by loppers, possibly hundreds. Eventually the gorse bushes were getting on everyone nerves so some of these were chopped as well and removed to the fire causing greenish colour smoke. We tried a new idea for cooking spuds, put them in a biscuit tin and cook them in the bonfire and I must say they were very nice if not a little charred on the edges. For a dessert we had a couple of pies, apple and blackcurrant which were also cooked in the in the biscuit tin within the fire.
At the end of the day we had cleared a large area and reduced all the trees to a small pile of ash, we then headed back down the hill and some of us headed into Minehead for tea.
Conservation Weekend on Exmoor 12th – 13th March 2011
By Matthew Bamfield
Well this time we were unable to secure the usual Pinckery Centre but instead stayed in Exford YHA, which rather usefully is located right next to a pub called the White Horse Inn. We all travelled down on the Friday night with the general plan to meet in the pub that served some good tucker. Most people ended up having the Chefs Steak and Ale pie which was so large it filled the plate washed down with some good beer.
On the Saturday we all arose bright and early (8am) for either a large YHA breakfast or a self catered whatever we could conjure up type breakfast, everyone being well aware that the day was going to consist of something that would involve the use of muscles. We all piled into 3 cars at about 10am and went to Wimbleball Lake where we met Exmoor National Park Rangers Pat and Richard (& Jet the dog) who had a nice little job waiting for us. Put simply a fence was rather broken and our mission was to repair it to stop the Exmoor ponies from escaping or from becoming entangled.
Our first job consisted of sawing (with bow saws) the offending overhanging branches above the fence. This was rather fun, with shouts of Timberrrr followed by a crash of the branch falling to the ground from up and down the tree-line. While we were working Ranger Pat was tending to the Kelly Kettles for our tea breaks. Another job saw us untangling the tangled fence and removing it from the damaged posts and digging new holes for the new straining post & new smaller larch posts.
In the afternoon Ranger Richard oversaw the installation of the new fence line with encouraging words such as ‘bang this in here bang this in there - game on!’ Soon the field was resounding to the sounds of the post whacker (boing - boing - boing) which is a rather heavy implement manned by two people. Most of us had a go and found it rather difficult when someone told a joke as it is impossible to laugh and whack at the same time.
Our last job was to tension all the wires along the 200m length of fence and connect them to the straining post which AOAC Richard had been working on for most of the day. Rangers Pat & Richard installed a length of chain about the nearest tree, connected it to a ratchet with the fence wire on the end of it and slowly tightened it up. When we had finished we contemplated a job well done over a nice cup of tea from the Kelly Kettle.
Steve then suggested we have a look at the dam while we near the lake so Ranger Richard gave us a lift over there in his trailer (not on a public road) and the ride was extremely bumpy in places. The dam was very high and has a fish staircase up one side of it.
In the evening we all helped AOAC Richard with a huge curry washed down with some YHA beer and wine – (yum yum).
On the Sunday after having another large breakfast we went over to Minehead where we had an AOAC favourite job of ‘slash and burn’ waiting for us in Dunster Park and Heathlands. The mission this time involved a protected butterfly and a type of glow-worm that likes to live in heath-lands. Unfortunately this area was being invaded by the accursed Silver Birch. The mission, remove the Silver Birch from this area. We had a nice little bonfire going initially that soon turned into a large crackling fire. Im not sure how many silver birches we removed but as many of them were small in girth and could be removed by loppers, possibly hundreds. Eventually the gorse bushes were getting on everyone nerves so some of these were chopped as well and removed to the fire causing greenish colour smoke. We tried a new idea for cooking spuds, put them in a biscuit tin and cook them in the bonfire and I must say they were very nice if not a little charred on the edges. For a dessert we had a couple of pies, apple and blackcurrant which were also cooked in the in the biscuit tin within the fire.
At the end of the day we had cleared a large area and reduced all the trees to a small pile of ash, we then headed back down the hill and some of us headed into Minehead for tea.