Wild flower meadow developing

On NCN route 1 through Cleveland, between Marske and Saltburn,  a piece of land that was old stabling , was under briers for more than 50 years. Earlier this year, Redcar and Cleveland Sustrans rangers assisted in clearing this land  before it WS seeded with some wild flower seeds. Very soon , there was a lovely crop – of dock and thistles.

So, its back to square one and we cycled up on Saturday and joined other rangers to again work on this land again . It had been sprayed off and so we set to. I was assigned a how and used it to cut down the dying weeds and rake them off. A couple of the chaps dug out the old briers and some of these roots went down 8 feet. We couldn’t believe just how much Neil and Keith had to dig as they found the roots interconnected across the site.

DH and DS1 were assigned to clear a drainage ditch and then it was decided to cut away some of the bushes to give a view through on a blind corner.

We worked all morning. Do you wonder how we had tools. Look at the trailer Phil pulled with his electric bike. Not only did it hold spades, how , rakes  and a brush but also a plastic wheelbarrow.

Uncle Richard , as we affectionately call him, usually pulls the trailer but just as he was leaving, his rear wheel punctured, so it was up too Phil to get it to the site. Not to be left out , Richard took a taxi to get to the site  and set too taking away the detritus. He is well over 80 but doesn’t let that stop him. Its only a couple of months since he had cardiac surgery. I hope I can do so well in 20 years time.

DS1 carried his machete in his rucksack and it proved very useful in chopping back the bushes.

On the first visit, they found trophies that had been stolen from the golf club about 15 years ago. This time it was a little ornament and a glass mug. It is surprising just how far people must throw things, as these were found at the back of the site.
After about 2 hours, we had the site looking clear.

So some of us went along to a cafe in Saltburn and spent a nice hour enjoying each others company. Then , it was back to  Richards to repair his puncture. It was a bit tricky as it too is electric and the 3 chaps  worked together to get it sorted while Uncle Richard showed me his vegetable garden and ladened me with fresh veg. We have a great sense of fellowship within our little group. Maybe you could help in your local area.