Ock Valley Walk, Tesco End, 25th July 2015

By Andrew -
The Tesco end of the Ock Valley Walk was this week's venue, and so we assembled in the car park close to Barclay's Bank to commence operations.  The first item on the agenda was to wish Margaret happy birthday and to present her with the card that we had all signed.  Following that, we transported our tools and provisions across the road to set up for the morning.

 Colin had got a head-start on the rest of us, having started his litter pick in advance of our arrival.  We were soon underway however, having received instruction from session leader, Sally on the tasks to be done.  As well as the litter pick and some clearance of stray tree branches close to the path, the main activity was, once again, Himalayan Balsam pulling.

 A number of dense patches of balsam had again sprung up close to the banks of the river - very tall and in flower. We certainly were not going to be short of work.

 Mid-morning refreshment break aside, it was an intense morning of activity.  Fortunately it remained dry unlike the torrential downpours of the previous day and our progress by the end of the session was clear.  It would have been nice if the weather had been a little warmer, sunnier and generally more summery however!
-Andrew


Assembling in the car park

Margaret receives her birthday card

Balsam pulling underway

In the woods

A fistful of Balsam

Elevenses

Some of the litter collected from along the path

View from the Ock Valley out across the corn field

Robert working hard

Barry and Enid pick litter

Janet and Victor keep busy

Balsam clearance on the riverbank

Dieuwke tackling the Balsam (photo by Barry)

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