Hinksey Heights Golf Course Footpath, Saturday 1st of January, 2022

By -
Happy new year to all of our Abingdon Green Gym Blog readers! After a week off to accommodate for the Christmas weekend, some ABG members were champing at the bit to be back outside and hacking at some over-enthusiastic brambles. This temperate New Years Day a hardy team of volunteers met at the entrance to Hinksey Heights Golf Course, and hoped that the weather forecast that promised little rain would hold. Our task for the morning was to clear a footpath, half of which was overgrown and the other half of which was entirely impassable. On his scouting visit to the site, session leader Adrian had also noted that a willow had been partially brought down over the festive season, and that this needed to be chopped up to allow access to the end of the path. 

As the wind was blowing across the main road and it was beginning to rain, Adrian wisely decided not to light the bonfire of cuttings today. Instead, our duty was strictly clearing and depositing, which was done with appropriate new year vigour. The vast majority of the material cut was dry and dead brambles that had clogged up the path and crowded out any other growth, but this was no match for our combination of slashers, loppers, hooks, scythes, and saws. By the end of the first half most of the chopping had been completed, and so the second half was entirely occupied by transporting the cuttings up on to the bonfire pile. This was somewhat tricky work: picking up rolls of brambles with thorns of various viciousness required swapping between rakes, forks, and sturdy gloves, but by the end of the session we had managed to move it all to the pile. We were even able to see a couple of intrepid walkers stride off up our newly recovered path! 

If you're looking for a new experience, then why not pop along to one of our sessions this year! It's completely free, and you're welcome to do as much or as little as you like. Whatever your fitness or skill level, everybody is welcome. Its a great way to explore Abingdon and its surrounding environs, to be active, and to meet a lovely group of people! 

X (or circle) marks the spot















Uncovering over the way marker 
























Opening up the footpath
























Pushing back the brambles
























The bonfire pile, with Sally for scale! 



















Team New Years! 














Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pinkhill Meadow Nature Reserve, Farmoor Reservoir, 16th March 2019

By Andrew -
Image
Another week, another new site for the Abingdon Green Gym! We met at the car park at Farmoor Reservoir, a healthy turn out of 17 of us, including French father Sebastien, and his eleven-year old son, Maelo, who was joining us for a school project. The session was led by James under the instruction of Hanna Jenkins, the warden of Pinkhill Meadow Nature Reserve, so called because it is right on the banks of the River Thames, just near Pinkhill Lock. It was another blustery day. Will this crazy wind ever let up? We followed Hanna in convoy round the edge of the reservoir, which was choppy to say the least, and parked up on the other side where it was thankfully a little calmer, the high banks of the reservoir providing some shelter. Equipped with our tools, gloves and goggles, we made our way onto the spot on the nature reserve where we were to do our work. Hanna told us that the reserve had been formed in 1991, but some aspects had been neglected over the last ten years. The aim...
Read more

Kennington Memorial Field, 29th October 2016

By Andrew -
We have been working at Kennington Memorial Field for a number of years now, clearing scrub from the slopes so that the valley remains an area of grassland and wild flowers. This time Rachel from Oxford Preservation Trust was in charge and led us down to the lower end of the field, where we were to cut back the trees and bushes by several metres and burn the scrub on a bonfire. We were joined by some families with children of varying ages, the youngest only three, who had answered a local appeal for volunteers. We set to work and soon we had a bonfire going. Even the children who were too young to use loppers and saws joined in, carrying branches to the bonfire pile. Despite the drizzly weather they all worked cheerfully. At tea break time we enjoyed some delicious snacks that Rachel had brought and a tin of chocolates supplied by Michele. We found two old birds' nests in the course of the morning and cutting back the scrub revealed a log pile with a rabbit hole under...
Read more

Jarn Mound and Wild Garden, Boars Hill, 12th November 2016

By Andrew -
Image
Four weeks after our last session with the Oxford Preservation Trust at Boars Hill, we returned, albeit at Jarn Mound this time rather than the Elizabeth Daryush Garden; which had been our venue in October. We again met with  Rachel Sanderson of the trust, who along with our leader of the day, James, outlined the tasks for the morning.  Primarily, we were to clear the mound itself of scrub and tree saplings that had taken root there, with the intention of restoring it to its original state.  There were also some flatter areas of the garden that required clearing, for the less intrepid among us. Unfortunately, the day had begun a little on the inclement side.  Indeed as we arrived, the rain fell persisently, making many of us wonder if the session would go ahead at all!  But of course, the Green Gymmers are renowned for working whatever the weather, and the damp conditions did not deter us. A couple of problems were immediately evident due to the rain...
Read more