Dry Sandford Pit - Saturday 6th January 2024

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Blog and photos by Eleanor

Although the programme stated that we would be working at the Tesco end of the Ock Path, the weather had other ideas. After days of heavy rainfall, the area was completely flooded as was the Town end of the path.

Fortunately, our ever-resourceful programme coordinator, Adrian, suggested a swap with the Dry Sandford Pit session, due in mid February, and Beth Hall, the BBOWT officer for this site agreed, though she asked us not to work in front of the cliff faces, which were crumbling and dangerous.

Eleven of us assembled at the site, which fortunately lived up to its name. It was a beautiful sunny day, though chilly, and it was great to see the sun after the wet, cloudy week. The task was to clear scrub from the grassland area. Adrian cleared a path through to the area where we would pile the cut material and then he and Roger set to work with scythes on a massive bramble thicket while the rest of us cleared sprouting blackthorn, hawthorn and dog rose and James had great fun with the tree popper. We decided to leave a rose bush covered in hips. We trimmed it, but it would have been a shame to cut it down. We piled the cuttings on to the drag sheet and Graham proved to be a tireless pitchforker and, being tall, was very useful in helping us empty loads on to the top of the heap.

It was very pleasant to have our tea break in the sun, but soon it was back to work, with Adrian and Roger determined to clear the bramble patch before the end of the session. That, of course meant there was loads to rake up and pile on to the heap, but on the stroke of 12.30 the work was finished and we made our way back to the car park.

Adrian scything, Graham pitchforking

Clearing with loppers

Graham hauls a log

Standing proudly by the growing heap

Piling up the loppings

Tea break

Winter sun casting a long shadow

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