Sunday 5th January 2025 -

 Happy New Year! It was a very wet morning but we we needed to get the bench tops done and it a couldn't be postponed so the elite team met to remove the old rotten bench tops, last picture, and do a few other jobs

Snowdrops are starting to show their flowers and we cleared a bit of undergrowth so we can see them properly.

  

Some trees have come down in recent high winds, this one was resting on another one so it was cut up to bring it down safely.

Honeysuckle leaves - it will be spring although not just yet!

The finished benches

Mid Build

Before

Jeannie planted the hedge plants from last time in between work parties

Sunday 1st December- Work Party

The old bridge, blending in nicely!

It was a bit of a grey day and quite a few of the group were either ill or otherwise engaged. Nevertheless, we had the challenge of replacing the bridge at the top which had got a bit bouncy as it some of the timbers were showing signs of rot. 

First off though, a bit of raking the leaves in the village hall garden, sorry no pictures.

The old bridge was constructed in March 2014. It was before the blog started so I'm just going to share a few photos from then. It was put in to increase accessibility to the woodland and we got a grant to cover the cost of the materials. A few of us are still in the woodland group although not everyone was able to be here this time. 

The date on the photos is wrong as they were published on Facebook on March 7th 2014

Just starting

Work underway.

Finished bridge (2014)

Fast forward to December 2024

The old bridge had to be levered up and then flipped over to get it out of the way to break up. 

The soil was dug out to fit in the new timbers which are the other way round to the original ones, and slightly different lengths!

Once in place the gaps were filled with soil, the planks screwed to the bearers and the wire netting replaced to make a non slip surface. 

Finished bridge 2024!

You may be able to tell that the weather had deteriorated by this time so we put the benches and hedge planting on hold for next time.

Thursday 31st October 2024 - Halloween event

Halloween 2024

This year we invited Helmingham primary school to carve some pumpkins for our trail. They had a great time last week with a whole school pumpkin carving session and tonight we benefitted from their efforts. Here they are before and after dark.

We managed a little bit of setting up in the afternoon then put the lights on once it got dark. 

 

After dark, more pumpkins arrived.

The firepit eventually got hot enough to toast the marshmallows.

Thank-you everyone who came and who helped. 

Sunday October 27th 2024- mini work party

 A really stunning morning and loads of people turned up to prepare for the Halloween event. Stakes for the lanterns were put out, the firepit and firewood got ready and the new bench admired. The honeysuckle in the glade was trimmed back amd everyone enjoyed meeting up for a chat.

Leaf hanging by a cobweb thread. It only has an ai tag because I had to use my hand to get the lens to focus and I didn't quite get it out of the shot. 

Admiring the new bench

Lovely autumn sunshine, the leaves are really changing colour now.

A couple of volunteers put the bench in place during the week. Perfect spot to soak up the sun and enjoy the view.

Gourds for decoration. 

Sunday 6th October 2024 - work party

 It was a lovely autumnal, despite this photo looking like spring,  morning, there weren't many of us but it made for a peaceful couple of hours and we got all the necessary work done.

New wheelbarrow wheel put on now I have finally remembered to order it. It needed a bit of  engineering wizardry to get the spacing right but it has a solid trye so no more punctures.

A space was made in the top hedge line in preparati9on for a new bench. Before and..

After!

This is after I cleared several dogwoods which had bent over and blocked the path.

The hazel around the picnic table has grown really well and we spent some time weaving in this years growth.

A robin serenaded us while we worked

Looking nice and thick now

We found a newt under a log

And a peanut in an old nest in the hazel!

Weaving the top bits in.

Tiny toadstools on the Baldwin apple tree.