Summer round up from Ullswater

I say summer, it doesn't feel like we have had one this year the weather has been terrible. We had a really good spring and folk were saying what a good summer we were going to have but they could not have been any further away from the truth. Still we have work to do and we just have to get on with it, rain or shine. Back in May we used a helicopter to lift some materials into High Force for some major footpath repairs, this is the only way to get the materials in due to the lay of the land. It’s a pretty expensive operation, £1100 per hour just for the helicopter but the work needs to be done. The helicopter was in the area being used by the National Trust to fly stone for other upland footpath projects.

Firstly we have to get the bags filled a few days before; here the fell rangers are filling 25 bags with stone to build some steps, the materials were brought in by wagon to this car park which was ideal to have the lift from. They have to pick out the best stone by hand and put it in the bags which was hard work.

As well as the 25 bags of stone we filled 75 bags with gravel to resurface the paths, luckily we could do this with a mini digger which speeds the job up a bit. Neil, our Ranger from Langdale has the ticket to use one so he came and helped us. 

Luckily the day of the lift was perfect, clear blue sky and not a breath of wind. All the Central and East lakes Rangers came to help marshal the footpaths and the road around the site, as you can imagine health and safety was a major concern with lots of walkers about and a helicopter carrying nearly a ton of stone above.

As planned every thing went perfectly, it took about 5 hours to get all the bags flown in on site ready for us to get on and maintain the footpaths.

Working Holiday 
During July we had our working holiday, 11 volunteers signed up to come and help us with our conservation work for a week. They stay at High Wray base camp and travel by mini bus to Ullswater.

This year as previous years we got stuck into Himalayan Balsam pulling, this is an invasive plant that was introduced into Britain in 1839, it escaped from gardens and quickly colonised river banks and wet areas. It is an annual plant and can grow up to 3m tall and each flower can produce hundreds of seeds and when the seed pods mature they explode scattering the seed for up to 7m away.

Pulling the plant out and breaking it up is a good way of controlling it, it will only grow from seed so if we can stop it seeding we should be able to eradicate it.

The volunteers also helped us carry out some footpath resurfacing at High Force; we used some of the gravel that the helicopter flew in earlier in the year.

Firstly we had to put an edge in along the side of the path; it had been eroded away over the years from all feet that had walked along it. Then we could lay the gravel on the path.

Here the volunteers are loading the tracked barrows ready to take the gravel to the path; these mechanical barrows are a life saver, it would be impossible to push a normal barrow.  

This is a finished section of path ready for the thousands of visitors we get here.  

Aira Force
Other work we did this summer was replacing a wooden gate entrance into Aira Force with an iron one. Over the years we have been replacing wooden gates and handrails with iron which will enhance the feel of this Victorian landscape also they will last for a long time with less maintenance. Richard Airey our local black smith has done all our iron work in Aira Force including the iron seats in the glade area.

Here is the wooden gateway before we changed it.

  

We thought while we were changing it we would widen the gateway a bit to help get machinery in so we took the wall down and moved the stone stoop back. It wasn't as easy as we thought it went a long way into the ground!

Once the stoop was moved and the wall put back we hung the new iron gate and put in a new slamming post, this is the post the gate closes too. We have made this removable by cementing a sleeve in the ground that the post will slide in and out of so if we need to get any wider machinery in we can lift it out.

The finished job, I think it looks a lot better. While Richard was here we altered some railings and replaced a wooden rail with iron.

The wooden hand rail before

This is the man himself, he does all the welding on site. He does a good job and likes things to be perfect just like us.

The iron hand rail after.
We've had a busy summer so far, lets hope we get a good dry Autumn.

Romans by the Rivers

It’s July and national archaeology month so it’s back to Galava for a bit more consolidation, to preserve the site for future archaeologists and everyone else. This year the plan is to finish the consolidation of the Roman walls and upgrade the presentation of some previous work for a consistent look to the site. 

The site before work.

And the bit to be grassed over.

First remove the turf…

Then clear the soil away…

A Find!

Using the soil and turf to improve the presentation of some earlier consolidation.

A wall ready for consolidation.

Stone and lime mortar are introduced to the wall to preserve the roman work for the future.

A nice bit of consolidation.

All Done (for this year)

Ray Gregory

Ranger

Windermere & Troutbeck

Secrets of the Ranger – The Cat and the Ferret

So how do you trace the route of a drain deep underground?  With a CAT and a ‘ferret-finder’ of course!

Let me explain….

The ‘ferret-finder’ is a device that screws onto the end of a drain rod, and emits a signal picked up by the CAT.  This is slid along the drain until a blockage is found.

Ray here with the CAT (Cable Avoiding Tool) which acts like a metal detector.  He sweeps it over the ground and it gives a loud beep when it locates the 'ferret-finder'.

Roland then slowly inserts the drain rods with the ‘ferret-finder’ on the end into the blocked drain.

X (or an arrow!) marks the spot.  Here is the blockage so we know where to dig.

No animals were actually needed for this task but 50 drain rods were!

Look out for more Secrets of the Ranger!

Ben Knipe

Area Ranger

Windermere & Troutbeck

 

A Bowness walk made even easier

This month the Windermere rangers have been busy working on a small project which will make a big difference to so many walkers.

Post Knott is a pretty field with a rock outcrop that looks over Bowness and Lake Windermere. 

It has a well used path through it which is wide and gentle until….you reach a tall wooden ladder stile.

The offending stile.  Easy for some to pass over, but difficult for many others.

With permission of the neighbour we set about taking this ‘dog stopper’ down and replacing it with a kissing gate.  This will allow those walkers with less mobility, walkers with push-chairs and dogs to pass through with great ease and safety.

Now over to the visitors of Post Knott and your comments on our work here….

“For us having a small dog those steps are quite tricky”

“That’s the worst one and the highest one”

“In wet weather they could be quite slippery, which is fine if you’re able”

“It’s the first time we’ve come across steps as high as that”

“About time it happened, it has been like that for too long!”

No guesswork was used as this was built to British Standards! (BS5709 to be exact).

“It will open it up to many more people”

Roland, one of the Windermere rangers is building a new quoin end to the wall.

“I think as walkers you just don’t appreciate how much work goes into the upkeep to make it easier for us”

No more nails.  Care and precision, and a dry spell in the weather was used to build the wooden pen.

“You can appreciate why the NT needs so much help from the public, it’s free for us to do this walk but in fact it’s quite an expensive upkeep”

The finished kissing gate with Brantfell in the background.

“As walkers we think you (the National Trust) are a very important body”

Walkers and their 4-legged friends enjoying the new gate.

“I think what you guys do is fantastic and the Lake District wouldn’t be the Lake District without you guys”

Post Knott is South East of Bowness on the way up to Brantfell, just a short detour from the start of the Dales Way long distance footpath.

It is a quiet, dog friendly location with great views over Lake Windermere and a perfect place to take a picnic and unwind with nothing but the sound of crickets on a sunny afternoon.

Ben Knipe
Area Ranger, Windermere & Troutbeck

     

Working Holidays

Working holidays have been going since 1967 and make a real contribution in engaging supporters, environmental understanding, conservation activities, budget savings and meeting our mission.
Participants join interesting activities, learn new skills, have new experiences and provide thousands of work hours.

Groups are over 18 years old, up to 12 people and have a volunteer leader and assistant. They stay in bunkhouses or cottages and cook good meals. 16 to 18 year olds can do Youth Discovery working holidays and their Duke of Edinburgh’s award.

Working holiday activities range from hedge laying to charcoal making, walled gardening to cider making, moorland surveys to conserving collections, winter crafts to John Muir discovery awards. Many combine these activities with leisure activities such as photography or surfing.

Working closely with properties and locations, the holiday’s team help to develop and assist a programme of week holidays and short breaks across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To find out more or get involved follow this link Working holidays

To Conserve and Protect! The Netted Carpet Moth and the Touch-Me-Not Balsam plant.

The strikingly patterned Netted Carpet Moth resting on an elder below which are growing many hundreds of touch-me not balsam plants at St. Catherine's. 

The Netted Carpet Moth (Eustroma reticulatum) is one of the rarest moths in the U.K; (reticulum is Latin for small net). The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) classes the moth as a priority species; it is listed as vulnerable in The Red Data Book.

Netted Carpet Moth on Balsam Leaf. Late July. Image courtesy of  John Knowler.
The moths lay their eggs singly on the plants in July and August.

It is vulnerable mainly because the moth larvae/caterpillars are entirely reliant on a scarce annual plant known as Touch Me Not Balsam (Impatiens noli-tangere). It is the caterpillars' only food source.

Both the moth and the plant, which is the only balsam native to the UK , are restricted almost exclusively to the Lake District, albeit in small numbers, and at just a few sites.

One such site is at St Catherine’s in the East Windermere area.


Netted Carpet Moth Caterpillar on Touch Me Not Balsam at St Catherine's. Late August. note partly eaten seed pod. Caterpillars will have pupated on the ground by October. Adult moths emerge in July and may be seen until mid August.

National Trust Rangers have greatly increased the numbers of plants here, and hence the annual moth populations over the years, by actively improving conditions for the plant.

Touch Me Not grows well in damp open woodlands, especially after the ground has been disturbed. Without regular ground disturbance - in Winter and or early Spring - plant colonies will decline, becoming overwhelmed by perennial species such as brambles and creeping buttercup. Severe ground disturbance and the pulling up of brambles are tasks undertaken by rangers and volunteers at St. Catherine's  before the seedlings appear. 

 A good stand of Touch Me Not Balsam at St Catherine's. Mid July 2011

Touch Me Not also requires dappled sunlight to grow well; some wooded areas are managed with this in mind; branches have been cut back, and a certain amount of coppicing takes place.

Touch Me Not Balsam seedling appearing in Spring. Millerground.

A bumble bee pollinating Touch Me Not Flower. Millerground Late July 2011

At Millerground, in 2009, the cutting down of non native trees has let in a lot more light. This has allowed touch me not plants to be reintroduced, and to thrive here once again after many years absence.

The annual Netted Carpet Moth Survey, that takes place in early September, has already recorded Netted Carpet Moth caterpillars to be present at this site which is very encouraging news.

A Netted Carpet Moth Caterpillar forming a triangle between leaf stem and stalk.

A Netted Carpet Moth Caterpillar munching on a seed pod!.......image courtesy of John Hooson.

Finally, invasive, non native Himalayan Balsam is pulled out regularly to prevent it from overwhelming and displacing the far less common and much less competitive or robust Touch Me Not Balsam stands.

Himalayan Balsam (pink flower) encroaching on Touch Me Not.
Pulled out shortly after photo was taken!

Roland Wicksteed: Central and East Lakes.

So far no sign of.... A return of the giant Hogweed.... At ferry Nab!!

In June 2011, several Giant Hogweed plants were found to be growing alongside the National Trust/SLDC footpath at Ferry Nab. A National Trust Ranger wearing full protective clothing and goggles dug out the plants and then burnt them.

The Giant Hogweed plant (HERACLEUM MANTEGAZZIANUM) is a native of the Caucasus region, and Central Asia. Victorians brought it back for use as an ornamental garden plant. It is able to grow taller than 15 feet, and more! 

Giant Hogweed’s flower head in June 2011. Cockshott point/Ferry Nab

The sap contains “furanocoumarins,”a toxin that photosensitises the skin. Exposure to sunlight causes painful blistering. The scars can take years to heal. A small amount in the eyes has been known to cause temporary or even permanent blindness.

This plant often causes river bank erosion...its favourite place to grow. When it dies back in Winter, often only bare ground remains. 

 The Giant Hogweed can easily shade out native plants because it grows so fast and so tall; it becomes dominant very quickly if not controlled.

The Giant Hogweed, classed as a biennial, lives for between two to Seven years. In its final year it produces the flower heads, each containing up to 5,000 seeds, seeding in late August. The seeds remain viable for up to seven years in the ground.



Giant Hogweed at Ferry Nab bordering SLDC and N.T footpaths at Ferry Nab leading to Cockshott Point. Note size of plant compared to large trenching spade. Plant APPROX 15 feet tall! Native plants under threat include Touch Me Not Balsam

A recent survey in this area indicates there is no sign of regeneration of the plant..as yet! Further monitoring will take place later this year.