Author Archives: daftmumblings

Crewe & Nantwich Conservation Volunteers: Wybunbury Moss

Posted on by
Reply

I spent today with CNCV working for Natural England at Wybunbury Moss National Nature Reserve.  Whilst I often go for a walk on the footpaths and permissive path around the outside of the Moss, today was a rare opportunity to spend time out on the Moss itself.

IMG_7677-3

Natural England employed us to thin the woodland cover on the edge of the Moss, taking out birch trees and using the large logs to build a fire platform.  Natural England has been much of the woodland thinning itself, so our task in two weeks time will be spent trying to burn as much of the brash as the fire will take.  Our next outing will also be our Christmas task – everyone chips in with some festive food and we use the fire to heat it, while keeping ourselves warm too.

Whilst today’s task wasn’t particularly cold to begin with, the driving rain in the morning soaked us and by mid-afternoon everyone was starting to feel the chill – an early finish was certainly welcome!

Working on the Moss itself is a real privilege as there is no public access to  the site due to the dangerous nature of the ground. Under as little as a metre of moss and peat, lies a lake which is up to 12 metres deep – walking across the Moss, the surface moves and ripples.  If it wasn’t for the odd house or two visible from then centre of the Moss, you could easily think you were standing in the middle of a wilderness area – it’s quite a special place.

Washed-up Starfish

Posted on by
Reply

A couple of weeks ago I had a weekend away in Lincolnshire and on one of the days I went for a walk at Gibraltar Point, one of the local Wildlife Trust reserves.  While I was there, walking along the beach, I came across hundreds, perhaps thousands, of washed-up starfish.  It was a sad sight on what was otherwise a beautiful walk along the sands.  It was a typical autumnal day with a keen wind and dark clouds threatening to deliver their load at any moment, the rain held off for a while but eventually soaked me.  Despite getting very wet, it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

IMG_7653

When I got home at the end of the weekend, I looked up what could have caused the mass washing-up of the starfish and came across a newspaper article from nearly three years ago – another similar incident not far north up the coast.  I was worried that this might have been caused by man but it appears it was probably just the result of bad weather.

Rain stops play?

Posted on by
Reply

I was meant to be out with Crewe & Nantwich Conservation Volunteers today but with a poor weather forecast the task for Cheshire Wildlife Trust was called off. Disappointed I was but cutting back birch saplings and trying to burn them in heavy rain doesn’t sound like too much fun, especially when there is no good shelter on the Bagmere site.

I didn’t let a bad weather forecast force me to spend the day inside, however, and I went on a damp and blustery walk along the Cheshire sandstone ridge.  I’ve been there so many times that I must know most footpaths that cross the series of low hills.

IMG_7575

I set off from the far end of the hills, from the Bickerton Hill car park near Duckington.  I walked up onto the ridge and headed north-eastwards and then down into the village of Bickerton.  I stopped for a moment outside the church to listen to the Remembrance Sunday service but then walked up the road and onto the next hill towards Raw Head.

Across the top of the ridge, there was dampness in the air but no rain, the wind growing in strength and beginning to roar in the trees.  I stopped momentarily at the trig point but then pressed on towards Coppermine Lane and then on to Bulkeley Hill.  On top, low cloud was hanging in the trees giving an ominous feeling to the woodland.

IMG_7589

Coming down off the hill, I walked through the fields to Burwardsley and then down the roads towards Harthill.  The sky started to brighten as I walked around the small hill behind the village, with even a bit of blue sky appearing between the briskly blown clouds.

Behind that small hill I came across a newly built replica Observer Corps watchtower – looking over the Cheshire Plain towards the Wirral and Merseyside.

IMG_7598

After passing through Brown Knowl and making my way up the last hill, the clouds finally started to drop their rain as I neared the car. Nine miles with rain only at the very end wasn’t exactly what had been forecast.

Rain stopped play? Well, somethings are better in the dry but a threat of rain isn’t going to stop me getting outside.

IMG_7582

Proper Autumn

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday, as I often do if I have a quiet Sunday afternoon, I took a wander around Wybunbury Moss.  It had been a misty day but it had cleared in places.  The trees were shedding their leaves which have turned into a fine range of yellows, reds, oranges and golds. The last of the fruits and berries remain on the branches, yet to be picked by the birds.  There were signs of badgers clearing out their setts, ready for winter and some of our colder-month visitors were passing through.

IMG_7558

As I walked around my usual route, the sun dipped below the trees and the colder air began to sink into the hollow in which the Moss lies.  The mist started to form once again and as the last of the light, an eerie silence fell on the landscape, the land-hugging clouds seeming to mask any sounds from outside.

IMG_7568

Two visits to Bagmere

Posted on by
Reply

Last Sunday I went to Bagmere with Crewe & Nantwich Conservation Volunteers (CNCV) to work for Cheshire Wildlife Trust. We got on with our usual task of fighting back the encroachment of tree saplings onto the fenland landscape and burning what we cut.  Unfortunately, the wood has to be burnt on site due to inaccessibility for vehicles and the distance from the road.  However, it’s no hardship for most of us and some (well me, actually) always look forward to the colder months when we can have a big fire – there’s no better way to finish a task than sitting around a fire in the last of the day’s sun, as the flames die down and the last of its heat keeps you warm – marvellous!

IMG_7527

I returned to Bagmere on yesterday to start my winter bird surveys for the season.  Like the breeding bird surveys I do for Cheshire Wildlife Trust, I visit the Trust’s Bagmere and Blakenhall Moss reserves to record bird species.  Unlike the surveys in spring and early summer, the winter versions are simpler as I only note the number of individual birds of each species I see.

Walking around the reserve on Saturday was lovely, the sun had broken through the early morning fog and a bright blue sky emerged.  I spent just less than an hour walking from one end of the reserve to the other and recorded 22 species altogether.  I didn’t find anything unusual but it was good to start the surveys with a reasonably good list.

Unfortunately, as with the four breeding bird survey visits between March and June and last of the previous winter bird surveys in January, I didn’t record willow tits, a red-listed species.  This means that I haven’t recorded them at all so far this year across all the survey visits and several tasks with CNCV.  The Wildlife Trust installed some nest boxes for them in the early spring, in the area of the reserve where I had last recorded them and I spent some extra time in that area to see if they were around.  It would be a depressing finding if they have disappeared – this is only the second full year of surveys I have done at the reserve, with my surveys being the first ever undertaken at the site.

IMG_7551

Isle of Skye – Uniquely Skye

Posted on by
Reply

With very strong winds today and with my walking boots still soaking wet, I decided against another coastal walk and headed north to retrace some of my steps (or tyre marks) from Sunday and visited some of the places I’d missed in the Trotternish area.

There were three places that stood out:

I spent a while at Faerie Glen, near Uig – it’s a very strange area of odd geological formations all coated in a blanket of rich green grass with clumps of woodland – there were even some bright red toadstools at the base of one of the hills – possibly nibbled on by fairies.

IMG_7399

IMG_7404 IMG_7407 IMG_7426

I visited Macurdie’s Exhibition, near Bornesketaig.  It’s hard to describe exactly what it is and it’s best left for people to find out for themselves.  All I’ll say is that it’s probably a work of both insanity and comedy genius and well worth a visit!

IMG_7442

IMG_7438

IMG_7434 IMG_7435IMG_7441My final stop of the day was the Old Man of Storr, another incredible geological formation that stands out in the landscape and can be seen for miles around.  It’s a steep, breathtaking (literally), walk from the car park in quiet weather but with strong winds added, it was quite a challenge on the lower slopes of the hill.  However, I managed to jog up the final sections once the felled forest area had been left behind.  I also ran and bounced much of the way down but had to put a brake on my fun when the strong winds picked up again.

IMG_7456IMG_7465

All three of these places are unique and together help to give Skye a character all of its own.

Isle of Skye – More Highland Clearance Villages

Posted on by
Reply

After short walk yesterday out to an abandoned village now lying empty as a result of the Highland Clearances, I found another, longer, walk today to two more such settlements.

Whilst yesterday’s weather wasn’t sparkling, today’s was awful – raining continuously that fine soaking rain and a strengthening wind with it.  However, I’m on holiday so why waste it stuck indoors when there are spectacular places to be.

The start point of the 10-mile walk was a bit of a drive away and the weather deteriorated further before I got there, but I wasn’t going to let a bit of water get in the way.  I was soaked from the first five minutes and my walking boots were full of water for the second half of the walk – I gave up avoiding the puddles and the paths-come-streams.

After about a third of the way round the route, along a good but rocky track, I came to the first village, Suisnish. It appears larger than Lorgill, which I visited yesterday, but I didn’t stick around for long as the rain came down heavier still.

The landscape between the two villages is particularly spectacular, high cliffs with some tall cascading waterfalls; the path winds its way at the high water mark above the beach.

IMG_7360

Rounding a corner a white-tailed eagle launched itself off the cliff-face and disappeared.  As I came around further cliffs, two eagles appeared and were soon joined by a third; the first two again disappeared quickly but the last hung in the wind for a while. I sensed it was watching me as I approached and it finally glided off slowly into the rain shrouded distance.

IMG_7366

I began to see the remains of buildings as I crested a rise and eventually a village was laid out in front of me – Boreraig is larger again than Suisnish.  There are buildings dotted all over a low wide valley, facing directly onto a rocky beach. The scale of the place is quite breathtaking; that a large community once lived here but now there are only the crumbled remains of their homes and the harsh environment to surround them.

IMG_7370

32 families were cleared from the two villages in 1854, the furniture smashed and the doors barred, the women and children had to fend for themselves on the nearby beaches until their menfolk returned from working on the mainland. It strikes me that all three Clearance villages I visited are extremely remote from the larger settlements on the island and are in very exposed locations. I wonder just how harsh the living was there and just how sustainable the communities were in the longer term if they had been allowed to stay – we’ll never know.

IMG_7374 (1)

Walking on, the track led over the top of the moor behind Boreraig, up more paths and tracks turned into streams by the incessant rain.  The sky brightened momentarily but the gloom gathered once more as I descended past one last abandoned building and made it back to the car.

IMG_7392

Whilst getting soaked to the skin in pouring rain and a strong wind, walking along flooded paths and tracks, to go to look at some tumbled-down old buildings may not be everyone’s idea of a good day out when on holiday, I’m very glad I did it.