Charlwood Walk

Recently we went a great walk around Charlwood, taking in two Woodland Trust sites where we also do volunteer tasks.  It was before the recent rain, but still heavy going on the muddier paths.

One of the woods we passed through, Glovers Wood, is thought to be an ancient woodland and is a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest).  Charlwood itself is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and so is at least Saxon in origin.  All this within a couple of miles of Gatwick Airport, but then of course, that is the point of the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership. 

Although the sky looks threatening, the weather was kind to us and we stayed dry. 

This is an veteran yew in the churchyard at Charlwood.  The church is Norman in origin, being built in about 1080, but altered since then.  Dating yews is an inexact science and relates to the circumference of the trunk.  This one has a girth of 7m 21cm / 23ft 8 inches, which suggests this tree is at least as old and possibly predates the church.  (The church isn't subsiding, but suffering from bad photography!)

However, the view from the other side of the yew reveals a sad story.  The yew is clearly declining, with much dead wood.  The bole is hollow, which is not a problem, although scorching inside shows it has been the victim of an arson attack.  However yews are remarkable trees and are able to regenerate, so I suspect this individual will be around for many years to come.

Finally a welcome sign of spring, of which more next week.

February tasks

Been too busy too post much recently, but will try and catch up in the next week or so.

We have run several more tasks including one at Riverside Park, Horley.  It was another bitter, snowy day, but we had good numbers of volunteers turn out for a spot of hedgelaying.  The site is a splendid little green lung caught between the A23 and a housing estate, but it has a variety of habitats including a small lake, scrub and woodland and the Gatwick Stream runs through the length of the site, joining with the River Mole.

This is the second time we have laid this particular section of hedge, the first being five years ago.  In that time a healthy lot of new growth has come up from the stems that we cut and laid over.  Hedgelaying is a very satisfying thing to do because you can make a big visual difference in a day.

The finished hedge is certainly nowhere near the exhibition standards you see at hedgelaying competitions, but none of the volunteers have a lot of experience in the art, and several were complete beginners.  So well done everyone!

We have also been up to Banstead Woods, for the annual megabash of rhododendron.  Lots of rhodie was cut and burnt, but I can't tell you much more as I was part of the kitchen crew, catering for the 150 or so volunteers that come!

We also had another rhodie bonfire ourselves, last Sunday, tidying up some cut last summer.  Finally today we were coppicing some hazel in Glovers Wood, in Charlwood, another of the Woodland Trust sites we frequent.  We had rain, rather than snow, or sleet, which sort of made a change.....but nevertheless 15 brave souls came out, so it was a really successful day, just too wet to be taking photos!

Coppicing and more major tree works

Last week's tasks saw us at Hammond's Copse, Newdigate, one of three Woodland trust sites we work on.  The job in hand was to coppice a section along the bridleway to keep the path clear, and provide a dead hedge to keep people, dogs and horses out of  a coupe.

Here, one of our volunteers is piling up the cut hazel rods, with all the cut ends facing the same way, to create an even dense dead-hedge.

Here is a close up of a hazel stool.  It was cut flush with the chainsaw, and you might notice the slight blue marks on some of the stems.  This is where the chainsaw is not cut through the wood evenly and suggests, as it was the end of the day, the saw was not quite as sharp as it should have been.

In comparison to this traditional way of managing woodland, the work that is being carried out in Tilgate Park at the moment is much more industrial.  The dam on the main lake at Tilgate is being raised by some 2.5m (!)to provide additional flood storage capacity for Crawley and Gatwick.  The lake will be drained down over the summer, but they are tree-felling now to prevent any disturbance to nesting birds.

I will keep updating the blog about the works as they progress.