A beautiful morning after the constant rain of the last few weeks. Nine of us met up to litter pick and clear paths. Rob and Tina were also litter picking under their own steam and so there were eleven of us altogether.
Tamsin, Judith and Chris set off to litter pick and did a fantastic morning’s work.
A birch tree had come down across the path near the Stairfoot Lane steps and so Beth and Graham were despatched to start work on clearing it.
Not before, but halfway through!
Your correspondent and Brian set off to join them and en route found a large pond had formed across Crag Lane in the area where we installed a drainage pipe in February 2011. Poking down the drainage pipe with a stick dislodged a large log – presumably pushed into the pipe by children – and hey presto! we suddenly had a torrent of water flowing
After!
through the pipe and the pond had gone in a matter of minutes. Your correspondent estimates that at least 500 gallons of water were trapped across the path until the pipe was cleared. Once the pond had gone, it became clear that a stream was running down the hill and across the path and it continued to flow strongly through the drainage pipe.
Before!
Then it was time to catch up with Graham and Beth at the fallen tree which completely blocked a major path through the woods.
They had made a start on cutting it up and after another half an hour’s work the path was clear.
After!
Having cleared the tree, Graham set off to join the litter pickers.
Brian, Beth and your correspondent set off to join Steph and Jen, last seen clearing holly on the path leading from Crag Lane to the Hospice Woodland.
Steph and Jen had done a great job of clearing the holly. A further 20 minutes of frenzied pruning and it was time to make our way to the Hospice Woodland.
Clearly, when the Hospice Woodland was planted, someone had planted clumps of daffodils to border the 
path. These were smothered by brambles, bracken and fallen leaves, and so 20 minutes were devoted to clearing these and revealing the daffodils to be enjoyed by the passers-by when they bloom in the next ten days or so.
A view showing the widened path in the foreground
Finally, we spent half an hour working on the path running through the Hospice Woodland. Largely this was clear, though in various places tree branches protruded across the path or brambles and bracken were encroaching. As we cleared these away it became clear that the undergrowth concealed daffodils which had been planted around the trees.
Time did not permit us to complete all the path improvement work but it is incredible what a dedicated and motivated team of Friends can achieve in two hours work!
Friends of Adel Woods 