A very pleasant morning – still cool, but very mild. So much so that some of us had a drink sitting outside Old Leo’s bar after our labours.
Lots of birdsong in the woods – particularly from great tits. A passerby told us that great spotted woodpeckers could be heard near the Stairfoot Lane carpark.
Today’s tasks were litter picking and path clearing. We had a great team of litter pickers – Mary, Chris, Tina, Rob, Judith, Graham and Barbara who set off to various areas of the woods to clear litter – while eight of us set off as a group to clear paths.
The seven litter pickers did a great job – which also entailed clearing a lot of flytipping in Stairfoot Lane.
The path clearing team of eight started with the path, just past Old Leo’s clubhouse at right angles to Crag Lane. Having widened the southern stretch of this path by several feet, we worked our way along Crag Lane, widening two or three areas where holly was narrowing the pathway.
Thence to the picnic area, with the intention of working our way down the Meanwood Valley Trail. However, when we reached the picnic area our attention was caught by the path heading westward, just by the picnic table: it looked as if it was overgrown and difficult to walk. We set to enthusiastically and had soon cleared and widened the first 30 yards or so, removing a fallen tree trunk from the path, and many branches at high level in case horse riders use the path. Beyond 30 yards the path was clear.
From there we returned to the picnic area and set off down the Meanwood Valley trail, cutting back holly and removing fallen timber for about one hundred yards.
At 12.05 pm we packed up our tools and returned to Old Leo’s car park – where five of us decided to sample the delights of the local hostelry.
All in all, a very enjoyable and satisfying two hours work!
Friends of Adel Woods 