TUESDAY 23th AUGUST
Cammo on tuesday was a fine challenging task for the group, involving replacing 7 risers that were rotten on the long set of steps stretching up from the bridge in the gully. The bridge needed a new handrail and in addition the stream was blocked up with debris, impeding the flow of water. The minibus was packed with happy campers, and Derek was let loose on his bridge project, while Rob and Kate set about digging out the mud from the path and spreading out the hardcore over the newly dug ground. Meanwhile Alan, Rachel, Fiona and Keith began the laborious task of digging out the 7 existing risers and creating holes big enough for the new ones to fit into. John Brown and I carried the sleepers down to the awaiting group and they were soon affixed into the soil with wooden stakes. Ranger Dave came along to help out and by three o’clock the whole section of the path was looking almost as good as new and a tired, sweaty but happy bunch of volunteers headed for waverley bridge with a sweetly gurgling stream splashing its merry way over the cobbles into the River Almond left behind them. “
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| Cammo 23rd August |
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| From Cammo 23rd August |
Wednesday 24th
So on wednesday we headed out to the south of the city and Easter Craiglockhart Hill. Tasks for the day were a mixed bag: Japanese Knotweed removal, fence painting, general weeding (sorry, ‘Vegetation Solutions’), crown lifting and drain clearing. Sarah and Tommy did a captital job, helping me to firstly clear the knotweed near the road and then to clear out a drain – which was running under a footbridge. This was suprisingly tricky – and very odd that whoever had put the bridge in had not cleared the channel out in the first place.
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| From Easter Craiglockhart Hill Aug 24th |
Meanwhile, everyone else was cracking on with cutting back the vegetation from around the pond and path. Douglas and Alan found to their loss that the drain coming out of the pond was slightly deeper in water content than had been anticipated….and we had ‘mislaid’ the waders…so someone went home with wet feet….sorry…..!
Around lunchtime, Chris vanished and Tommy’s theory of the buttery-footed cat came around again. After, the great painting of the fence began….Kirsty learnt the knack of not covering yourself in paint; whilst Alan did not and subsequently went home with and interesting slightly French moustache. This was followed by an entertaining tree identification walk.
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| From Easter Craiglockhart Hill Aug 24th |
A quick thank you to Sarah, who is leaving us to take up a college course: thank you for all your work over the years, yours quizzes and all the laughs!!The best of luck and come back when you can!!!
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR THE LINK TO THE PICTURE ALBUMS THEN CLICK ON THE BLUE TEXT AT THE BASE OF EACH PHOTO!!