Bone dry

This time last year we were dealing with the effects of a wet spring with several days of heavy rainfall. What a change this year! April showers noticeable by their absence and temperatures well above average. The combined March and April rainfall for the Cotswold escarpment in Gloucestershire is around one third of normal.

Thursday 1^st May

Six team members working on a glorious hot and sunny day – the maximum day time temperature recorded in Winchcombe was around 25C. Certainly it felt more like the height of summer than the end of spring.

Ice cream break - Infrastructure Manager Sarah provided welcome ice creams during a chat with the bricking team. Note the welcome shade from the cherry tree.

Roger, John and Dave were the brick laying gang. They progressed the rebuilt of the down (Cotswold) side syphon inlet chamber of cross drain 39B at Two Hedges Road. They laid around sixty bricks, this almost completes the rebuilt of this chamber.

Roger brick laying. [Photo by Dave]

Just a dozen or so more bricks to finish - and then some concrete lids. [Photo by Dave]

Peter, Jonathan and Andrew were working the other side of Two Hedges Road. Main task was some further vegetation clearance along the lane than runs south by the cutting on the down side. After the tribulations of reversing our tipper Transit down this lane last week, we are now planning to use a hired dumper to bring in infill material for the repairs to the crest pipe and ditch which takes the ‘Bonsai World’ stream. The resident of the adjacent bungalow on Two Hedges Road welcomed this work, in the past she had paid someone else to do the clearance. Wearing full PPE for brush cutting and hedge trimming made this hot work, especially the first few yards which were in full sun. Fortunately the rest of the lane was in shade, enabling the clearance to be completed by lunchtime. After lunch they tested the clearance by reserving the Ford Ranger down to the field gate at the end of the lane. This reduced the distance to carry yet more sandbags to plug the voids in the crest ditch which takes the ‘Bonsai World’ stream south to cross drain 40B. A sign of how unusually dry the weather in the past two months has been is that this stream currently is bone dry. Something we have not observed for several years.

The sunny end of the cleared lane by Two Hedges Road.

More room for a vehicle at the end of the lane - just. Temporary heras fence erected last week by the crest ditch entry. [Photo by Jonathan]

Not a drop of water in the 'Bonsai' World stream where it flows under the lane.

 

Taking advantage of the dry spell and consequent low water level in the River Isbourne, Jonathan and Andrew undertook some trimming of the vegetation growing on the down side wing walls of the river bridge.

The coolest spot - under the River Isbourne bridge. Cut vegetation floating down to be raked out. [Photo by Jonathan]

Wildlife report: “Ne'er cast a clout til May be out” – probably this old English saying means don’t pack away your winter clothes until the end of May. Or maybe until the May blossom is out. Today the May blossom, Hawthorne, was in full bloom – and summer clothes were the order of the day. We noted both sweet chestnut and horse chestnut trees in full bloom, whilst the bluebells have just past their peak flowering. The field between the railway and New Road was yellow with a vast crop of dandelions. We noted a few of the resident gulls of Bishops Cleeve circling high up – whilst at a similar altitude over Winchcombe was a Red Kite. Several house martins were flitting around Winchcombe Yard trying to find some soft mud for their nest building. With the lack or rain the usual puddles in the yard are nowhere to be found.