Dry work

On our list of outstanding tasks, there are several marked as requiring a dry spell. With no significant rain for nearly two months in the Cotswolds, we are certainly in a dry spell. So time to attend to some of those tasks.

Thursday 15^th May

The Toddington to Winchcombe section was the main target of our dry spell work. However, first of all Nigel, Roger and Andrew went to Two Hedges Road at Bishops Cleeve to place the concrete lids on the rebuilt syphon inlet chamber of cross drain 39B. A straightforward task, apart from carrying the lids up the cutting side, definitely a three man operation.

39B syphon inlet chamber complete with concrete lids. Just some infill to add and that job is done - that will have to wait until after some rain has softened the ground!

Martin and Peter were first in at Toddington. Their main task was to measure all the structures between Toddington and Winchcombe which require fitting of safety markers or handrails. This included the long filled in underbridge located a 9m 70c. Formerly this was bridge 14, but is now known as 14X as Toddington Station footbridge is now number 14. Whilst measuring the up side (Malvern) of culvert 14B, they removed two old sleepers from the outfall pond. These were once part of a farmers bridge upstream, washed away in one of the winter storms.

The first two old sleepers removed from the outlet pool of 14B. Third one resting against the outlet pipe - waiting for a five man team to remove. [Photo by Jonathan]

Another ‘dry day’ tasks they completed was the removal of silt and vegetation from the inlet apron of cross drain 20C on the down (Cotswold) side at Chicken Curve.

Once Jonathan had completed the weekly vehicle checks, and made some minor repairs; he and Polly also made their way to Toddington South. They tacked the three old sleepers in the inlet channel on down side of culvert 14B.

Two of the old sleepers removed from 14B inlet. [Photo by Jonathan]

 

Taking advantage of the low water levels, Andrew takes a photo of the inside of the 14B bore. [Photo by Jonathan]

Looking inside the 14B bore.

When Nigel, Roger and Andrew joined, the final old sleeper in the up side outlet pond was removed. This was up against the outlet pipe; so once removed the water level dropped a bit more. The low water level revealed the extend of the undercutting of the up side high mileage wing wall. Repairing this will needs a much lower water level.

14B outlet pond - low water level obvious. End coping stone of the high mileage wing wall visible under the vegetation.

The group of five next moved south to the down side inlet of culvert 15A. The winter storms had dislodged three of the concrete slabs which form the bank protection here. Despite the dry spell, this stream still had a very slight flow running; plus some deep pools in the inlet channel meant careful placement of feet to avoid wet boots.

All slabs on 15A inlet now upright, looking up stream ... [Photo by Jonathan]

... and downstream to the down side headwall. [Photo by Jonathan]

Having completed the measuring tasks, Martin and Peter joined the rest of the team for lunch at Didbrook. Then for all the afternoon task was digging out around breaks in a SGP pipe which carries excess water from the down side inlet of cross drain 16A to the road under Didbrook No2 bridge. This pipe is very old 9inch internal diameter SGP, probably dating from the building of the line. One break is going to be simple to repair with a concrete patch. The other beak which is around 6 foot long will be more challenging. We no longer have sufficient 9 inch SGP spare, and standard sizes of modern plastic pipe is either too big or too small.

The small break, essentially where the collar of the downstream section has broken off. Easily fixed!

The big break - two completely broken sections of 9" SGP pipe removed.

Upstream end of the break, this section of SGP is cracked.

Downstream end of the break, slightly damaged collar on this section of pipe.

We were delighted to note that Gloucestershire County Council highways have repaired the roadside headwall up side high mileage of Didbrook No2 bridge. This is the exit from the pipe from the 16A inlet - interestingly there was a small flow here, where as it is completely dry higher up where the breaks are.

GCC repaired roadside headwall - and verge markers installed to make it more visible to vehicles. [Photo by Jonathan]

Wildlife report: As now usual when at Bishops Cleeve, the larger flock of gulls was noted, audibly first then visually. Otherwise the main items to note were some Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) plants at Didbrook. This can cause skin iterations, but is not so dangerous as Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Fortunately we have not encountered any Giant Hogweed - so far! An interesting insect spotted was a green lacewing – not surprisingly as there are over 1,300 known species we did not make a positive identification. No fish spotted in any watercourse today - and still no sign of hedgehogs.

Problem located

Thursday 8^th May

Another day with complex logistics. With nine of the Drainage team attending for work at three sites we required three vehicles. S&T required another and so did the Heritage team – all of us taking advantage of a non-running day. With only four vehicles available, we needed a cunning plan!

Martin and Peter took the tipper Transit to Toddington to collect safety rails for the former bridge 41 south of Two Hedges Road. Neal from the heritage team had made these from scrap boiler tubes removed from Dinmore Manor. They then delivered these to the bridge site, where Neal and Joe installed them. Then with Stuart joining them, they headed back north, installing our prepared safety markers for the headwalls of cross drains 37G, 37E, 37D, 37C and 37B. These used recycled scaffold poles. They achieved the award for the most productive group of the day, as this enabled five tasks on our ‘To Do’ list to be marked complete.

Nigel, Polly and Roger had the blue tail-lift Transit, carefully loaded with a cement mixer, a supply of sand and bricks and some heras fence panels. They offloaded the bricks, sand and mixer offloaded at Two Hedges Road and then took the fence panels a bit further south to the Bonsai World stream entry. Once the third vehicle arrived with cement and water; they started on the final brick courses for the rebuild of down side inlet chamber of syphon cross drain 39B.

Good to have our master bricklayer Polly back after an illness. He soon had the final couple of dozen bricks laid on the 39B down side inlet.

Blue mesh lid on the 39B inlet is temporary; once the mortar has fully set we will replace this with concrete lids.

Andrew, Dave and Stuart were in vehicle three (the Isuzu) and Jonathan made his own way to Two Hedges Road (Bishops Cleeve). Once the materials for the brick laying were offloaded; they continued down to the Bonsai World stream. After coffee break, a change of group memberships saw Stuart joining the safety rail installers, and Roger joining the investigators at the Bonsai World stream. Here, we had permission to remove a section of fence and enter the former Bonsai World site. This enabled a proper examination of the structure under the drive way and footpath. This turns out to be concrete blocks and slabs forming a 12 by 9 inch rectangular passage under the drive way. It is approximately 3m long where it terminates against a 450mm diameter concrete pipe which runs into the manhole on top of the cutting crest. It is the joins between the concrete blocks and the lack of a proper join between the rectangular section and the 450mm diameter pipe which is causing the leakage under the manhole and then down the cutting side to the down side cess. So we have found the cause of the problem. Our preferred plan to fix it, is to replace the rectangular block section with a longer section of 450mm diameter concrete pipe. Not only should that stop the leaks, it will also more than double the capacity of the bore, thus preventing the stream backing up and overflowing into the adjoining field. After very wet weather, this stream can be a raging torrent. A good job today it was bone dry. However, our rebuild plan requires excavation across the drive way and footpath; so we will need to obtain a temporary footpath closure authority from the County Council. That will take a few weeks at least – and no doubt by then the spell of dry weather will have come to an end.

Entry to the under drive way channel in the corner of the Bonsai World site.

 

Looking from the inlet side showing the joins in the concrete block sections. [Photo by Jonathan]

Looking back up from the circular pipe which enters the manhole showing the butt joint to the rectangular section. [Photo by Dave]

The 450mm concrete pipe which enters into the circular manhole. Just a inch or so of standing water in the bottom of the manhole - normally we have 6 or so inches here.

Before leaving we replaced the hole in the fence with a heras panel; and installed a couple more heras sections to plug gaps in the fence between the footpath and the top of the down side cutting.

Temporary heras fencing by the gate at the end of the drive way.

After lunch, we attended to some routine maintenance on three brush cutters. During the spring and summer, our colleagues in the Lineside Clearance teams are the main users of these. Changing spark plugs and air filters fixed two machines. For a third, we called in the expertise of Stuart from C&W; who diagnosed and then fixed a sticky carburettor diaphragm.

Wildlife report: Lots of birdlife spotted in the dense tree and vegetation growth on the down side south of Two Hedges Road bridge beside the drive way and footpath; including blue tits, robins, blackbirds, starlings, magpies. Plus a muntjac deer on the drive way. One item we missed on last week’s report was the sighting of brown trout in the River Isbourne.

 

 

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.

Easter Holidays

With a late(ish) Easter this year, and the promise of reasonable weather, quite a number of the team decided on holidays for the week before or the week after Easter (or both). The exotic holiday destinations included the North Yorkshire Moors, the Lake District, the Isles of Scilly and Birmingham (for a Genesis tribute band concert).

We can confirm that all the mentions of old railway items on the Isles of Scilly in a recent Heritage Herald blog (https://haylesabbeyhalt.blogspot.com/2025/04/sunshine.html) were April fools (or fake news). However we did spot this shed. Maybe it is a magazine store!

Thursday 17^th April

Just three of the team attending on Maundy Thursday – Martin, Jonathan and John. However, as very successful day with the added bonus of no passenger trains to worry about.

First task was some dye tracing at Stanton Aqueduct. Three and a half minutes after adding dye to the down side inlet, dyed water emerged from the up side outlet, as expected. Shortly after they noticed a small dyed flow running back to the inlet channel underneath the pipe and into the crack between the channel and the down side abutment. This did not immediately appear in the ground crack underneath the aqueduct. So on the assumption that in heavier flows more water would run back from the exit of the pipe they simulated a heavier flow scenario by pouring dyed water around the crack in the inlet channel. After a coffee break they noted dyed water in the ground crack underneath the aqueduct. There was also water seeping out lower down the cutting, but no dyed water had reached there by the time they left. Thus it looks like all of the water getting into the cutting side comes from the crack in the inlet channel. We have passed on these findings to the bridges team and the Infrastructure Manager to determine the repair plan.

Dyed water flowing into the pipe on the down (inlet) side... [Photo by Jonathan]

 

... and seeping back towards the crack between the inlet channel and the trough. [Photo by Jonathan]

The other task for the day was preparing vertical and horizontal poles for culvert/cross drain safety marker rails. We are using old scaffold poles for these – some of which were part of a condemned scaffold tower. Eight horizontal and sixteen vertical rails were cut to the required sizes – these are for the structures 37B to 37G between Gotherington and Bishops Cleeve. Only one requires a marker on both sides, hence then eight sets for these six structures.

Whilst Martin and John were busy cutting the scaffold poles, Jonathan cleared out the drains behind the workshop in Churchward House yard.

Finally the three paid a visit to Stanway Watermill, one of our neighbouring heritage attractions. https://www.stanwayfountain.co.uk/the-watermill.html

Stanway Watermill [Photo by Jonathan]

Thursday 24^th April

Back to a more normal number of attendees – 7. (Jonathan, Dave, Andrew, Nigel, Stuart, Peter, John). A single task for the day – beginning the infill around the one length of 600mm diameter twinwall pipe in the down side crest ditch which carries the stream that comes down from Cleeve Hill alongside the former Bonsai World site at Bishops Cleeve.

First job was to remove a section of boundary fence and undergrowth to allow access from the field track and footpath at the top of the cutting. Then we reversed the tipper Transit loaded with some spent ballast along the track almost to the access point. However the uneven surface of the track and the overhanging branches meant we had to stop a few yards short. So the ballast was unloaded into barrows and manually wheeled into place. This was to level up the ground around the circular concrete manhole, under which the stream makes a 90 degree bend). Pushing loaded wheelbarrows is much easier over level ground!

Gap in the fence and ballast to level the ground around the manhole to make barrowing the pea gravel infill easier.

We then collected three one tonne loads of pea gravel from Elliots (Cheltenhand) Ltd, for the initial infill around the twinwall pipe. Roger Kentfield, the owner of the adjacent field, very kindly let us bring this in across the field from New Road; thus avoiding the bumpy and narrow track from Two Hedges Road. Conveniently Elliots are located on Stoke Orchard Road, just the other side of Bishops Cleeve.

The final barrow load of the first tonne of pea gravel. With a short barrow run and a team of 7, shifting one tonne does not take too long. [Photo by Jonathan]

Stuart makes sure the pea gravel is level and compacted around the pipe. The rest of the infill will be more spent ballast.

As a footpath runs along the track and into the field, we were able to chat with some of the hikers and dog-walkers passing by. One of whom was Andy Protherough, the first Head of the Drainage department, with his dog Jaz. Andy can remember some of the previous attempts to prevent this stream overtopping the crest ditch following very wet weather.

Finally we erected two sections of heras fencing to temporarily plug the gap in the hedge/fence; will will need this as an access point for quite a few more weeks to bring in a lot more infill.

Wildlife report: Very definitely we are into late spring. Apple blossom abounds, Horse chestnut in full flower and Hawthorn blossom is starting. We spotted a pair of house-martins (or maybe swifts, they were zooming too quickly for a positive identification). Also in the adjacent field were some crows and a hare. Strangely the noisy gulls of Cleeve did not appear – even at lunchtime. Back at Winchcombe, this time the circling raptor at tea break time over the station was a buzzard.

Underneath a spreading chestnut tree - not the village blacksmith but the end of the track from Two Hedges Road and where the stream runs under it.

 

Replanning

Thursday 10^th April

Always have a plan B, and a plan C. A good mantra for any activity; though sometimes the formulation of the alternative plans takes place ‘on the hoof’. Today was a good example.

First of all, a job that we had expected to undertake but we found another team had already completed it. This was the replacement of some fencing alongside the Wychavon footpath near bridge 2, Childswickham Road.

Secondly our plan to use both of the Transit vehicles had to be changed. The white tipper Transit was out of action requiring repairs to the tail lights. Jonathan in his capacity as chief vehicle maintenance person spent the day sorting that out.

Final item of replanning was the rebuild of the down side syphon inlet chamber of cross drain 39B at Two Hedges Road. To obtain level brick courses with even mortar joints, we decided to remove a few more of the existing coping bricks. Hence the plan is now an all brick chamber with concrete lids, instead of GRP catch pit rings and a blue mesh lid.

Whilst the Toddington to Stanton section of the B4632 road was closed for gas main replacement, a lot of traffic diverted along Laverton Meadow Lane. This prevented us from working under bridge 6 to clear the silt traps. Now the main road is open again, we could safely attend to this. Hence, Dave, John and Martin just managed to squeeze two wheelbarrows, traffic cones, road work signs, shovels and rakes into the Ranger for this task. Almost a month of dry weather made this task a bit easier than usual; however the silt in the traps on the low mileage (Broadway) side of the road had the consistency of thick soup. Then back to Winchcombe to clear out the final Drainage items from the office in the old wooden C&M workshop that is soon to be demolished.

Martin and John attending to the low mileage silt traps at Laverton Meadow Lane bridge (6). [Photo by Dave]

Nigel, Stuart and Roger were deployed on the rebuilding of the 39B inlet chamber at Two Hedges Road. Again the effects of the dry spell was obvious, no water was flowing through this. However, a work platform was required in the chamber to keep the bricklayer feet above the sump. The removed coping bricks were taken back to Winchcombe to join our stock of spares.

Roger working on the revised brick building at 39B syphon inlet.

Peter and Andrew also headed for Two Hedges Road, but south of the bridge. They inserted some more sandbags around the end of the length of 600mm diameter twinwall pipe in the down side crest ditch which carries the stream that comes down from Cleeve Hill alongside the former Bonsai World site. Next was some careful measuring of the ditch further south. The plan here is to pipe the stream for around 60m to avoid the sections where water is seeping into the cutting side. We also noticed some damaged lids on cess chambers where a non-railway drain pipe under the line. So these were measured up for replacement lids and additional chamber rings to raise their height.

Sandbag headwall slowing rising around the Bonsai World down side crest ditch pipe.

After lunch all nine of the team attended a presentation from Gareth Mead of Severn Trent Water. Gareth explained the somewhat opaque division of responsibility for drainage between water companies, Environment Agency, high ways authorities and landowners. He also showed us a water testing kit that Severn Trent use to determine levels and type of contamination in water courses. The main item was revising the internal Severn Trent maps of all the pipes and water courses which run alongside or under (or over) our railway. This was very useful, as we now know what some of the pipes are; and know of some more (such as one running under the filled in bridge 41). [This included the pipe we inspected earlier between cross drain 40A and culvert 40B, this is a combined foul water and surface drain pipe, which does belong to Severn Trent.]

Wildlife report: The team at Laverton Meadow Lane spotted Cardamine pratensis, the cuckoo flower, lady's smock, mayflower, or milkmaids; plus the expected primulas in flower. Whilst at Two Hedges Road, the resident flock of gulls was noticeable fewer and quieter. On the ground we spotted a hairy-moth caterpillar taking advantage of a flowering white dead nettle plant. Very early signs of blossom was seen on some apple trees, whilst blackthorn and some other varieties of Prunus (which includes ornamental cherries) are in full bloom. Also noted was the first sighting of a cabbage white butterfly this year.

Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) also known as: Milkmaids, Lady's smock, Cuckoo bittercress, Whitsuntide gilliflower, or mayflower. [Photo by Dave]

 

Hairy caterpillar on a white dead nettle plant.

Another result of the dry spell - a burnt patch of cutting side at Bishop Cleeve.

A flowering ornamental cherry tree nicely frames the single unit DMU at Two Hedges Road.

 

 

 

On the beach?

Sitting in a deckchair in warm sunshine, eating sandwiches for lunch, with gulls circling and screeching above, we could almost have been on the beach! However, it was old ballast under our feet – not sand or even pebbles. Plus no ice cream sellers in sight at Two Hedges Road.

Tuesday 1st April

More overtime for two members of the team! Roger and Martin, attended a training course on the use of abrasive wheels and cutting discs. This was run by Greenway Training, conveniently at Guiting Power, not that far from Winchcombe.

Thursday 3rd April

Seven of the team attending today.

Jonathan continued with the repair work on the Ford Ranger. The towing hook electrics are now reinstated in a way that should reduce damage when traversing rough ground or changes of slope. He also started repairing the Timberwolf chipper, this had failed after ingestion of some hard materials. Unfortunately he was unable to complete this repair as it required access deep into the engine area. A useful odd job accomplished was relocating our stack of concrete chamber lids – use of the telehandler made this much easier and safer. This is part of the tidy up of Winchcombe yard; associated with the demolition of the old C&M wooden workshop. This is very much a multi-department project; also involving PW, C&W, C&M and S&T.

The other six of the team headed for Two Hedges Road at Bishops Cleeve. Martin and John first fitted a removable cover over the up side washout lid of the (pseudo) syphon cross drain 40A. Constructed from two blue mesh chamber lids and four lengths of wood; this will adequately mark the location for now. We have abandoned the attempts to undo the seized nuts and bolts of the washout lid for the present.

The removable cover over the washout lid of cross drain 40A in the up cess.

Nigel and Dave commenced cutting back vegetation on the vehicle track on the down (Cotswold) side at the top of the cutting. We are going to need to bring in bulk materials along this track in the next few weeks.

Peter and Andrew started on the main task for the day – the inlet of the stream that comes down alongside the former Bonsai World site. First was a dye test, this time adding dye to the circular chamber with the 90 degree bend at the top of the cutting. Even after half an hour; the water tricking into the down side cess chamber in the cutting was still clear. So this indicates the source of that water is further upstream; we suspect it is leaking around the inlet bore. However, to check that we need to first arrange access to the adjoining property.

Green tracer dye added to the 90 degree bend chamber.

 

Coloured water quickly appears at the pipe exit.

But no green water appearing in the cess chamber.

Then the commencement of the laborious task for the day – excavating under the one remaining length of 600mm diameter twinwall pipe in the crest ditch to get this to sit with a 1 in 80 fall. Removing large stone, clay and hessian liner from under a large pipe in a ditch is not at all easy. With the other jobs completed; the team size grew first to four; then to six.

Team effort resetting the section of 600mm pipe - wellingtons required for those at the exit end.

Our first working day of the year with normal passenger trains running. Martin looks on from the top of the cutting whilst class 121 bubble car 55024 passes. The maroon BR carriage livery does suit this single unit.

Finally we removed sufficient material to get the section of pipe to sit correctly. Then after lunch, we excavated a bit more around the exit of the pipe. Then we laid hessian sand bags filled with a sand and cement mix around the base of the pipe. Hopefully this will prevent any backflow of water there.

End of day state at the pipe exit - more sandbags around the exit to be added; then backfill to bury the pipe. Plastic twinwall pipe will eventually degrade if left in sunlight.

Last job of the day was to examine the rest of the crest ditch – a task made easier by the dry conditions in March leading to a much reduced flow. Before the end of the cutting; all the water seeps into the cess through fissures in the cutting side. Our current plan to deal with this is to install a pipe in the affected section of ditch. We will need to widen, but not deepen, the ditch in places to enable use of 450mm diameter twinwall pipe, That is the diameter of the inlet pipe to the 90 degree chamber – so we are not introducing any further constraints.

Another benefit of passenger trains running is that the Coffee Pot cafe at Winchcombe is open. Thus our end of day cuppa tea is al fresco. (Left to right, Nigel, Martin, John, Dave, Jonathan).

Wildlife report: There is certainly a large diversity of bird life at Bishops Cleeve, probably because of the combination of habitats – woods, fields, gardens. We positively identified the flock of lunchtime gulls as Lesser Black-backed gulls. Earlier in the day a single Red Kite swooped very low over us. Other birds noted were wood pigeons, blackbirds, robins, magpies, crows, blue tits, nosiy sparrows, and great tits. On the vehicle track / footpath at the top of the cutting we spotted a muntjac deer. Insects noted included bees, tortoiseshell, brimstone and an unidentified blue/black species of butterfly. On the vegetation front the most apparent sights were the abundance of flowering dandelions and celandines; plus the blackthorn blossom which was probably at its peak. On the way back to Winchcombe, we spotted the first signs of pear trees blossoming. Less welcome we noted quite a few brambles and ash sampling sprouting along the section of the down side cutting which our clearance contractor had cut back in the autumn. The wet winter and warm (so far) spring is ideal growing conditions for a lot of our lineside vegetation.

Blackthorn blossom