1-October-24

Only five volunteers met up at the iron gate on the West Hartley Farm road – on a morning with the sky filled with rain clouds – for a day of cleaning out gullies on the inclined road from the farm running down towards the meadow area.

You may remember that when we fitted a new drainage pipe in the meadow to try and prevent the severe flooding there we also, at the time, cleared out the gully (ditch) down the bank which was causing the flooding. Well, we returned today to clear the gully out again and to extend it further up the bank.

Luckily for us we could park the tools van right on the job, so we just picked up the spades, mattocks and a strimmer and walked to the other side of the road to start work. One volunteer started strimming the undergrowth at the top of the bank while the rest started to clear out the gullies.

Photograph A. Bottom end of gully

Photograph B. Top end of gully

Job completed, the van was loaded up and we headed home for a shower, clean dry clothes and lunch.

By the way, we pulled about five Himalayan balsam plants from the meadow by the stone bridge. Surprisingly they had not yet seeded!

15-October-24

The working party was back in business again this morning after a couple of rained-off sessions and lots of people off on holiday during September and October. Gully clearance and fence mending were the tasks of the day – in dull but not-too-cold conditions.

There is a drain running under Hartley Lane near the dipping pond. The water emerging from that drain runs via ditch (we call it a “gully”) into the pond then from the pond to the river, passing under two footpaths on the way. This ditch tends to get clogged up and needs to be cleared out every year. So, we went in with a strimmer first and removed the nettles and other weeds along the line of the ditch. This was followed by a couple of volunteers with spades removing excess silt from the ditch.

We found that the culvert pipe under the lower footpath was blocked up. This was causing water to back up into the pond. Clearing it out was no easy matter. Various tools were used, but what worked was a narrow-spit spade, which was good for removing the heavy silt, then the telescopic drain rod set for final clearance.

Photograph A. Clearing the gully

The second main job was to repair the fence that runs along the river bank in the dipping pond area. It needs to be kept in good repair to keep the cattle out. Unfortunately, it is old and in a dilapidated state in places, but we keep patching it up because we lack the resources to replace it. Maybe that’s the most efficient and parsimonious use of resources anyway.

So, we set to work demolishing the first of the two sections of fence that was falling down. Next, we excavated post holes. Then, in went the new posts. Finally, the horizontal rails were screwed to the fence posts ­– using a mixture of new and recycled timber. The same procedure was repeated for the second falling-down section of fence.

Lots of tools were used in this work. The cordless circular saw was particularly handy. The post digger was useful (and good exercise!). The impact drill was useful, as ever, for putting screws in.

Photograph B. Dismantling the old fence

Photograph C. Completed repair

By this time we were almost ready to go home, but one of us had noticed a logjam on the river and had started to haul the branches and debris out with a rake, so we went about removing that material from the river bank to a pile well away from the water. (We will probably be returning to that logjam on a future occasion.)

There was little wildlife evident today, but here are some of the sights and sounds:

 plenty of woodpigeons flying around

 rooks, jackdaws, wild geese and robins calling

 there are still some red campions in bloom

 the river was flowing strongly and one of us saw some trout

It was nice to see a large party of teenagers from a local school having a foray out of the classroom and into the real world as part of their environmental coursework.

It looks as if we have put strimming behind us for this year, so there is likely to be a greater variety of tasks in forthcoming months. Watch this space!

22-October-24

The working party was out planting oak seedlings this morning, and doing a bit of sycamore-bashing. This was a mild day; bright at first but cloudy later. The ground is still not yet very muddy, fortunately.

One of the volunteers has been growing oaks from acorns in pots, and we have had a donation of oak seedlings from one of our supporters. Because the Dene is a bit short of oaks, we have decided to plant them on the open ground near the gas pumping station at the Seaton Delaval end of the Dene.

So, the procedure was:

 clear a patch of ground with a strimmer

 dig a hole

 plant a seedling

 install a plastic tree-guard with a stake

 repeat about 30 times

We expect there will be some losses from a variety of causes – there always are – but hopefully the majority of them will “take”. So, some lovely oak trees will slowly grow at that site, which is good as they are always a great favourite of wildlife: insects, birds and other creatures.

Here’s a composite shot of us planting oaks:

Photograph A. Planting oaks

This was being done by the main force of five volunteers, but the other three were on a mission to track down and eradicate sycamores. There are actually lots of tall sycamores in that part of the Dene, most of them too big to remove. But we have a policy of keeping their numbers down as far as we can because they are foreign and tend to be invasive. So, we were (a) removing saplings with bowsaws, and (b) removing lower branches and twigs from larger sycamores with loppers. We also collected up some litter while we were at it.

By the way, one of us was experimenting with a smartphone app for identifying birdsong (Merlin), and here are the results, all in the Dene:

 Robin

 Long tailed tit

 Wren

 Gold crest

 Graylag geese

 Nuthatch

 Blue Tit

 Coal Tit

We’ll be back next week (apart from one of us who is off on a cruise). Watch this space!

29-October-24

It was a fine autumn day for the eight volunteers who assembled at Hartley Lane carpark this morning for a session of fence repair and river clearance near the dipping pond.

There has apparently been strong flow in the Seaton Burn recently, although it was quiescent today. Lots of branches, twigs and leaves have been washed downstream and have clogged up the cattle barrier under the stone bridge and formed logjams elsewhere. So, it was on with the waders and into the water for two of the volunteers. We worked upstream from the old ford close to the dipping pond, where there was a medium-sized logjam. This was cleared by passing the branches etc out to two volunteers on the bank, who put them on high ground well away from the river.

Photograph A. Logjam near dipping pond

Photograph B. Removing logjam

Another small logjam was cleared, then the pile-up under the bridge was tackled. One of the branches was well stuck and the smaller branches had to be removed first. Finally the large one came away but had to be sawed up to make it easier to manhandle.  Some tree litter slightly upstream of that point was removed, then job done!

Photograph C. Logjam under bridge

The fence work was a continuation of the work started a fortnight ago. This is the fence between the river and the riverside path near the dipping pond. It is old and patched up, but needs to be stock-proof. The main problem is fence posts rotting at below-ground level – “wobbly fence post syndrome”.

So, we set to work removing the old fence posts. Next, we excavated post holes – hard work, with spit and post-hole digger. Then, in went the new posts, packed in with soil. The horizontal rails were screwed to the fence posts. Finally, the fence wire was re-attached to the posts.

This process was repeated for a number of posts in two sections of the fence.

Being a sunny day, the birds were more active and we saw or heard a flock of wild geese, herring gulls, carrion crows, woodpigeons, moorhens, great tits, robins and chaffinches. There are still some flowers in bloom, such as ragwort.

Oh, and if your dog lost its red rubber ball, we found it – in the river – but unfortunately it’s now in the bin!

5-November-24

The working party (of six volunteers) was active on the western side of the estuary this morning: clearing a fallen branch and cleaning gullies. The assembly point was the open space outside Dene Cottage. Having loaded up a couple of wheelbarrows with tools we set off along the estuary path on the west side of the estuary.

The first task was to remove a large branch that had fallen on the high-level path. It had slumped down a steep slope and was resting on the hand rail. Bowsaws were used to hack off the lesser branches and these were laboriously hauled up the slope to be placed in safe locations. The main stem of the branch was then pulled up the slope using our trusty hand winch, which was tethered to a tree at the top of the slope. When we were satisfied that the stem was securely positioned, the three of us left that location and joined the other volunteers.

They had gone right down to a point near the estuary footbridge and were cleaning out the ditches and gullies that are designed to keep the path clear of water and mud. A strimmer was deployed to remove grass from the edges of the gullies. This was particularly important for the ditches running across the grassy area between path and river, making them visible to walkers straying from the path.

Photograph A. Ditching

The west-side path has always had a problem of drainage, because of the water that runs down the steep wooded slope in heavy rain. For that reason, we have a system of pathside ditches, gullies under the path, V-ditches across the path, and ditches running to the water’s edge to dispatch the water. These all get choked with leaves at this time of year, and every winter we need to clean them out. It keeps us busy!

Photograph B. More ditching

As usual on the estuary, there was plenty of bird interest:

 a redshank (just one!) calling in alarm on our arrival

 a heron, a jay and the usual black-headed gulls, crows and wood pigeons

 a flotilla mallard ducks, sometimes flying from place to place on the burn

 robins were singing and a grey wagtail called

This was a grey day but mild and still. Surprisingly large numbers of biting insects were out and buzzing around our ears. Perhaps they breed in the two shallow ponds that were created a few years ago and planted with reeds for water filtration purposes. A frost would kill them off, but that hasn’t happened yet. Winter won’t have properly started until it has.

Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention the hot mince pies – delivered to us at break time as a gesture of good will by the owner of Nicholson’s butchers shop, 140 Park View, Whitley Bay.  Thanks Doug!

12-November-24

It was back to the estuary this morning for the working party, which numbered nine volunteers. We assembled at the familiar venue of Dene Cottage and, after a bit of a confab about the future of the group (see below), proceeded up the west side of the estuary.

The first task to be tackled was the broken fence along the high path. This was repaired by replacing a rotten fence post with a new one – actually a recycled post. Then the top bar was replaced with a new piece of timber. Various miscellaneous repairs were made elsewhere along the line of the fence with screws etc. The two volunteers who were engaged in this task then went to join the main party, who were working at riverside path level somewhat upstream.

The task here, as last week, was gully clearance. This is the important (but slightly boring) work of clearing dead leaves and silt out of the pathside ditches and the gullies that take the water under the path and away into the burn. We use spades, mattocks and rakes for this work. It is a fairly backbreaking activity, but we don’t complain as it is a cheaper way of getting exercise than going to the gym. Exercise, fresh air, scenery, wildlife, a bit of socialising in the coffee breaks, the odd compliment from passers-by – what’s not to like? Well, the mud, possibly, but that’s how it always is in winter!

Wildlife. As always the estuary was alive with bird activity:

 redshank, black-headed gull, heron, mallard on the river

 kestrel nearby and little egret on the saltmarsh

 herring gull, wood pigeon, crow in the air

It has to be said that the mood among us volunteers was rather sombre this morning. We were all wondering if the working party will be able to continue as presently constituted. The problem, in short, is that Northumberland County Council are having a crack-down on Health and Safety, and want to burden us with lots of bureaucracy and H&S compliance.

In the past we were supported by NCC because we do work that they would otherwise have to do, but now we feel constrained rather than supported. As volunteers we feel strongly that we would rather get on with the job than fill in forms. Chainsaw use is already effectively banned, despite our good safety record. This situation started, by the way, when another group under the NCC umbrella had a couple of accidents with chainsaws.

Anyway, we know from the feedback we get on the Facebook page that our “customers” (you) get a lot of pleasure from the Dene and a lot of benefit from our activities. So, keep supporting us!

19-November-24

On a cold and frosty morning, a working party of nine assembled at the stone bridge on Hartley West Farm road to upgrade the boardwalk by the side waterfall and fill in a couple of dog slides.

The boardwalk in question was the sloping one by the waterfall on a side burn on the south side upstream of the stone bridge. It had been repaired on a couple of earlier occasions, when several tread boards were replaced. The original chicken wire, which was put in place to improve grip, had rotted and had been removed. At this time of year the wood gets a bit slippery, so we installed new chicken wire, held in place by staples. We also dug out a channel on the uphill side of the boardwalk to guide water away and hopefully keep the timberwork dry and free from rot.

Photograph A.

Photograph B.

This work was done by four volunteers. Meanwhile the other five tackled the doggie slides. These are notches in the river bank where dogs have been in the habit of rushing down to the water to have a splash about in the burn. You wouldn’t normally think of dogs as a force of erosion, but over time they do a surprising amount of damage to the river bank. Indeed, two of these notches were eating back into the riverside path.

Our co-ordinator had to put waders on and get into the river for this work. We proceeded as follows:

 cut branches off willow trees and form them into poles

 hammer the poles into the dog slide in a line level with rest of the river bank

 place horizontal timbers (cut from recycled decking) across those poles to form a barrier

 hammer a short post into the dog slide further back to serve as an anchor

 tie the barrier back to the anchor post with wire

 fill the space with soil and tamp down

Photograph C. Repairing dog slide

Photograph D. Repaired dog slide

Our lady chairperson came along with scones at coffee/tea break and we discussed relations with Northumberland County Council among other things. It turns out that robins like scones as well and she managed to persuade one to take some crumbs from the hand.

The wildlife scene was a bit bleak today, with the weather as it was. We haven’t seen any of the usual migratory fieldfares or redwings yet during work sessions, perhaps because the supply of berries on bushes on the other side of the North Sea has not yet been exhausted.

The sun was out by the time we went home, but low in the sky – so driving home required care.

26-November-24

The eight volunteers of the working party were greeted by a bright but chilly morning as they assembled at Holywell for a path maintenance session.

The tools van was parked in the Milbourne Arms carpark (thank-you to them!) and the wheelbarrows were loaded up with tools. Off we then went to the old bridge under the present Holywell road bridge and then downstream to the side burn that flows into the Seaton Burn. We had installed flights of steps either side of the side burn a few years ago, and today they were in need of cleaning, weeding and resurfacing.

First however, we noticed that the side burn was somewhat choked with sediment, so we go in and dug out the channel. This is a bit of a problem area; the culvert pipe that goes under the path gets blocked from time to time, and we have to unblock it. Also, in heavy rain there can be so much flow in the burn that it exceeds the capacity of the pipe and the water washes away the path. The council (NCC) have promised to install a second pipe parallel to the first one, which should solve the problem, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Anyway, the next task was to clear weeds and dead leaves off the steps, which was done with spades, rakes and mattocks. And, as the surfaces of the steps tend to slump over time, it was necessary to top up with some gravel. This was done by digging out some ash material that had been dumped on the ground nearby long ago, then barrowing it to the steps.

Photograph A. Cleaning steps

Photograph B. Topping up surfaces of steps

Photograph C. Tamping down

After this was done, we found that we had completed the task before the usual finish time (11:30 to 12 pm), so we packed it in and trundled back with our wheelbarrows, loaded with tools, to the van.

3-December-24

This morning’s task was to clear out the “tool shed”.

We keep all our tools and a lot of materials in a shipping container which is parked on a farm near the Dene. Today was the day that it had a good clear-out. This was a task that only required a small number of volunteers, so the rest could have a relaxing morning at home.

Those present pulled all the gear out, did some repair work to wheelbarrows etc, filled the tools van with unwanted rubbish accumulated over the years and replaced everything else back into the container. The rubbish was taken to the tip. That’s it!

Photograph A. Interior of container

Photograph B. Van loaded with rubbish.

10-December-24

A light working party of six volunteers did some tree clearance and gully maintenance work in the lower Dene this morning, on a rather dull and damp day.

It wasn’t to be expected that we would get away with Storm Darragh without some falling timber problems, and sure enough there were several. Also this is a time of year when gullies are continuously in need of maintenance to keep the paths free of flooding. Here’s a list of this morning’s activities:

 Fallen tree on path between Hartley Lane carpark and estuary. Resolved with bowsaws and loppers (see photo).

 Ditch alongside the uphill slope in the Hartley west Farm road congested. Resolved using spades and mattocks.

 Tree down on path and fence along southern side of the burn upstream of the stone bridge. Partially resolved with bowsaws and loppers (see photo).

 Plastic guards removed from a line of trees along the path by the gabions on the north side. The trees were planted by us and are now big enough now to not require protection.

 Fallen tree branch partly cleared from north-side path upstream of gabions. The long-handled saw proved useful here.

 The gully that carries water from a field drain near Hartley West Farm down the slope and under the north-bank path was given its winter clear-out (see photo).

 Two lesser gullies between there and the lower wooden footbridge were also cleared out.

The path (mentioned above) on the south side between the stone bridge and the lower footbridge is not recommended unless you are prepared to step over a fallen branch. We did our best to clear the lesser branches away, but a full clearance would require a chainsaw, which we are not able to use at present while Northumberland County Council’s health-and-safety drive is under way. Let’s hope North Tyneside Council send out a chainsaw team to sort it out sometime soon.

Photograph A. Clearing fallen tree near estuary

Photograph B. Fallen tree on south-side path

Photograph C. Cleaning out hillside gully