9-Jun-26

It was strimming again for the seven volunteers making up the Working Party this morning.

We strimmed the verges from St. Paul’s Church to the path leading down from Millfield – so most of the eastern side of the estuary. We also, as usual, trimmed the trees and bushes at the path edge and the overhead branches. And we picked up litter wherever we found it.

We also strimmed around the silver birches that were planted by local children last autumn to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the founding of Friends of Holywell Dene. They are growing well, but are in danger of being shaded out by rapidly-growing plant-life.

Photograph A. Strimming the silver birches area

As always, we set up warning signs on the path at either end of our activities. Walkers and cyclists are advised to be careful when passing us – we don’t want to have any accidents! Dogs should be on a short lead when going past the strimmers. If it’s Tuesday morning and you hear a buzz when walking in the Dene, watch out for the strimmers!

Photograph B. Warning sign

The weather was sunny but a bit chilly at first, but around mid-morning some spots of rain started. It more-or-less held off until 12:30 when we were packing up and then had a turn for the worse in the afternoon – but that was after we had gone home.

It would be difficult to tell you about the wildlife scene because we were making noise with our strimmers most of the time, but one thing was noteworthy: the salt-marsh of the estuary was covered in pink flowers – sea thrift (Armeria maritima). These are a native species, common in coastal areas. (I thought they were sea asters at first, but these flower later in the summer.)

Photograph C. Sea thrift on salt-marsh

At the end of the session, we trudged back to the van with our equipment, cleaned it down, loaded it into the van and then departed our various ways for lunch and an afternoon rest.

23-Jun-26

Strimming and balsam-bashing were the tasks awaiting the 7-person working party on this hot and sweltery morning.

We met up at the Hartley Lane carpark at the usual time of nine o'clock. After getting the strimmers and other tools out of the van and ready we marched down the footpath to the head of the estuary. At this point the two strimming teams (one person strimming, the other raking) hitched up their strimmers and rakes and started trimming the path verges.

They proceeded upstream from the bridge at the head of the estuary upstream, reaching the carpark by the end of the session. Strimming in these hot conditions is not an easy option: the heavy kit and the need to wear protective clothing, including helmet with ear defenders, makes for hot and tiring work. It's a job we have to do every summer – the growing season is also the hot season.

Meanwhile two of the three volunteers who had been assigned the job of tracking down and removing Himalayan balsam got into the river, wearing waders, at a point near the willow barrier at the seat upstream of the Pipe Bridge. The third person stayed on the bank and was tasked with looking out for the two in the river, spotting balsam plants and carrying litter.

Photograph A. Seeking Himalayan balsam

For more info on Himalayan balsam, take a look at the Himalayan Balsam Guide which will be appearing on the home page of our website shortly.

We found and removed about 100 plants today, 68 of which were in one little colony near the stone bridge. Those will probably all have come from the seed of just one balsam plant growing at that spot last year, which just goes to show how invasive this weed is.

As a side activity, we picked up all the litter we could find and binned it. The balsam squad also came across a disposable-barbecue site in amongst the bushes, accompanied by litter (which we removed). They also unpicked a minor logjam in the river.

Photograph B. Litter haul

Photograph C. Logjam

We were joined at refreshment break by a couple of our friends at Northumberland County Council. They were able to tell us that it has been decided that we can resume use of a chainsaw but the chainsaw operator has to be accompanied by someone with trauma training. The Council is willing to pay for trauma training and first aid training. They want us to do risk assessments in future.

On the wildlife front there were several interesting things to note:

• A mother mallard with five chicks got disturbed by us while we were searching the burn for Himalayan balsam, but mother and chicks were reunited after a bit of a kerfuffle.
• The heronry between the estuary and the carpark was still populated with at least four herons. They flew off when we turned up, but I'm sure they've settled down now.
• The birdsong was good today, and we heard the songs of blackcap, whitethroat, goldfinch and blackbird. The calls of rooks, jackdaws and, of course, gulls were also heard.
• Butterflies are flourishing at this time of the year, and spotted wood and red admiral butterflies were seen.

We'll be back next week to do more of the same. Here's hoping it's a bit cooler.

16-Jun-26

The 2026 strimming project continued this morning at the west side of the estuary. Eight volunteers assembled near Dene Cottage at the harbour end of the estuary: four with strimmers and four with rakes.

It took us the whole session to clear the verges from the Dene Cottage end to the footbridge at the head of the estuary. This included the high path that runs through the trees above the estuary-level path.

Photograph A. Strimming

We also, as always, trimmed the overhead branches and pathside bushes. Warning triangles were placed at either end of the section of path we were working on. All this is necessary to keep the paths open in the face of rampantly-growing vegetation in the high growing season of June and July.

Among the birds seen were black-headed gulls, a heron and mallard ducks, and wren, chaffinch, chiffchaff and other small birds were heard.

There is still a dramatic pink haze over the salt-marsh at present, caused by thrift flowering en masse. Here are some of the other flowers seen:

Photograph B. Northern marsh orchid

Photograph C. Yellow flag iris

Photograph D. Red campion

Others flowering today: wild mustard, hemlock water dropwort, ox-eye daisy, silverweed, etc.

7-Jul-26

It was an overcast and close day (with a bit of drizzle) for the 10 volunteers of the Working Party this morning. The main activity as our old summer favourite: strimming.

We assembled at the metal gate on the Hartley West Farm access road and – after picking up four stimmers, a hedge trimmer and other tools – headed off for where we left off last week, which was a point below Hartley West Farm itself, where the top path descends to the riverside path. (We were working exclusively on the north side of the river this morning.)

As usual, we put one of our warning triangles on the path and started strimming. Each strimmer was accompanied by a raker. Four strimmer-operators and two rakers adds up to eight volunteers; the other two were tasked with trimming back the pathside shrubs and overhead branches.

The hedge-trimmer was in an awkward mood today and was hard to start. We were using it intermittently, and every time we restarted it, tere was a struggle. So, we tended to abandon it in the end and use loppers and secateurs instead.

The strimming itself went well. We did both the riverside and the high-level paths to Silverhill and beyond. It is always harder to strim the top-level path because it is more exposed to the sun, and the vegetation is growing like crazy at this time of the year, and is often up to head height.

Photograph A. Part of the strimming and trimming team

Photograph B. Path after strimming

I think we disturbed a wasp’s nest during the session, which is always a summertime hazard, but nobody got stung – by a wasp, that is, but one of us got stung be a bee at a different location. We picked up litter as we went along, as usual. Quite a few ramblers, joggers and dog-walkes were out and about, so we carefully guided them past the strimmers to avoid problems.

Wildlife interest was suppressed by the noise of the strimmers, but we heard the swallows twittering overhead when we were having our refreshments. Someone reported a sighting of a kingfisher to one of our volunteers. Birdsong included song thrush, whitethroat, wren, etc. Several butterflies were seen.

By the time we got about level with the waterfall, we were getting a bit hot and tired so, having accomplished as much path clearing as we had intended, we trudged back to the van with our equipment and departed home for lunch.

Imagine what Holywell Dene would be like if we weren’t doing this work: the paths would be clogged with flopping vegetation and encroached by overhanging branches. So, enjoy the nice, clear path network in the Dene and remember: it doesn’t happen automatically!

30-Jun-26

A group of nine volunteers met up at the metal gate by Hartley West Farm Road this morning for another productive session in the Dene.

We were treated to a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures reaching a comfortable 19°C. Thankfully, the thick canopy of trees provided plenty of welcome shade while we worked.

To tackle the morning's agenda efficiently, we split into two separate teams.

The first team—our dedicated "Balsam Bashers"—headed upstream to continue our ongoing fight against invasive species. They managed to pull up approximately 200 Himalayan balsam plants this session. With the balsam now beginning to enter its flowering stage, it is crucial that we pull them now before they start to set seed and spread further.

In addition to their conservation work, the upstream team filled two large black bags with rubbish. They also reported a significant accumulation of litter over by the bike jumps that will need tackling soon, alongside two benches that have unfortunately been vandalised.

Meanwhile, the second team focused on path maintenance. They were hard at work strimming the grass verges along the paths and trimming back overhanging tree branches to keep the routes safe and clear for walkers and horse riders alike. This team also did a quick sweep for litter, though thankfully they only found a small amount along their route.

Photograph A. Strimming verges

We also took a moment today to upgrade our gear! We are pleased to report that our health and safety procedures have been strengthened with the introduction of new safety whistles for our volunteers. Furthermore, we've all been kitted out with brand-new sun hats, which were very generously provided thanks to the Fishing Club.

Photograph B. Whistle

Photograph C. Sun hat

We’ll be back for more adventures next week!

21-Jul-26

A group of nine volunteers met up at the cattle grid at Crowhall Farm, on Hartley Lane, for another busy morning of maintenance in the Dene. The weather was bright and comfortable for working, with temperatures around 18°C.

We had to cross the cattle field to the stile before we could start, but the cows were just relaxing in a group near the dried-up pond.

Photograph A. Cattle in field

Today, we focused our efforts on the upper path on the south side, working systematically from the upstream wooden bridge down to the downstream wooden bridge.

The team tackled a bit of everything to ensure the route remains safe and pleasant for everyone. We strimmed back the grass and vegetation creeping onto the paths, trimmed overhanging branches that were starting to get in the way of walkers, and carried out a general litter pick along the trail.

Photograph B. Strimming and cutting back overhanging branches near the bridge

Thanks to everyone's hard work, that entire stretch of the upper path is now beautifully clear and well-maintained!

One of the features of the wildlife scene at this time of year is the rowan trees, with their clusters of brightly coloured berries – turning from orange to red (see photo). Also, yellowhammer and goldfinch (small birds), among other things, were heard singing – although the birdsong is shutting down now for the moulting season.

Photograph C. Rowan berries

17-Jul-26

A small but determined team of three volunteers turned out this morning for a special Friday balsam-bashing session. We started our efforts just east of the Holywell Road bridge, working our way downstream toward the section we reached last week.

It didn't take long for us to discover a massive infestation of Himalayan balsam on the private land adjacent to the equestrian area. This particular patch was far too large for us to tackle by hand, so we will need to return to this spot with strimmers to get it under control. Fortunately, we later met up with a representative from the Manor House and have agreed to tackle this area together, hopefully as early as next week!

Undeterred, we continued our way downstream, pulling up huge amounts of the invasive plants along the riverbank and reaching over the fence on the north side to clear the growth there.

On the plus side, we also took the time to check the side burn today and were very pleased to find only a small number of plants hiding out there. It's a fantastic result that shows our past efforts in that area are really paying off!

By the way, we also had a special session on Friday 10th July. We found and cleared a huge patch on the north bank just downstream from the Holywell side burn, which had been cleared last year. Overall only a handful were in flower and none with seeds – which is good.

Oh, and another thing: if you want to find out what Himalayan balsam looks like, take a look at the Himalayan Balsam Guide item in the Latest News on the home page of our website.

14-Jul-26

A dedicated team of nine volunteers met up this morning to continue strimming the path verges. Compared to our recent sessions, it was a much cooler working environment today, with temperatures hovering around a comfortable 15°C—absolutely perfect conditions for a morning of physical work!

Our main focus for this session was maintaining the path network to ensure the trail remains clear and safe for visitors. We began our efforts at the stone bridge, working our way up the south side to the first wooden bridge.

From there, the team crossed over to the north side of the stream and headed upstream toward the second wooden bridge and beyond.

As usual we were strimming the path verges, trimming overhead branches and picking up any litter.

Photograph A. Strimming and raking

We are experiencing a summer drought this year, much as last year. This helps a bit with the strimming because the vegetation isn’t growing as fast or as high as normal. However, some wild creatures, such as blackbirds, are probably finding foraging hard in these conditions, and may be finding it hard to feed their young, with the ground so dry.

However this female mallard (see photo) won’t be having that problem. She has three chicks. Can you see them?

Photograph B. Mallard family

We keep coming across holes in the path. Here is one (see photo). Can you guess what created it? It’s difficult to find out without disturbing the creature living down there!

Photograph C. Hole!