Lower Heswall

This weekend holiday was a day longer than usual, as it was on a Bank Holiday weekend, so it also included the Monday.

*Tasks undertaken.*
Finding the Arrowe Park basecamp was a bit of a challenge as the signs to the adjacent visitor centre had been removed. However, eventually everybody arrived and we settled in for our first night at the centre. We had soon re-arranged most of the furniture in the centre to make it more welcoming and less like a school hostel. A few candles added an extra homely feeling and we had a very pleasant evening.
	On the Saturday morning, John, (National Trust warden) took us all to a local high viewpoint so that we could see where the worksite was situated and how it "fitted in" with the rest of the sites owned by the National Trust in this area. The view over the Dee and Mersey estuaries was quite spectacular and the weather was perfect. On the way back to the mini-bus John asked us to help him move a flock of sheep from one field to another, which was an interesting experience.
The worksite at Lower Heswall had only been acquired by the National Trust three weeks prior to our visit and our contribution was going to be the first work done on this site. The nine acre field had previously been used as a horse paddock and now there was a lot of general clearing up to do, as well as erecting a wooden gate and metal stock fencing along one side of the site. The aim is to turn the field into a traditional hay meadow to provide a natural habitat for local animal and plant life.
	A large skip had been delivered to the site and all of the old rusty, barbed-wire fencing was taken down and put in the skip. Also any other rubbish that could not be burnt was also thrown into the skip. By the end of the day the skip was completely full and there were quite a few aching arms from the amount of material moved.
Once the old fencing had been removed the task of putting up the new gate could be started. Two very deep post holes had to be dug out and this did prove to be a long hard job. At the same time the straining posts were being put in for the metal stock fencing that was going to be erected along the edge of the field. Some of vegetation also had to be cleared at this time in order to make a direct line for the fencing.
	The weather all day had been hot and sunny and by the end of day we were all feeling a bit hot and tired. Somebody suggested ice-cream and it was agreed that we would drive to West Kirby on the coast. We had a pleasant stroll around the beach and marina watching some wind-surfers as we ate our ice-cream.
On the Saturday evening the whole group walked to a local public house for a drink. To get there we went through the country park, where there seemed to be endless ghost stories. The return trip was made along the main road! Back at the basecamp a small accident left one of the group with an injured thumb and lots of frozen peas were used to try to reduce the swelling.
	Sunday morning saw an even more swollen thumb and so a trip to the local hospital confirmed that it had been fractured!!!! Unfortunately one of the other members of the group felt unwell and had to return home. After that we returned to the work site to carry on with the gate hanging and the fencing.
On Sunday we lit a large bonfire to get rid of all the burnable rubbish and unwanted vegetation. The new hinges etc. were fitted to the gate and this was finally finished. The holes for the remaining straining posts were dug and these posts were then put in ready for the fencing to be fitted. The clearing of the rubbish continued and at last the site was beginning to look neat and tidy.
	Although the field was on the edge of the Dee estuary, this could not be seen from the field due a very high, thick hedge at the far end of the field. After completing the day's work the warden took us for a walk through the adjacent National Trust property down to the waters edge. From here it could be seen how important it is to preserve this area of natural habitat for the wildlife and plants of the area.
After a hard days work we returned to the basecamp for a very pleasant meal. After the meal some of the group went to the pub for a drink, whilst the others stayed behind for a quite game of cards. Due to a prior commitment one of the group members had to return home on Sunday night, but the rest of us finished off the evening with a few light hearted party games.
	On the Monday morning we returned to the worksite to knock in the intermediate fence posts before fitting the metal stock fence. At the end of this time we could see a vast improvement in the site. Most of the rubbish had been removed, a smart wooden gate had been fitted and a new fence erected along one side of the site. We felt we had achieved quite a lot over the weekend.

The future plans for this site are that it will be turned into a traditional hay meadow and used for wintering sheep from the local National Trust farm.

Being amongst the first people to work on this site since its acquisition was pleasing and it will be interesting to return at a later date to see how the site develops.

The volunteers present:		National Trust
Clare (Leader) Clare Lynn Phillippa Sarah Trish	Anthony David Richard Roy	John (Warden in Charge) Phil (Warden)

Lower Heswall The Wirral
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