Thursday 23 February 2012

A Trip to The Seaside


Wednesday 22nd February 2012
Today the Landscape Conservation Volunteers were heading north to Low Newton, where our task was to help National Trust Coastal Wardens Kevin and Jane clear some gorse bushes from the side of a grass bank.

Gorse

Driving north from Newcastle through the drizzle, I was apprehensive but I needn’t have worried, after all it was a Wednesday and the weather soon improved.

The "Tin Church" at Newton By The Sea

On arrival we were given a risk assessment talk, and then quickly set about our task.

The bank covered with gorse.

Mary at Work
Why were we clearing the gorse bushes? Well, gorse is a valuable plant for wildlife, providing dense thorny cover ideal for protecting bird nests but it can become dominant and gorse bushes are highly flammable. In fact the bankside where we were working had in previous years been a primrose bank but the gorse has taken over. So some control is necessary.

Hopefully the bank will be returned to a primrose covered bank in the future.

The Bonfire

By lunchtime we had cleared a large area to reveal some stone outcrops and had a well-established bonfire.

Lunchtime

A group of us sat at the top of the bank eating our lunch to make the most of the sunshine and John Grundy spotted a hare running across the adjacent field. Skylarks could be seen and heard singing above us; spring must be on its way.
The Aftermath
The Team

We had a wonderful day. To the north we could see the village of Beadnell and some of the Farne Islands, in particular Inner Farne and Longstone, and to the south Dunstanburgh Castle. Isn't the Northumberland coast marvellous?

The view to the north
The view to the south
                                                                                                                                 Phil Coyne

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