Rain, mud and more rain!

Last week we continued work on the Seatoller car park.  I initially went down there with two NT staff and a tractor intending to resurface it with dirt scree but the weather was so atrocious that it was just turning into mud porridge. Seatoller happens to be situated in the wettest area of England! There was no point in continuing when it was becoming so waterlogged so we abandoned the job about half way through.

Once again my fantastic team of volunteers stepped in so I went back with them at the weekend and we did the job by hand.  We moved and spread 16 tons of quarry waste (dirt scree or ‘25 to 1’).

Despite the dreary, wet weather we have been having, I also managed to do some work on the winter’s hedging programme.  I was up at High Snab Farm with Joe (another ranger) and we made a good start by stripping out a section and beginning to lay it.  All being well, I’ll be back there next week with my volunteers to continue it.

I’ve also had to clear another abandoned camp site.  It is just a tiny minority who do this and spoil things for others.  It does have to be cleared up though.  It’s a stunning area that we want people to come and enjoy and it’s difficult to understand why anyone would leave behind such a mess.

On a more positive note, I was out on a call with the Mountain Rescue Team.  The air ambulance dropped off a paramedic and then flew a few of the rescue team up to Sharp Edge.  We roped down to the casualty and lowered the paramedic to the site. 

We then secured the casualty and the Sea King helicopter came in and winched from the scene. 

Thanks to Scott Henderson for this photo.

Thankfully, the outcome is good and the casualty is going to make a full recovery. There were a number of agencies involved and it all went like clockwork.