’Twas a cold and frosty morning……..

But gorgeous, nevertheless, so a great chance to do a bit of husbandry on the pathways in the Parish.

In truth, normal autumn dieback has been pretty effective in clearing most of the rights of way. However, more than one member of the public had been in touch to highlight the difficulty some people were experiencing travelling down Western Lane, just off Dunleys Hill – this was especially tricky to traverse if you had a pram, we were told.

So the volunteer gang – stalwarts Julie, John, Mike, Pam, and this time joined by Jenny and Colin, set to work to clear the path.

Meanwhile, Rob T had turned up with a particularly cool battery powered trimmer: as a keen cyclist himself, he elected to go and singlehandedly clear the route leading to the A297 underpass leading from the canal towards Winchfield, as more than one biker had commented on the hazard from the brambles and suchlike.

An hour or so of hard work, and a few mince pies, and once again the difference is pretty stark – again highlighting the fantastic power of community and teamwork. Hopefully people will notice a difference.

That’ll be it on the conservation volunteer front for a couple of months – but we will look to reconvene in the Spring, as we already have a couple of tasty projects in mind. Meanwhile, hopefully some of you will be able to get out and make the most of the fantastic countryside in our Parish.

Finally, a huge thank you to all of the fabulous volunteers throughout 2023 – you know who you are! Have a great Xmas and see you next year.