5-May-26

The working party of eleven volunteers continued sycamore-bashing this morning, on a dull and slightly chilly day.

The Northumbrian Water pumping station near Holywell was the venue for this morning’s meet-up. We parked the van in the parking space kindly provided by Northumbrian Water and got the tools ready. At the appointed hour of nine o’clock, off we went pushing our wheelbarrows laden with tools as usual.

The destination was a point on the north bank near the waterfall, which is where we left off last week. The work, as last week, consisted of grabbing a pair of loppers or a saw and clambering up the steep slope to find and remove sycamores.

Photograph A. Hunting down sycamore saplings

Photograph B. What we’re looking for

These might be seedlings, small saplings that can be pulled out, or a larger ones that can only be clipped off close to the soil so that they are unlikely to regrow. We also removed sycamore twigs and branches growing from the base of mature sycamore trees.

Sycamores are magnificent trees, but they are non-native and tend to take over in mixed woodland like Holywell Dene. So we try to control their numbers.

Photograph C. A volunteer sycamore-bashing (with a bit of AI enhancement!)

We have now cleared the north side from about the stone bridge to the tunnel. We must have removed thousands.

We think we are winning. Not many sycamores are found that are are intermediate in size between one that can be cut down with a bowsaw and a big mature one, which suggests that, over the years, we have succeeded in preventing saplings growing into mature trees.

We also removed some ivy from trees, by the way – another thing that needs to be kept under control.

We’ve spotted a new invasive foreign weed in the Dene recently, by the way. It’s called few-flowered garlic (Allium paradoxum) and it tends to crowd out the flowers on the woodland floor. Here’s a picture.

Photograph D. Allium paradoxum

We’ll have to learn how to control it.

The wildlife event of the day was the discovery of a mallard duck’s nest half way up the dene slope. We moved away as soon we realised what it was. It has always been a puzzle how mallards can nest in the Dene despite the disturbance caused by people and dogs – by nesting at a distance from paths and in a well-concealed position, apparently.

We’ll be back for more adventures next week!

12-May-26

A party of 11 volunteers met up at the Northumbrian Water pumping station at the end of Holywell Dene Road for more sycamore cutting, ivy bashing and general tidying up.

We were working on both banks behind the pumping station where the kids ride their bikes. The weather was overcast and we were trying to predict if the massive black cloud in the distance was coming our way and if we would get a full session in!

We split into two groups to tackle the jobs using hedge shears, secateurs and bow saws. As stated previously, we prune the sycamores to give the plants underneath a chance of some sunlight so they can flourish.

Photograph A. Sycamore sapling (and volunteers)

Photograph B. What a sycamore leaf looks like

As we go along we also remove any ivy growing up the trunks of trees by cutting a gap about 8 inches long as low as we can get, to kill the ivy and lighten the weight on the tree.

We also gathered up any plastic bottles and aluminium we came across, filling up a couple of bin bags, which we dropped of at the council bin at the end of the lane.

By the way, one of us found and pulled up the first Himalayan balsam of the year.

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.

26-May-26

A party of 8 volunteers gathered at the gas pumping station in Holywell for this morning’s session.

Our main task today was to strim the grass verges along the sides of the path, working all the way from the bench at Dale Top to the bridge behind Concord house. The team did an excellent job getting the path looking tidy and accessible.

In addition to the strimming, we managed to control a lot of sycamore growth and made a great start on clearing the steps of overgrown vegetation to make them safer for walkers.

We also strimmed around a number of oak saplings, which were planted by FoHD, to promote growth.

On a less positive note, we spotted a considerable amount of Japanese knotweed during our session. This invasive species has been reported to Northumberland County Council and they have appointed a contractor to deal with it.

We sometimes come across dens that people have made in the Dene, often abandoned long ago. They are often accompanied by litter which we gather up and take away. Here’s an example seen today.

Photograph A. Den

Finally on the wildlife front, the Dene is buzzing with insect life at this time of year. Here’s a couple of examples.

Photograph B. Bumble bee (possibly a queen)

Photograph C. Daddy-long-legs

Thanks to everyone who turned out to help keep the Dene beautiful!

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!