In mid-September 2023 we celebrated the start of our 13th year of volunteering as the Friends of Poets’ Walk.
See also our second year (September 2012 – August 2013), third year (September 2013 – August 2014), fourth year (September 2014 – August 2015), fifth year (September 2015 – August 2016), sixth year (September 2016 – 2017), seventh year (September 2017 – 2018), eighth year (September 2018 – 2019), ninth year (September 2019– 20), tenth year (September 2020 – 21) and eleventh & twelfth years (September 2021 – 2023)
September 2024
Clearing back encroaching vegetation & mud along the coast path beyond the Lookout
An autumn tidy-up at Wain’s Hill battery site – mowing & raking off, nettle pulling, removing vegetation from the wall, and clearing the access path
An hour of follow-up scrub clearing in a Church Hill glade, and tidying of the formal path from Salthouse Road to Church Hill before celebrating our 13th annniversary with tea and home-made cake!
August 2024
Autumn work on a recently scrub-cleared glade on Church Hill
A thorough tidy-up of a popular bench and the coast path by St Andrew’s cemetery
Weeding Hack’s Way, including trimming back valerian from the wall
Weeding, trimming and clearing the edges along the coast path beyond the cemetery
Church Hill – clearing encroaching vegetation, cutting branches of a fallen sycamore & removing invasive non-native honesty along the path between the Salthouse carpark & St Andrew’s Church.
On a separate occasion, the green gate bank beside St Andrew’s Church was mowed & access to the informal trail at Church Hill quarry was restored by clearing vegetation.
July 2024
Forking out ragwort on both hills, and in St Andrew’s cemetery. Ragwort is particularly toxic to horses & cattle so must be removed before late summer mowing & baling to avoid it contaminating animal winter bedding. A path junction is weeded and swept.
June 2024
Wain’s Hill gun battery site is part mown to balance amenity value with biodiversity
A follow-up mowing of Hack’s Way after an earlier hand-pulling of some rank species
Church Hill – a few more wild radish, now over 6 feet tall! An informal trail is re-opened.
May 2024
Weeding the access from Old Church Road & hand pulling rank species along Hack’s Way in preparation for mowing. The nearby path from Salthouse Road is weeded & swept.
Tidying the steps above Marine Lake and weeding the borders
Path edges weeded & swept and bench areas cleared of encroaching vegetation
Church Hill – trimming back fresh vegetation and tidying the zigzag steps
Follow-up work on a recently cleared patch on Church Hill. Bramble crowns & tree suckers are grubbed out and rank vegetation cleared to promote species-rich grassland.
Pulling out nettles from a popular shortcut to Wain’s Hill ramparts and clearing nettles & brambles from an adjacent bank to promote other native species
Working in the shade on a hot day clearing ivy from a rockface beside the coastal path. Other, less invasive species will now have a chance to grow.
April 2024
A rocky bank at the path junction selectively weeded to promote diversity of species. A seat along the coastal path cleared of vegetation and accumulated soil.
Wain’s Hill Victorian gun battery site – the approach path, building remains and surrounding area are given a good tidy-up and weeding.
Wain’s Hill – removing over-vigorous vegetation from the rock face on the coast path to help more delicate native species flourish
Church Hill – removing small brambles from a steep, species-rich grassy slope. Seeds of invasive wild radish germinate readily on disturbed ground.
Grubbing out wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) on Church Hill. This species seeds prolifically & needs to be controlled to prevent it colonising valuable grassland habitat.
Cutting out encroaching bramble along the 1923 path. Non-native & invasive Holm oak shoots are cut out in Salthouse Woods to prevent competition with native species.
March 2024
Dried up plant material from last year cleared away from the cemetery rockface along the coastal path to promote strong spring growth
While Marine Lake is empty for cleaning and there are no swimmers around, the Friends take the opportunity for a thorough clean-up of the paths and steps.
Cutting out low brambles above the coast path on Wain’s Hill at the grassland edge
February 2024
On Church Hill, a portion of very old bramble scrub is cut back to enlarge a south facing woodland glade. Some non-native, invasive wild damson is also removed.
The hedge is trimmed and path tidied and swept on Wain’s Hill overlooking The Pill.
Church Hill – long bramble shoots are removed along the 1923 path, and non-native holm oak is felled and cut up to create a habitat pile in the woodland.
January 2024
This steep Church Hill slope was left unmown last year; bramble shoots in the grassland and at the scrub edge are pulled, grubbed or trimmed. Meanwhile, the rockface at the edge of the cemetery is cleared of invasive species.
The formal front path on Church Hill receives a rigorous winter tidy-up.
Scrub control in Church Hill woodland. Two years of bramble regrowth is cut to ground level & holm oak suckers are removed. Brambles beside the path are trimmed.
The coastal path and badger bridge are thoroughly tidied for the new year.
December 2023
Weeding in St Andrew’s Church cemetery in the winter sunshine, removing valerian and brambles from graves and along the fence, and some ragwort and thistles in the grass
November 2023
Clearing away autumn leaves and mud along the coast path near the Glebe field
Scrub control at the Church Hill quarry site – tackling brambles & nettles
Dangerously low branches are removed from the Church Hill ‘arch’. A fallen tree blocking the informal trail above Church Hill quarry is removed, and bramble cut for access.
After prolonged wet weather, a concerted autumn clear-up above Marine Lake
Clearing slippery autumn leaves and mud in pouring rain. A very wet autumn!
October 2023
The grass on Wain’s Hill ramparts has been cut by the contractor, Green Mantle, and left at the woodland edge. Volunteers rake it down into the woodland to create habitat piles.
September 2023
Promoting diversity in a Church Hill glade by controlling over-invasive species. Trimming back bramble, wild clematis etc. to control the extent of a valuable scrub habitat.
ClevedonConservationVolunteers 