Sunday saw us back at Westcombe Woodlands, a lovely, if hard to find, green space above Maze Hill station. 5 Good Gymers arrived (some earlier than others) and were put to work on that perennial Good Gym favourite, removing brambles, whilst the other volunteers set about planting bulbs and doing dangerous looking things with chainsaws. The team split into two with one group tackling overgrowth on the path and the other clearing a space in a glade to allow for further bulb planting (and even the discovery of two oak trees). There were certainly a lot of brambles to clear, but after 90 minutes there were a lot less and the pile of cut material was up to head height, so all in all a job well done

My mom always used to carry anthisan with her on walks, God bless her. And in fact the anthisan I dug out of our bathroom cupboard looks about 15 years old...not sure how effective it is but the little likely placebo effect is worth the effort to squeeze the remnants out of the tube. I'm plastering the stuff on after the session at the woodlands. I think I have very tasty blood and was the repellent for Arthur that morning. We arrived and scouted out the fallen tree by which we busied ourselves de-brambling and eating raisins before Julian and Marta joined us fresh from another task at the station. An hour or so later the patch was looking much clearer and we all had a few thorns in our hands, evident from cries of "OOOUCH" from some of the other disembodied voices from around the woods. Always lovely to be back in this space and worth the itchiness for some time of peace and quiet here.

Nice one team.

More a case of we’ve been busy in the woods as Good Gym made its regular trip to Westcombe woodlands, a glorious hidden green space behind Maze Hill station.

On arrival, we were directed to the oak grove where things had not gone as planned: bluebells had been planted but the ivy and brambles had had other ideas and had colonized the area. So the task was to get rid of the ground cover in the hope that the bluebells might flourish in future years. The task was not made easier but the uneven grounds and the presence of many chopped logs under which it was easy for the bramble roots to hide, but Good Gym are tenacious (especially Cat who put in a heroic shift) and we left the area cleared and ready for future planting.

Nature abhors a vacuum, in fact nature doesn’t seem to like any empty space and so it was on Good Gym's return to Westcombe Woodlands. The deluges of spring had led to an explosion of growth and, ahead of the Woodlands’ open day, paths that had disappeared under a splurge of weeds, nettles, ivy and alkanet needed to be uncovered and redefined. So 5 intrepid Good Gymers donned their pith helmets and took to their machetes* and set to work rediscovering the tracks and making them usable, whilst other volunteers got down to work chopping up fallen trees and making the place tidier. The upside of the day was that the weather was glorious and we were soon hacking away at the overgrowth, enjoying the sunshine and taking care to leave a glorious bunch of bluebells well alone. After 90 minutes of hard work the paths were transformed and it was time to wander off into the sunshine.

*well shears, secateurs and a dangerous-looking scythe type thing

Spring was in the air at Westcombe Woodlands and Good Gym was back at this lovely hidden wood behind Maze Hill station. Nature had been busy and a number of trees had come down creating a large space that was now available for replenishing the woodland. Before the regular volunteers can plant 20 new oak trees, the ground coverage of ivy, bramble and dead wood needed to be cleared an this is where Good Gym came in. Two runners got to work with loppers, secateurs and a scary looking mattock to clear the ground and create space for the regeneration. The work was steady and it was a bit tricky to stay balanced, but after an hour and a quarter a big patch of ground was clear, a large pile of wood and brambles had been created and it was time for a well deserved hot chocolate.

On a cloudy and blustery Sunday morning, 5 GGers joined the Friends of Westcombe Woodlands volunteer group for our regular monthly clean up/chop down of the nature area. This being the first visit to this beautiful woodlands for Kerry and Sander, they were treated to a personal tour by Julian, who knows the pathway like the back of his hand. Meanwhile, I stayed behind to help bringing out and laying down all the tools that we would need.

Tour completed and tools in hand, we made our way up the path to the area that was most in need of clearing: a patch of land between 2 paths that was covered in ivy that needed to be cut back to allow the rest of the plants to grow and thrive. We all took to the task with gusto, making use of secateurs, loppers and even an axe!

Almost 2 hours later, the fruits of our labour were visible in the form of a much clearer patch and a huge pile of ivy debris! Time to bring the tools back down, have a cuppa and the obligatory biscuit (always generously provided by the volunteer group), and make our way back home, hoping we wouldn't be blown away by the increasing gale-force wind!