A bright clear October morning saw us gathering to help Manor Woods Valley Group prepare for their apple picking event next weekend. The harvested apples will be sent away for pasteurisation with the juice being shared between volunteering sessions and Withywood food bank.

We used shears to cut away any brambles and undergrowth that might restrict access to the fruit trees.

A productive morning spent in amongst the colourful Autumn leaves with the usual tea break at the end ☕️

Danica has put together a short video of the session here

Another sunny morning cutting brambles and clearing scrub to maintain access to the orchard and prevent nature completely reclaiming the space. We were led today by Rachel of YourPark, who gave us our instructions and safety briefing.

We used shears and pitchforks, enjoying the sunshine and chatting away as we worked. Afterwards we enjoyed our usual coffee, tea and hot chocolate break courtesy of our hosts Peter and Martin.

It's likely we will be back harvesting the orchard apples in the next month or so, and then sending them off to be juiced.

Having arrived towards the end of the session, we escaped the hard labour of raking Rabbit field meadow today. Instead, we arrived just in time to plant native bluebells, supplied 'in the green' by Rachel from YourPark.

All in all, a pleasant morning planting the bulbs and chatting about our recent holidays!

A clash of the tasks today meant a smaller than usual group at Manor Valley Woods.

Undeterred, three of us had just started on the days task (forking out the cut scrub to make space for wildflowers and new pollinating growth) when we were joined by new recruit Karen (welcome!)

We spent the rest of the session keeping warm working away at our assignment while having a good chat and getting to know each other.

No Orchard book club this week, but regular volunteer Matthew made up for this by educating us all on international cinema and animation!

Today was all about preparing for next weeks Wassail. This is the traditional event held to see off any malevolent spirits and ensure a good harvest. Its become a great focal point for the local community and has got ever bigger over the last few years with volunteers and local residents and their families meeting up to sing, drink apple juice and generally make a lot of noise!

We spent our time clearing the orchard space of brambles and any roots that could become a trip hazard. Phil used his Northern Slopes scything skills while the rest of us raked and chopped away with shears.

At the end there was time for a coffee and another installment of the Orchard Book Club. Author of the day was Murakami, with particular mention of his short stories and book about running. To be continued....

Last community mission of the year in Manor Woods Valley and it was all about preparing the orchard space for the Wassail in January.

The Wassail takes place annually and has been scientifically proven to improve the apple harvest. Unfortunately Peter suspects that the volume of sound from pots and pans and singing was insufficient to scare off the bad spirits this year so we are hoping for an improvement on Saturday 18th - hopefully there will be plenty joining in the festivities between 2 and 4 pm!

We used shears to cut down any protruding brambles so that the space was somewhat less of a trip hazzard and enjoyed a chat about our favourite festive reads.

At the end we were properly spoiled with some warm mulled apple juice and mince pies. Happy Christmas to everyone involved!!🎄