Student -Today I went for a walk along with Alison. She showed me the usual route her and her team have discovered around the moors in marsden. The walk was approximately an hour and a quater. As I was walking along with Alison, She also pointed and explained what each areas and fields are called. Not only this but she explain about the leadership and risk assessment. On the way back we went through a different route and Overall I really enjoyed the view and I found it quite interesting.

Marsden Health Walk - Walking Festival Week

Our second walk of the National Trust walking festival was a lovely one. We had a 2 hour health walk - slightly longer than usual but it was such a glorious day! The walk took us past Crow Hill and up towards Scout, with most of the walk being on the moorland.

It was a great turn out with a fair few new faces too as well as plenty of regular walkers. Our third and final walk of the festival is this Friday with our Redbrook Quest! The weather for Friday looks good too...!

Walking Festival Kicks Off!

The National Trust Walking Festival began on Saturday, and we joined in with our Marsden Circular walk. A beautful day (for a change), a very pleasant day for a walk around the hills surrounding Marsden. With nearly 30 people on the walk it was very well attended.
There was even a tiger spotted on the moors too!!

The walking festival continues all week, and we have 2 more walks for people to join in with. Our Marsden Health Walk is tomorrow - 10.45 at our exhibition room for a gentle 3 mile walk. The final walk of the week is on Friday which is the Redbrook Quest. A nice walk for all, meeting at Brun Clough car park (A62) at 1.30pm. Can you complete the quest on this 3 mile walk?!!

Splashing around and having fun!

The holiday activities this year have been great fun and had lots of people turning up to take part. Stream dipping never seems to get dull, with children splashing about up and down the river at Eastergate, looking for creatures and generally having a great time. Although the amount of rain meant one session had to be cancelled and we would have been better off with a raft-making activity, the weather has generally been ok!

Friday sessions have been great too with some crafty activities and some hunting of creatures as well!

The last sessions of the summer holidays are this week. It has gone incredibly fast, is it really coming to the end of August?? The last stream dipping session is tomorrow, and the final Fun Friday is a Geo-Day this week, with West Yorkshire Geology Trust coming in and bringing some dinosaur fun!

Keep an eye out on our website for other events and activities we have.

Help Restore the Moor

September at Marsden Moor will be all about Helping to Restore the Moor. Following on from the large fire in April on Close Moss we are now trying to help it back to a favourable condition.

Driving down the A62 now, a large purple area can be seen, but it is the purple moor grass in flower rather than the heather.

To help stop this grass from taking over we will spread heather seed across the site. A large amount of heather was burnt and destroyed in the fire.

We are calling for helpers to come out on some public work days to help us collect some heather seed which will go towards the re-seeding of the site. Other community groups are also getting involved, coming out onto the moors to help us collect seed and helping to be part of this restoration process.

Every weekend in September, we have an activity:
Sunday 4th, 10.30am - Cottongrass planting on White Moss. Meet at White Moss car park (A635).
Saturday 10th, 2.30pm - Heather seed collecting. Meet at Brun Clough car park (A62).
Sunday 18th, 11am - 2pm - End of Season Plant Sale and Moorland Information Day. At the estate office.
Saturday 24th, 2.30pm - Heather seed collecting. Meet at Brun Clough car park (A62).

Everyone is welcome to come and help!!

Health Walk Leader volunteers

We're looking for Health Walk Leaders - Could this be for you?!

What’s in it for you?

· Becoming part of a friendly and dedicated team

· Meeting people from all walks of life and making new friends

· Improving your communication skills

· Keeping Active

Our Health Walks currently run on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday each month, meeting at 10.45 at the Marsden Moor Estate Exhibition Room. The walks are approximately 3 miles long, and generally return by 12.30.

Fancy helping out on a regular basis? Get in touch! Call the office on 01484 847016 for more details.

Want to join in as a walker? Just come along!!

Marsden and Hardcastle Crags Team Day

Today the Wardens from Hardcastle Crags came over to Marsden to help us with some of our work. Our plan was to put some large stones at the entrance to Buckstones Car Park and put some NT signs on them. The landrover was driven onto the grass with the trailer, the aim being to reverse it back so the stones would be easier to put into the hole. Unfortunately...the landrover and trailer got stuck in the peat and the rest of the day was subsequently spent getting the landrover unstuck. We went back to get the ATV so that we could get the trailer out. On the way back up to Buckstones one of the tyres on the trailer burst - another bit of excitement for the day. Eventually we got everything out and made our way back to the office, with the stones and signs. So we still have that job for another day!

Photos to follow...

May Health Walk

It was a rather nice day for the second health walk in May - not too much wind, just a breeze, and a bit warmer than it has been too. There were not as many on the walk as there have been in previous weeks, but still a nice group.

The walk went to the edge of the moors with good views across to Pule Hill and all across the north of the Marsden Moor Estate, before coming back along the stream leading to Tunnel End. A nice morning walk to make you ready for lunch time!

Health walks run on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday each month, meeting at 10.45 at our Exhibition Room, usually returning at about 12.30. It's a good chance to stretch those legs, get some fresh air, perhaps discover a new place and to meet new people - including our lovely volunteers!!

More Plant Fair Pictures

Plant Fair Success!

Our annual Plant Fair was held on Sunday, and this year it was bigger and better than before! The morning started off lovely. We were working in the sunshine at 6am, just a shame it didn't stay like that the whole day. All the plants were set up and the additional stalls in place for the fair to open at 10am.

New for this year, we had Thurlstone Owl Sanctuary, local produce stalls, some lovely cakes and chocolates and also National Trust products for sale too, as well as children's activities. The giant snakes and ladders seemed to be a hit!

There were a few heavy downpours during the day, but that didn't stop some of the dedicated shoppers. The rest of us sheltered under the gazebos until the rain calmed down a bit.

And when it came to packing up, it didn't take too long at all as so many plants had been sold. A great day, and lots of money made to go towards the work needed to maintain our moors. Thanks to everyone who helped or came to support the event!!