Download the Marsden Audiotrail

Did you know there is an audiotrail for Marsden? Why not download it from www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/mftf/audio_trails/marsden.htm

The walk visits a number of locations on the Marsden Moor Estate, including Pule Hill, Black Moss and Swellands reservoirs and Close Moss, and conveniently it starts and finishes at Marsden Railways Station. Allow approximately 4hrs 30 mins for the walk. It's free to download, so try it, and see what you can learn about the Marsden Moor Estate.

The Bee Project - Part 1

Our Bee Project has already been much talked about, and work has already commenced on it with hives already been built by some of the volunteers. But this weekend, Rob, Gemma and Alison travelled across to North Wales for a weekend of learning about beekeeping. We arrived on the Friday evening and eventually managed to find the B&B (which served a huge and delicious breakfast) and had a wander down the country lanes to the pub.

On Saturday morning the hard work began. We spent the morning learning about all the basics and then the summer management of beekeeping. In the afternoon we then got dressed up in our very fetching bee suits and went to visit an aviary. Wearing wellies and a bee suit with all done up in the blistering hot sunshine makes for very hot and sweaty bee keepers! We got to look at the hives and practised what we had learnt in the morning. When we could endure the heat no more, we left the bees to it and went back for tea and to learn all about the equipment.

In the evening, we had a lovely stroll around some woods to relax after our hard day of work.

On Sunday, the sun was shining just as hot again, and we had a long morning indoors learning all about viruses and diseases and pests and everything that will kill off our bees. We also learnt about winter preparation and the honey harvest. The aviary we visited on Sunday was thankfully in the shade, so we were able to wear our bee suits in a bit more comfort!

We all are now experts on keeping bees, and now just await the arrival of the bumblers!

Plant Sales

Last Sunday was the Spring Plant Fair - our biggest money maker of the year! Volunteers and staff arrived at 6am to set up for the big day and we were just ready by the time the gates opened at 11am! Despite the damp start to the day, theweather stayed relatively fine and by the time we had finished packing up for the day, we were almost sunbathing! Despite the long day, we managed to raise a fair few pennies which will help with the moorland conservation work.

But don't panic! If you didn't make it to the plant fair you will still be able to get your bargain plants. The Marsden Moor Estate Yard will be open each Friday between 11am and 2pm for you to pop up and see what delights we have for sale.

The first Friday yard sale will be Friday 4th June. Bring the children along as the Go Potty event will be on, so they can get creative while you browse the plants!

Fire on Pule

On Tuesday evening a fire on Pule Hill started. These two photos of the fire were taken from our office near the Station in Marsden, and a bright glow can clearly be seen.





Our team of survey volunteers went out the next day to survey the damage and walk round the edge of the fire to determine how big it was. This photo shows the damage the fire caused. Luckily, it is just the top layer of vegetation that was damaged and not the peat underneath.
















The map shows the area that the fire spread to, which was larger than we had imagined it would be.



The season for burning on the moors has now finished. If you see a fire on the moors, telephone 999 to let the fire brigade know. Fires can start easily, particularly in dry weather and can spread fast. Please be aware of this in the months ahead.

Plants Needed!! Can you help...?

National Trust estate at Marsden Moor is looking for some help with plants. Not the usual moorland variety but the common or garden type. Every week a group of dedicated volunteers gather in the yard at the estate office in Marsden to tend and grow garden plants. These are then sold at various local events throughout the year. All proceeds from the plant sales go towards the moorland restoration work that the National Trust do on the 2500 hectares of land surrounding Marsden village.

This year the big Plant Fair is taking place on the 16th of May and due to the hard winter they are a bit low on plants to sell. If anyone is changing their garden or clearing out for the spring then donations of plants would be gratefully received.
To donate plants or for further information on volunteering with the Trust, please contact the estate office on 01484 847016 or email marsdenmoor@nationaltrust.org.uk

Helicopters and Heather

You might have spotted the white bags spread out over Buckstones and White Moss as you've been passing. These bags are full of heather brash, which has been cut from the Peak District and is to be spread over the bare patches of peat which will hopefully improve the conditons. The brash will help to prevent the peat from being eroded away by wind and rain, and should also encourage plants to grow.

The bags were sat at the edge of the road for a number of days until the weather conditions were good enough for an airlift to transport the bags out on to the moors. (Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures from the airlifts, so this is one from last time and the weather looks lovely!)

All 500 or so bags have now got to be emptied and spread, and several groups have already started working on this with more groups coming to do some in the coming few weeks. By the end, the moors should look lovely!

Bird Box Successes!

It was a beautiful sunny, cloudless morning for the half term Bird Box Building event. Having had the chance to practice putting a box together with the first visitor, we were then suddenly swamped with people wanting to come and build a bird box.



We had to keep getting out more tables to accommodate everyone, yet there was still barely enough space! At one point it seemed that we might run out of bird box kits as it was so popular. However, we had 5 to spare at the end.

We had not anticipated so many people coming, so it was a good thing that the youth offenders were so productive cutting up the wood for the kits! It was a very successful event, and hopefully there will now be many more happy birds around Marsden with a new home to live in.

Fencing in the Snow

The Oldham Youth Offending Team had their first visit to Marsden Moor, and were able to experience it in it's full winter glory! The task was to repair the fence around White Moss. We did manage to do a fair few repairs, but there will be plenty more to do once the snow was melted.

There were plenty of grouse about to see, and evidence of other wildlife too. Doing fence repairs in the middle of nowhere (and as there was such poor visibility it could have been anywhere) seemed to be not quite what the group were expecting, but it was enjoyable. Definitely better than delivering leaflets, we were told!

Bird Box Bonanza!

Last Saturday the workshop was a busy place, with the Kirklees Youth Offenders busy cutting up wood for bird boxes. The session was spent sawing up numerous planks of wood and making stacks of bird box packs, ready for the half term bird box making session of Friday.

To break up the day, we each made a box, and as the wood had been cut so expertly, each box that was made looked totally fabulous!

Don't miss your chance to put one of these designer packs together between 11am and 2pm this Friday!

Foggy Scenes from Buckstones

Some pictures of views from Buckstones, looking down towards Marsden with the cloud in the valley, on the first Thursday of February.

It was very foggy with poor visibility in Marsden, but once we go out it was a much nicer day and we could see these lovely views.

The pictures look across March Haigh reservoir and across to Pule Hill.