Bilberry picking

A small group of us went up to Binn Moor for an afternoon of bilberry picking. The bilberries were being collected so that we can sow the seeds and nurture our own bilberry plants which we will then plant out on the moors.

Not all of the berries made it in to the buckets and it was clear that they had been enjoyed by the blue mouths and lips at the end, and some very stained fingers.

The rain held off while we were out and everyone enjoyed climbing about on the slopes and hiding in the grass.

A Busy Day for Bees and Plants

Despite the overcast weather, the bees are out and about collecting masses of pollen, and the yard is full of plants, with more new stock coming in, as well as plenty of customers.

The bees are bringing in lots of different colours of pollen, some that are a dark blue, some greeny coloured and some bright yellow. This is likely to be pollen from blackberry and willowherb among the other flowers that are out at the moment.

Since the Spring Plant Fair in May, the plant group have raised over £500 at the Friday sales, and if the number of customers continues to increase as it seems to be, they will have made a small fortune by the end of the summer. Excellent news!

Seed Collecting in the Sun

On a warm and fairly sunny Saturday afternoon, the Kirklees Youth Offending Team were out picking cotton grass seeds after an unsuccessful pond dipping session. We were collecting the seeds in the hope that we can sow them at the office and nurture them until they are big enough

to be planted back out on the moors. Hopefully we'll have our own free supply of home-grown cotton grass!

Watch out for other seed collecting and seed sowing activities - check on the National Trust website to see when activities are taking place.

Splitting the bees

We have already had to split our hive to try to stop them swarming - I went out yesterday to get some photos and found that they had swarmed anyway. Needless to say that the camera got forgotten about in the panic that followed!

Luckily the bees hadn't swarmed far and were still in our yard on several plant pots and the table. After coaxing them into a cardboard box with a helping brush from the feather duster, the bees were successfully restored to their hive and so far, they have not swarmed again.

So we now have two hives of bees to look after, assuming the don't swarm again!

Canoeing and Dipping

On the first Tuesday in July we all went across to Hardcastle Crags in Hebden Bridge to join up with the Countryside Team there for a team day. We spent the morning testing out the two canoes for leaks on the two ponds, and taking samples from various spots in the ponds to find out what lives in them.

The afternoon was much more like hard work, extracting logs from the woods and stacking them up ready for the tractor to take them away.

A rather fun and different day, making a change from being out on the moors!

Grand Exhibition Opening

The official opening of the new exhibition room took place on Friday July 2nd, on a relatively sunny and warm morning. The forecast rain stayed away. A mix of councillors, National Trust staff and volunteers and others that had had input into the Heritage Trail and exhibition were invited, and it was a successful turnout. The Examiner also came to take a few photos, so watch out for it in the paper!

We were all taken on a virtual tour of part of the estate, with an audio tour and slide show to show part of the new Heritage Trail which was then followed with Go Potty! A good number of people got involved with decorating their plant pots and sowing their free seeds.

It was an enjoyable and different morning - a good way to finally officially open our exhibition room.

Simon Armitage and the Pennine Way

Simon Armitage, the local poet, will be walking the Pennine Way from north to South during July. On his journey he'll be stopping off to do poetry readings. These readings are free but Simon will be passing his hat around afterwards and is hoping to be able to fund his whole journey by doing this.

On Saturday July 24th, Simon will be in Marsden, doing a reading at the British Waterways Tunnel End Visitor Centre from 8pm. Booking is essential if you want to come and hear the reading, call the Marsden Moor Estate on 01484 847016 to book a ticket. There are limited spaces, so call early to make sure you'll be there!

Visit http://www.simonarmitage.com/ for more information about Simon's journey along the Pennine Way.

New Knee Rail at Buckstones

A new knee rail is being installed in the Buckstones Car Park. This is to replace the existing bollards that are there to prevent people from driving over the grass, but also to try to make it look a bit smarter and more loved! It is a very popular spot and on sunny days there are always plenty of cars up there.





The work party group of volunteers as well as the Kirklees Youth Offending Team have been up digging deep holes and putting the posts in. Hot work in the sunshine!

The Bee Project Part 2 - The Arrival of the Bees

No one could quite believe the luck when we were told that we could have a swarm of bees, especially so soon after the bee course. Rob and Alison went over to York on Monday to pick up the precious package and bring it back to Marsden. Having enjoyed the beautiful weather in York, they are probably wondering why they now have to be living in rainy Marsden.



The bees have been transferred into their new hive and seem to be settling in well...so far!

We all went POTTY!

Our May half term event made so many people go completely potty. The drop-in session was busy all day with people coming to decorate plant pots with mosaic tiles, which were then filled with compost and free seeds.

Everyone got very creative and there were all sorts of designs and decorations, and a complete mixture of ages taking part. Children and parents all got stuck in, enjoying the hot sunshine while decorating their pots. A very enjoyable day had by all, especially as it was all free, thanks to funding from Kirklees Council.