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On a misty, murky Saturday morning in January, an intrepid band of volunteers set about clearing the dense growth of brambles and overgrown hedging that has been obscuring the beautiful view from St Stephen’s churchyard, across the fields to the Estuary. Armed with power tools, rakes and enthusiasm, the band of a dozen local folk began the mammoth task.
The clearing began to take shape and a bonfire was lit to dispose of the rubbish, expertly managed by Alex Lewis. By mid morning we could see the landscape changing before our eyes, when a welcome break of coffee and homemade cake was offered.
By lunch time, the rubbish had been cleared back to the ditch. The group then stopped for homemade soup and rolls, in the Community Space within the church. Buoyed up by this sustenance, they continued into the afternoon, finishing only once the boundary fence was clearly visible again!
Everybody agreed we had done a fantastic job, but more importantly, we had enjoyed the company and camaraderie of spending time with friends and neighbours. The only slight disappointment was that the wonderful view we sought to restore for public footpath walkers, as they sit and rest on the benches in the churchyard, was not visible owing to the dense fog! C’est la vie!
A huge ‘Thank You’ and well done to all our volunteers – we couldn’t have done it without you.
We have several other areas of the churchyard yet to uncover. If you would like to join us, you would be most welcome. Our next working party is Saturday 5th February at 10.00am. See Gallery for more photos.
