Author Archives: ashridgevolunteersblog

Breaking news – Trump crashes into the Beacon

Posted on July 25, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

The Beacon produced some interesting litter this weekend in the form of three polystyrene planes one of which belonged to a Mr Trump. They were not up to the job, became damaged and left behind.  

Posted in Litter Picking, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Painting in the Park

Posted on July 23, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

Ten members of the Thursday group took up their paint rollers to maintain the metal Park fence at Little Gaddesden, last painted many years ago. In the 1800’s much of the Park was enclosed with this type of fencing, and … Continue reading →

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Garden Visit

Posted on July 21, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

Some twenty volunteers attended the garden visit at Ashridge House last Wednesday, along with Lawrence and Bob representing the Trust – the immediate neighbours. Ashridge House relies upon the goodwill of the Trust to secure the various vistas from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Flora and Fauna | 1 Comment

Volunteers’ Coffee Morning

Posted on July 20, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

Babs had the bright idea of inviting all volunteers to a get-together at Hill Farm last Monday morning. Some twenty people attended from all the different volunteer groups, spending an hour talking over points of interest. This was an attempt … Continue reading →

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Princess Anne’s Plantation – part III

Posted on July 16, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

Some lovely shots of Clipper Down and Pitstone Hill on a summer’s day. On Thursday the team were removing more of the wire netting from the redundant fence line, but the gate posts proved to be immovable. Clipper Down is … Continue reading →

Posted in Flora and Fauna, Thursday Conservation Group, Volunteer Rangers | Leave a comment

Making charcoal

Posted on July 16, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

How to make charcoal – easy peasy! The charcoal burner’s trade secrets were handed down from one generation to the next, and charcoal fired the early Industrial Revolution until it was replaced by coke. As a woodland industry it started … Continue reading →

Posted in Charcoal, Events, Thursday Conservation Group | 1 Comment

Helping the flora

Posted on July 13, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

Ashridge supports a number of rare flowers, mainly on the chalk downland like the fleawort and early gentian. However there is one rarity which hides away in the deep shade of the beech woods – the violet helleborine. Harding’s Rookery is … Continue reading →

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Princess Anne’s Plantation – part II

Posted on July 12, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

Having stripped out the old barbed wire fence running down from Duncombe Terrace, the Thursday team moved onto Clipper Down to take out an obsolete fence line. These old fences are a hazard for the resident deer herd. With the … Continue reading →

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If you bag it, don’t leave it.

Posted on July 11, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

It is hard to understand the mentality of some visitors who take pains to bag their dog’s mess and then throw it into a tree. Plastic bags blight the landscape for years to come. Visitors need to be aware of … Continue reading →

Posted in Litter Picking, Volunteer Rangers | 1 Comment

If you blinked you missed it.

Posted on July 10, 2016 by ashridgevolunteersblog

This advertising sign appeared overnight on the New Road coming up the hill from Northchurch, and was spotted by Richard our Volunteer Ranger. The Trust were informed and it quickly disappeared. The sign was “designed with care and built with … Continue reading →

Posted in Volunteer Rangers | 1 Comment