PRACTICE MEET, BURNEDGE BENT, JUNE 2025

Date: 8th Junel 2025

Location: Burnedge Bent Farm, Grasscroft

Conditions: Warm and wet with a mixture of dry spells and downpours

An enthusiastic gang of 15 branch members turned out to brave the unpredictable weather. The morning commenced, with three branch members, being tasked to repair a tractor damaged cheek end, on an adjacent field from where the rest of the branch members began their work.

The task was to strip down approximately 15 metres of field wall and build a new cheek end on the entrance to the field. Andy and John eagerly volunteered to take on the challenge of building their first cheek end, assisted by Kathy. It turned out that the hardest task for Andy and John, was to source suitable right angled pieces of stone, to build each course of the cheek end, from the mountain of stone that had been collected by the other branch members.

The stone was an absolute delight to work with today. A plethora of regular shaped  and coursed building stones ensured that the wall took shape very quickly.

Luckily, shortly before lunchtime, the foundations and the first lift were firmly in place. It was decided that an earlier than usual lunch would take place, as the heavens opened and all the branch members quickly ran for cover into the nearby barn for shelter. It wasn’t long after lunchtime, when the clouds drifted away from the wallers and made their way towards the moors, where they lingered providing a dramatic backdrop to the far reaching views.

In the afternoon, there was a star appearance from a slightly dazed eyed hawk moth, who had been sheltering in the stonewall. What a bonus! This is not something you see very often. In fact, it was the first sighting of such a stunning creature for many of our branch members. The moth was carefully placed in the barn, by Kathy.

By mid-afternoon, the wall was nearly complete, barring one or two courses of stone and the toppers.

What a productive day!

Report by Bev Watson