Hacking through the undergrowth - Meadow Mead

Starting early to avoid the heat, Andrew and I cleared the undergrowth along Meadow Mead downstream from the Church Road bridge. After heavy rain a few days ago the river level had risen but had since fallen back though it was still deep in a few places and required a certain amount of care.

There weren't very many balsam plants but they were either tangled in bindweed, surrounded by nettles, lurking low down on the river bank or required hacking through the undergrowth to reach. However we managed to clear the majority before the heat started to get the better of us.

On the way back to the car, we had a look at the field behind St Peter's Church. Somewhat depressingly, it was quite bad. We didn't clear this are last year as it had been getting progressively better and the resident horses seemed to be keeping it under control either by grazing or trampling.