Iron Acton

Last year there was a lot of balsam growing along both sides of the footpath between Tubbs Bottom and Frampton End Road. This year there were signs that someone had been clearing the balsam along the path.

However there was still rather a lot along the edge of the riverbank and on the opposite bank of the river.

Further downstream on the way to the Hover's Lane ford, there were clumps of balsam growing in various places.

Mill Lane to Black Rocks

Another very hot day, perfect for wading upstream from Mill Lane.

There were a few plants along the first stretch from the footbridge up to the measuring station but far fewer than last year. The river was full of fish (chub?) of various sizes and although it was mostly quite shallow, there was a deep patch below the weir which forced us to retreat and find a way up to the bridge.

We continued via Drew's Yard and the Frome Valley Walkway before spotting a small clump of balsam down by the river which we cleared and then carried on along the river bank, seeing very few signs of balsam. After a while we crossed over the river and continued upstream clearing a few small clumps of balsam on the way up to Black Rocks.

In the open area at Black Rocks we couldn't see any balsam growing amongst the meadow sweet and comfrey. There was a small amount growing in the undergrowth just above Black Rocks but again in much smaller quantities than previous years.

Park Row property

During last week's session Andrew discovered balsam growing in the grounds of one of the houses along Park Row. Having obtained permission from the owner we returned this week to clear it.

It was a very hot day but fortunately there was only one large clump of balsam plus a few patches hiding amongst the nettles. With the help of a local youngster volunteering as part of his Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, we were able to clear it all fairly quickly.

Bridge House to Nightingale's Bridge

We were pleased to find that there weren't many plants growing along the banks at Bridge House and someone had already chopped down some of the undergrowth at the far end of the grounds. This only left a few dozen plants which needed to be cleared near to river bank.

Further downstream, we found a few plants amongst the nettles and again at Nightingale Bridge there were a few more. We did see a couple of big clumps on the other side of the river which we'll need to revisit on another occasion.

Meanwhile Andrew had found a large patch in the grounds of one of the houses on Park Row and did his best to clear them single-handedly.

Nightingale's Bridge

Upstream survey.

Last week we had a look at the field behind St Peter's Church. There were a few plants growing but no large clumps apart from one near to Church Road on the opposite bank of the river. There were also a few visible behind the houses on Mill Lane.

Today, Monday, I took a stroll upstream. I cut an access path (Start of path) through the undergrowth down to the river downstream of Black Rocks. In previous years this area has had quite a lot of balsam scattered amongst the undergrowth. This year I saw only a few plants. The opposite bank did have a few and there seemed to be more on the field edge behind.

I then walked upstream and waded across to the group of little islands upstream of Black Rocks. Two years ago when we first cleared the area it was densely colonised by balsam. Last year were fewer, and this year there were just a few isolated plants. However the field edge on the opposite bank was still bad, acting as a reservoir for recolonisation.

Meadow Mead and Glebeland 2018

After a late start to the season, balsam is now four to five feet tall in places. We cleared a couple of large clumps off Meadow Mead before moving to the other side of the river to clear a large clump by the Community Orchard. We also found scattered plants at various places along the river bank, some only reachable from river level.

Spring 2018

In 2017, balsam was already a few inches high by mid April.  Spring this year has been quite cool and balsam growth is probably about three weeks behind compared to last year.

On a very warm Bank Holiday Monday, we walked up from Nightingale's Bridge to Cogmill and saw very little sign of balsam. Whether this is due to our efforts in previous years or to the late spring remains to be seen. There is one large clump on the river bank by the community orchard and quite a few by the grassy area off  Meadow Mead. However, the plants are still only a few inches high so it's too early to try to clear them.

By the Community Orchard

On the positive side, there's a wide variety of native wild flowers trying to compete with the balsam.