Black Rocks and beyond - June 7th

A group of five volunteers walked upstream from St Peter’s Church to Black Rocks where the few scattered plants seen a couple of weeks ago were revealed to be accompanied by many more hidden in the undergrowth and along the riverbank. Fortunately the river level was low so we were able to reach most of them with a bit of wading and a bit of scrambling over and under fallen branches.   

After clearing this area, we continued upstream toward the little islands in the river, clearing a few small plants on the near bank and some larger ones across the river on the way.  The islands themselves were very overgrown with a variety of plants including balsam and there were some dams created by fallen trees which had also become home for balsam. We were able to clear the majority of these.

Water crowsfoot growing in the river at Black Rocks 

Meadow Mead and Glebelands - 31st May

There was a heavy shower early in the morning but the day brightened so we went ahead with our planned session while taking a little more care on the riverbanks and in the wet undergrowth. Four volunteers turned up and we started at Meadow Mead where there was some balsam visible and a lot more in the undergrowth and on the river bank.  

Meadow Mead - By the river and under a fallen willow

After clearing that we moved on to Parsonage Bridge where there was a large clump on the east bank. We were able to access it both through the undergrowth along Meadow Mead and by wading across from the opposite bank although a large fallen branch across the river has made access a bit more difficult.

At Parsonage Bridge 

We also cleared some of the balsam growing along Glebelands where there were signs that other people had been pulling balsam as they walked along the river.

Balsam Survey May 2022

 I walked along the river from Cogmill to Nightingale’s Bridge to assess the balsam situation this year. The Frome Valley Walkway was very picturesque in the spring sunshine.

There was balsam visible in a number of places, notably at Black Rocks, Church Road bridge, Glebelands, Parsonage Bridge and Nightingale’s Bridge. There’s undoubtedly more balsam hiding in the undergrowth which is not yet visible.

Black Rocks

Nightingale’s Bridge 

Field behind St Peter's Church

Last year the field behind St Peter's Church was relatively clear of balsam so we didn't bother clearing it. In retrospect this might have been a mistake as this year it was quite badly infested again. The area near the gate was worst and there were a couple of clumps near to the churchyard but the far end of the field was reasonably clear apart from some large plants low down on the river bank.

Before clearing

Since it was quite late in the season we just went in with slashers and cut the balsam down rather than pulling it up.

Although some seed pods were popping, we didn't see any which had fully ripened so hopefully we'll have done enough to reduce the level of infestation again.

After clearing

Iron Acton 2019

Despite recent rain, the river at Iron Acton was only a little higher than usual at this time of year.

I joined a group of volunteers from Iron Acton and we worked our way upstream from the bridge at Frampton End Road. There was a scattering of balsam all the way along and some big patches on the field edge on the opposite bank.

Dog walkers also told us of some big patches further upstream but unfortunately it started to rain fairly heavily so we decided to call a premature halt. However we managed to clear a good stretch before we finished.

Balsam survey - Saturday 20 July

During our session on Thursday we were able to wade in the river quite comfortably. However after Friday's rain it had risen by at least six inches on Saturday and was flowing quite fast in places.  The normally tranquil waters at Black Rocks had turned into a raging torrent!

Hopefully it'll be equally quick to drop back again.

There are still a few balsam between Parsonage Bridge and Church Road, mostly in the undergrowth on the Meadow Mead side of the river. I would estimate a couple of people could clear it in an hour though wading and/or cutting through the undergrowth would be necessary.

Heading up stream, there were a few stragglers around Black Rocks some of which I cleared. This area has got progressively better over the years and there's just a handful of plants appearing there now. Further upstream there are some really tall plants on the opposite bank and just beyond the metal footbridge at Cogmill there are quite a lot.

Some of those growing in the open are starting to produce seeds so it'd be good to clear those as soon as possible.

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.