Delta Ged, Volunteer Ranger @ National Trust Lyme Park : Week 44 12/11/2014

Photo Blog Week 44 - Wed 12 November 2014

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Wednesday 13th November 2013 was my first solo patrol as a Volunteer Patrolling Ranger at National Trust Lyme Park in Derbyshire.
It has been a pleasure to wander around this amazing place and learn more about the countryside, Thanks to all the staff and volunteers at Lyme Park who have welcomed me and shared their knowledge making me feel a part of it.

As a year has passed, I am introducing a This Time Last Year link so that you can have a quick look back 12 months and compare the seasons across the years.

Today

Initially wet but dried to give stunning blue skies by late afternoon. The rut is over and the Red Deer are relaxed all over the Park and it is a fantastic time to see the Stags with their antlers on full display and, in their post-rut relaxed state, allowing much closer sightings than at other times. It's now on the run up to Christmas that they will be portrayed to many children as Reindeer which they definately are not.

During the morning I was involved with an incident which brought the Air Ambulance to the Park. Being the first Ranger on site I was thrown into a situation where cool re-assurance and situation management was required and I'm proud to believe that I performed well (though I did forget to record the time). It also helped having been First Aid at Work trained for many years in a previous employment; it's amazing how a bit of training helps you process events and decide actions. I strongly recommend taking basic First Aid training if you ever get the opportunity.

Due to time spent on the above incident, my distance is lower that usual today.

A wet start to the day with reflections in the tiles of the Courtyard

The Courtyard in the middle of the House

Figure on corner of NorthFace of the House sillouted against dark clouds

Rabbit incursion into the formal garden; one for the report.

Turf House Meadow and The Kennels

Fungi Fest; part 1

Talking of animals where the shouldn't be, this Red Stag is on the Archery Field

Looking across Turfhouse Meadow to the clearing in Lantern Wood leading to The Lantern itself.

Turhouse Meadow is currently at it's most crossable. In Summer the undergrouth it tough to negotiate and in Winter it is too wet.

This gateway toward the Kennels is now complete after a new gate end was built on the collapsed drystone wall

The Kennels - where the Lyme Masstiff's were housed in luxurious conditions.

Recently all painted up externally; access remains difficult across very wet ground.

The centre kennel has some information boards including this one demonstrating the size of a Lyme Mastiff.

(the other kennels are currenlty occupied with miscellaneous storage)

Apparently solid Drystone Walls can collapse from the inside out as poor stone degrades. This is a close up of the wall below.

A 'Lunky' hole in the bottom of a wall. This was the middle one of three in a short length suggesting these were used for capyuring game. Rabbits etc would be chased across the field and these would be the only apparent escape route but the animal would be captured in a sack the other side.

Remains of old building to rear of Turfhouse Meadow.

Before the rut, Red Deer Stags do massive damage to trees cleaning up their new antlers which irritate when the velvet is breaking up and they are finally hardenning.

Only about 4 cm of bark left on the whole circumference and it is likely it will not survive.

This is a 'Squeezer Stile', the shape allow long legged animals such as humans to pass but resricts short legged being narrow low down.

Caters Slack

Fungi Fest; part 2

Incident

By good fortune, I happened to be patrolling across Caters Slack arriving shortly after a group had called an ambulance for one of their party. Using my radio, I was able to get people positioned to guide the ambulance through and keep everyone infomed.

The North West Air Ambulance was called by the land crew due to difficulty with access. Though not far from a track, there were two streams, a stile and a narrow stone slab crossing in the way.

The pilot of the North West Air Ambulance had no apparent difficulty dropping down onto the only bit of flat ground which seemed barely wider than the diameter of the rotors.

In the event, the helecopter's rescue stretcher provided a suitable tool to transport the casualty to the land ambulance using 8 able bodied, two of whom were straddling one of the streams to hand pass through the narrow stile and across the stone slab.

The North West Air Ambulance departs. THANK YOU!

Please visit the The North West Air Ambulance website. This wonderful asset is a charity and needs constant support if it to continue to be available. If you fancy donating, even better.