Category: News

Logging Action Film – 2024

Another video of BET volunteers shifting logs down the steep slopes of the reserves.  As shown at this year’s AGM.

The felling of diseased ash trees resulted in a large volume of excess timber on the reserves.  We have left some logs as habitat piles but the majority needed to be removed.  Over the past couple of years, Backwell Logs have partnered with BET to collect the logs and process and dry them for firewood sales.  

Our challenge has been to move the heavy logs from the middle of the reserves, down the muddy and rocky slopes, to the roadside for collection.

Last year we enjoyed having heavy horses in Jubilee Stone Wood for a couple of days to extract logs.  This year we had to rely solely on volunteer power and tried to find some more direct routes down the hillside to the road.  Sack trucks proved to be a great new way to move big logs to the top of a slope.  Then gravity played a major part, with ropes being used to drag the logs to stacks near the road.

Between March and May a staggering number of logs were moved safely down the hill and stacked for collection.

Good and Bad News

Easy-access path resurfaced – but vandals have been at work.

We are very pleased to have resurfaced the easy access path in Jubilee Stone Wood which had become very rutted, muddy and slippery after 17 years. Rob Hodges has done a fantastic job for us, laying over 40 tonnes of stone kindly donated by Tarmac.  We are also grateful to Nailsea and Backwell Rotary for a generous donation towards other costs. 

Please note that this permissive path is not a bridleway and should not be used for horse riding or cycling. Unfortunately one horse rider has already churned up the new stone/dust top layer.

On a less pleasant note, we are sorry to report that the Badgers Wood viewpoint board, funded by Nailsea Lions, has been vandalised. The large aluminium board has been ripped off its mount deliberately and discarded – probably into the quarry.

As installed in 2021….

Sadly this year there have been other incidents at the viewpoint with barbecues left behind, extensive littering and vegetation set alight. Previously, the tall noticeboard was damaged and the seat moved.  At the end of the school year, stacks of exercise books were strewn around. Fortunately the culprit’s name was in the books and he was reported to the police.

If you become aware of similar antisocial behaviour on BET land please let us know – although we would not want you to enter into any confrontation.

Ash Trees and Working Horses – April 2023

Over the Easter weekend, magnificent heavy horses started hauling felled diseased ash trees from Jubilee Stone Wood.

Further to our previous article, a spell of dry weather allowed working horses to visit Jubilee Stone Wood for two days over Easter. Two magnificent French Percheron heavy horses, Marcel and Jurgen from Oakfield Farm near Wotton-under-Edge, made a great start in extracting felled ash trees, in partnership with Backwell Logs.

The Horsering meadow was used as their base and for stacking the logs. The horses and their drivers John and Ryan made repeated trips along the permissive path leading to the Warrener’s Cottage and steadily reduced the jumble of felled timber on both sides.

It was wonderful to see how the horses negotiated all the scattered logs, fallen stones – and holly – with complete trust in their drivers.  Once hitched to a massive log they used their immense power to get the log moving with no hesitation and then drag it along at a very fast walking pace.  A relay working pattern evolved with Jurgen using his more explosive power to extricate big logs from the tangled piles and then Marcel using his steady power to haul them all the way to the meadow.  Once there, Katie loaded the timber onto Backwell Logs’ trailer for transporting to their farm for processing.  We are very pleased that the logs are being collected, seasoned and sold by a local business. 

BET members were able to meet the horses on the Saturday after they had finished work.  You can see lots more photos of the horses in action in this album.

It is great to be able to use a very traditional approach to extracting timber from the site with its difficult terrain and narrow paths. After the visit by the horses, there was still a large amount of timber to haul out and in the following months our volunteers applied themselves energetically to the challenge, as can be seen in this video of horses and volunteers in action:

Logging Action Film – 2023

A short video of how we harnessed the power of heavy horses and BET volunteers to extract felled timber from the woods.  As shown at last year’s AGM.

The felling of diseased ash trees last winter resulted in a large volume of excess timber on the reserves.  We left some logs as habitat piles but the majority were removed and sold for seasoning as firewood by Backwell Logs.

Over Easter we enjoyed the sight of heavy horses working in Jubilee Stone Wood to extract logs, as descrbed in this article: Ash Trees and Working Horses – April 2023 

After the visit by the horses, there was still a large amount of timber to haul out from the steeper and more inaccessible parts of the woods. We tried lots of different methods to get the logs down to the road for collection, including small tractors and a brilliant ‘logging arch’ constructed by Andy, our metal-working treasurer. Over the course of many months our volunteers simply used sheer muscle to shift tons of logs, as can be seen in this video of horses and volunteers in action:

Ash Trees and Working Horses – February 2023

Unfortunately, as the disease continues to kill our ash trees, we need to fell more trees to keep our woods safe.  Contractors will be returning on 14th February and draft horses a few weeks later!

As we have reported in previous BET Bulletins and project updates, the majority of the ash trees on BET’s reserves are showing severe signs of ash dieback disease. There is no treatment for the disease and in the coming years these trees will, almost certainly, die and collapse.

Last winter, contractors felled diseased ash trees along Cheston Combe which presented the highest risk to traffic and houses.  This winter we have started to remove diseased trees which are within striking distance of the public footpaths and bridleway running the length of our two reserves.  Over the past two months our volunteers have been felling smaller ash trees close to the paths. Starting on 14th February our contractor will be felling the larger diseased trees which could fall on the paths. This will mean that stretches of paths will be closed during the work, for which we apologise.

Timber from the felling will be stacked and shortly afterwards will be collected and paid for by our local partners, Backwell Logs.  The steep terrain makes timber extraction challenging but we are planning to use draft horses, which will be very exciting and eco-friendly!! Four heavy horses should be coming from Oakfield Farm, near Rangeworthy, during March.  We hope to arrange a date and time after their working day for people to meet the horses. Details to follow.

Note that the affected trees have been marked with various coloured paint spots according to the degree of decline and who will do the felling. The trees were checked during the summer, when in leaf, to identify those whose crown had declined by more than 50% and would not recover. The remaining trees will be assessed each year to determine those which will need to be taken down in future winters. Natural regeneration has started in the felled areas and we have also planted nearly 300 tree saplings so far.

There are a number of ash trees on the road side of BET’s boundary which are the responsibility of North Somerset Council. However, as you will be aware, NSC have had higher priority roads to keep safe, including the A370.

BET Trustees

Jubilee Stone Field Path

We are sorry that the gate into the field by the Jubilee Stone has been removed and the path closed. The Parish Council has collected statements from witnesses who regulalrly used the path, in support of an application to have it designated as a public right of way.

We are very sorry that the gate into the field by the Jubilee Stone has been removed by the field’s owner and the path closed. 

This path across the field has been used and enjoyed for decades but has never actually been a designated public right of way.  The landowner is therefore within their rights to close and block off the path. 

In view of the length of time the path has been used, the Parish Council has supported an application to North Somerset Council to have it designated as a public right of way (PRoW) – as well as the well-used unofficial paths around the edge of the field.  The application was supported by more than 80 witness statements from people who have used these paths over the years.  Additional witness statements will be welcome.  Any period of time is relevant, but over 20 years is of particular interest, as well as photographic evidence. If you can help, please refer to this Parish Council website post for further details about how to provide supporting evidence. 

Note that there are two public footpaths into the field, as shown on the Ordnance Survey map.  One can be accessed via the stile next to the field gate at the top of the bridleway. The other is over the stile into the corner of the field, lower down the bridleway.  The PRoW application process will take some time.  In the meantime, please use the official public footpaths and do not tamper with the boundary fence.