Upstream 2008
On the 19th of June, a team of Grampus Heritage & Training went to Skiddaw House to plant more than 150 trees behind the hostel. The valiant group went through fells and creeks to reach this hostel, the highest in Britain at 1550 feet above sea level and three miles from the nearest road. Certainly the competence of Grampus' Land rover has been challenged!
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The new forest protected by tubes
and stake in the backyard of the Skiddaw House
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The Skiddaw House is a hostel providing self-catered accommodation, accessible
from Keswick, Bassenthwaite and Mungrisedale. The hostel's location is on
the road of the Cumbria way and offers a beautiful view and access to the
Skiddaw Massif. It was built around by 1829 by the Egremont family as a keeper
lodge which served also of residence for shepherds until the 1950s. After
an episode of abandonment, it was restored by a group of volunteers and opened
in May 1991 as a youth hostel. Following a period of closure, it finally reopened
its doors in April 2007. Nowadays, the hostel welcomes walkers and mountain
bikers in the heart of Skiddaw.
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The chainsaw demonstration for all
the volunteers present
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The group of workers from Grampus came to continue the regeneration of the
woodland area in the back, started by an Anglo-Cypriot group of environment
students who had came a few weeks before during their Cultural Journey. The
objective of this project was to reinsert native species of trees, e.g. oak,
hazel, hawthorn, rowan, in the area at the back of the hostel. As a result,
the growing forest became a symbol of the importance of preserving the environment
with its native features. This lesson should affect not only the planters
but also all the visitors of the hostel can witness these fragile lives in
the backyard. Moreover, the day has been completed by a demonstration of how
a chainsaw mill can be used to provide sustainable resources directly from
the backyard. Thus, despite a capricious weather and a few technical difficulties
with the chainsaw, the day was a true success, not only for the owners of
the hostel, but also for the workers learning how to restore the law of nature.
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Martin Clark and Damian Garner,
protecting the newly plants trees
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Grampus Heritage and Training Ltd, Ashgill,Threapland,
Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 2EL, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 16973 21516
Fax: +44 (0) 16973 23040
E.Mail: enquiries@grampusheritage.co.uk