Aylmerton No 2 Surveyor’s Allotment
This was our first work party at Aylmerton No 2 Surveyor’s Allotment, situated on the north side of the busy A148, nearly opposite St Andrew’s School. As there is, as yet, no easy parking next to the site, we had to park in a layby on the south side and then negotiate the traffic, in this case, carrying tools and timber for the new fence. Twelve of us managed to do this, without any loss to life.
Meeting first at WBOA (where Val and Vision saw two Glossy Ibis flying overhead as they were leaving – very much a first!), we moved on to the new site, where Trevor gave us an introductory tour. We then divided into two groups: one, comprising Nigel, Stu, Andrew and John, spent the morning constructing a fence alongside the west side of the one-acre site, where there is a footpath leading north towards Briton’s Lane Quarry and the Roman Camp heathland. This proved harder than anticipated because of difficult ground. The site, which is fairly old woodland, is surrounded by an old bank and, in parts, has been used as a dumping ground, so there are flints and rubble in some places. This made digging holes for fence posts somewhat frustrating but the group made good progress, despite the obstacles.
The second group – Trevor, Bev, Seán, Vision, Fran, Alan and Peter – did a litter pick (including a large number of bottles in one corner) and cleared most of the fallen branches to create a rough dead hedge around the north and west sides. We found one Codd bottle (also known as a marble bottle) – one of those old bottles used for carbonated drinks, with a glass marble and a rubber seal. This one was rammed with earth but a thorough clean revealed the following embossed in the glass: Pinchen’s Aerated Waters Corpusty and South Creake Brewery. Look up North Norfolk Bottles – Corpusty and South Creake if you want more information about the brewery!
Meanwhile, Val spent an hour wandering happily around, familiarising herself with the flora of the site, which included Three-Nerved Sandwort, Climbing Corydalis, masses of Foxgloves, Green Alkanet and Dog Violet. And the Blackcaps sang in the background.
This was a really useful and enjoyable morning on what is a lovely site, despite the proximity of the noisy road. We look forward to introducing more of you to it.
Our next work party is on Thursday May 16th at Sustead – not at WBOA as previously listed on the website.
Peter Maingay
May 2nd 2024
