National Trust working holiday - Snowdonia, June 2005
An excellent week combining volunteer work for the National Trust and a cheap holiday in Snowdonia! Organised through the National Trust's Working Holidays scheme I joined 13 other volunteers in Snowdonia for a mixture of conservation work and activities. We stayed at the Hendre Isaf base camp (owned and maintained by the NT) which provided basic but spacious and comfortable dormitory style accommodation and is on the junction of the A5 and A4407 about a mile west of Pentrefoelas. Below are the notes which I kept during the week.
The group:
This is our group of 14 willing and (fairly) able volunteers pictured beside our very own dry stone wall, constructed in about a day at the end of the week.
Back row: Tom, Lisa, Clyde
(assistant leader), Ade, Rosie, Val, Rachel, Andy
Front row: Roz (leader), Laura, Emma, Lou, Roger, Maia
Day 1: Sunday - walking with Del (John Muir Trust leader)
- walking on the moors (an area known as the Migneint - derived from
the Welsh meaning "many streams" seeing Choughs, skylarks,
wheatears (originally named white arse but renamed so as not to offend
the Queen), natural peat bogs and evidence of old slate mining in the
area.
[ Carreg y Foel-gron - 747 425 on OS map OL018 ]
- walking down a wooded gorge where the water has been
turned a rust colour by the peat it flows through on the moors.
This is an important area because the gorge has not been grazed so the
vegetation is natural and indicative of what would have grown here
before the land was put to agricultural and recreational use.
Followed by lunch at Llan Ffestiniog.
[ Ceunant Cynfal - 713 408 on OS map OL018 ]
- walking on coast at Harlech appreciating the National Trust's land on the cliffs where natural grasses grow and provide habitats for many insects and birds.
Day 2: Monday - National Trust conservation work with Kirsten
- thinning growth around oak trees planted several years earlier on ground cleared of conifers. Conifers were planted during and after WWII to quickly regenerate woodland areas. Today the emphasis by the NT is to reintroduce more indigenous trees, especially the oak. Because it grows so slowly compared to surrounding vegetation it needs regular clearing - work that cannot be done by machine and which is very labour intensive, relying on tools such as slashers, brashing saws and loppers.
- bracken clearing on meadowland to clear the rampant growth of bracken at the edge of fields where natural grasses and flowers provide habitats and breeding grounds for many insects such as butterflies.
Both these activities were near the NT property at Ty Mawr [ 836 503 on OS map OL018 ]. Here is a picturesque stone cottage which was home to Bishop William Morgan, the first man to translate the Bible into Welsh. Hot sunshine today, which we saw plenty of due to a puncture on the minibus on the way home.
Day 3: Tuesday - National Trust conservation work with Kirsten
- ditch clearing - our task for this morning was to better define the
edges of a public footpath and to clear growth from the banks of small
streams allowing them to keep flowing and providing drainage to the
areas above. We then removed some of the larger stones and left
the stream flowing. Not really hard work, and would have been
very satisfying were it not for a huge number of midges.
[ Coed Maen Bleddyn - 818 523 on OS map OL018 ]
- bracken and gorse clearing on hillside around oak saplings.
[ near Conwy Falls - 805 535 on OS map OL018 ]
Day 4: Wednesday - John Muir activity day with Del
- "Canadian canoeing" on Llyn Padarn from north of Llanberis to the end of the lake and then walking up to the slate mining museum and mortuary (!)
- lunch at Pete's Eats in Llanberis and a short walk with Andy, Rachel and Val out of the village up past the waterfall and across newly designated Access Land as far as the Hebron Station on the Snowdon rack and pinion railway before heading back into town.
Day 5: Thursday - National Trust conservation work
- slideshow at the basecamp by Andy (head warden) about the history of the Ysbyty Estate and National Trust work in the area. This talk would normally be given earlier in the week to give volunteers a full understanding of the work they are doing but our talk was delayed to coincide with ...
- visit by the National Trust Council to the basecamp. The NT Council are all also volunteers with experience in fields as diverse as ecology, building / architecture and fine art - skills which match the extremely diverse interests of the Trust itself. They meet annually and visit some areas to see the benefit of the work the Trust is doing and speak to those involved.
- dry stone walling - this is the one thing which I really wanted to
get some experience of this week. Building the walls is heavy,
tiring and very physical work but also requires a real skill.
The two wardens who taught us this had a lot of experience and put us
to shame in their ability to manoeuver the heaviest of rocks into
place and to pick out exactly the right stone to fit a gap.
Between the 14 volunteers and 2 wardens, across one afternoon and one
morning of work we managed to rebuild a stretch of wall about 10
metres long.
[ near Pont Pen-y-bedw - 783 485 on OS map OL018 ]
| Ade's guide to dry stone walling: | |
 |
Before - identify the stretch of wall to be worked on. Remove all existing stones leaving the largest close by and smallest furthest away. Separate suitable "coping stones" which can be used on the very top of the wall to lock it all into place. |
 |
Dig out holes for biggest foundation stones ensuring the base is level and solid. This will be the foundation for the whole wall and if this isn't done properly then the wall will not last. Put the foundation stones in without worrying too much about the line of the wall as this foundation layer will be beneath the ground. |
 |
Stake out poles to guide the shape of the wall, tapering it in towards the top. If the wall is on a slope then ensure the side facing downhill has the steeper gradient to give the wall the best support. Tie string lines between the poles to act as a guide when placing stones at the face of the wall. |
 |
Place stones in layers trying to alternate them cross-ways and length-ways to give the greatest internal cohesion and strength. Where a stone can't sit quite right wedge it out with a small stone. Do not use any soil in the build as this will be washed away in time and the wall will lose strength. Use the biggest and most awkward shaped stones at the base of the wall and always look for the face to angle in up the wall. Always place stones looking at the face of the wall to ensure you keep to the line. Anywhere you will be leaving gaps in the wall (for sheep or for a footpath) ensure the end stones are large and secure as this is where there will be the most wear. |
 |
Finally place the coping stones you have kept to one side along the length of the top of the wall. Because the wall has been built from the two sides there are two separate walls really - the coping stones hold the two sides of the wall together. |
Day 6: Friday - National Trust conservation work
- finish stretch of wall begun on Thursday.
- ascent of Snowdon up the Pyg Track and down the Miners Track, starting and finishing at the Pen-y-pas car park.
- dinner at "The White Horse Inn" at Capel Garmon.
Links: