Here on the Welsh border extremities of Herefordshire many of the farms and even the field names are of Welsh origins. Often the Welsh spelling has been lost over the centuries and the pronunciation is probably inaccurate too.
We have been working on a small old orchard called Cu Bunt which is part of Rockfield, near the Escley brook. The horse flies have been very active the last few days, and even though they are not speedy insects they always seem to bite when both hands are busy with the fencing tools!
The recent rain has made the job of putting in the fence stakes easier, but the steep slopes make for physically demanding days.
I have taken a few photographs to show the areas of bare soil caused by shading from the large trees, and the effects of sheep constantly roaming the areas with no grass. By coppicing the trees and fencing out the livestock we should get grass growth on the bare areas and this will reduce soil particle loss into the streams.
Hopefully we will have photographs in a few months to prove that all the work has been worthwhile.
Soon we will move up to the small orchard at Holt Farm to do some fencing there. Again the land will be undulating but we may see some visitors on the footpath or at the cottages to create "rest periods".
