Black Rocks to Cogmill June 2023

There hasn’t been much rain for the past few weeks so the river level is fairly low making wading relatively easy. We walked up to the little islands between Black Rocks and Cogmill and cleared a lot of balsam from the islands and from the opposite bank. Fresh barbed wire prevented us from reaching more balsam along the edge of the fields.

Before

After

The balsam is getting to be quite tall and the first flowers are starting to appear.

On the way back we found a few isolated plants along the path and at the corner of the recently cleared area downstream from Black Rocks, we found a large clump in the undergrowth which we managed to clear.

Black Rocks June 2023

At first sight there seemed to be very little balsam at Black Rocks but when we explored further we found rather a lot in the undergrowth and particularly under fallen trees. Many plants were very small which reinforces the impression that the balsam is appearing a little late this year.

Meadow Mead June 2023

Although there wasn’t a great deal of balsam immediately visible we decided to have a look in the undergrowth on the riverbank along Meadow Mead. The corner near Parsonage Bridge is normally quite bad but only had a few dozen plants scattered amongst the nettles. At the grassy area in the middle, there were very few plants.

We cut some paths into the undergrowth towards Church Road bridge. Again we only found a few dozen balsam along the banks.

We finished by heading back along Glebelands. Frampton Nature Group had cleared balsam along here just over a week ago but we managed to find and clear a few more among the nettles.

 

Survey 2023

Late April/early May was quite cool and wet with high water levels which seems to have killed off some early seedlings of Himalayan Balsam.

Spring blossom and high water levels at Meadow Mead 

Seedlings in mid April

Casual observation during May along the Frome suggested that balsam was not reappearing in large quantities and this was borne out by my survey on 2 June. Although a few plants were visible at various places from Nightingale’s Bridge to Cogmill there were no very big clumps obviously visible. Even at the corner of Hilly Fields which normally has a lot of balsam there was little sign of it among the nettles.

At Black Rocks there’s a freshly fallen branch which makes access to balsam along the river edge more difficult. Upstream from Black Rocks, there seems to be a number of balsam growing on the far bank.

Meadow Mead revisited

It was forecast to be a very hot day so we met a little earlier at 9:00 at Meadow Mead. Fortunately it stayed cloudy which kept the temperature at a relatively comfortable level. A group of 7 volunteers turned at Meadow Mead which helped to cover a large area of the river between Parsonage and Church Road bridges.  Our main objective was to clear some large clumps in areas difficult to access because they were low down on the river bank and only accessible through dense undergrowth. However we managed to cut a way through and to scramble down the riverbank to clear them.

We also cleared more plants low down on the riverbank which were not immediately visible from the path and a few stragglers in areas we’d previously cleared.

July survey

 I went for a stroll from Nightingale’s Bridge to Cogmill to assess the balsam situation after our activities in June. On the mud banks at the bridge there were a few balsam which I cleared but upstream there were some large clumps on the riverbanks and low down near the river which were difficult to access without waders or slashers.

Along Glebelands there were a few plants some of which I was able to clear from amongst the nettles. There were some large clumps on the other side of the river which we’d previously not been able to access but may be possible with the river level as low as it is currently.

Further upstream, there were a few plants at Black Rocks and I think I could see a few further upstream on the far bank and the little islands.

Large clumps of balsam always grow by the Church Road bridge and scattered throughout the undergrowth on the Meadow Mead side of the river opposite the community orchard. When river levels are low, these areas can be reached from the river bed though care must be taken to avoid deep spots and the bank can be a bit tricky to climb in places. It’s also possible to cut a way down from Meadow Mead though fallen branches and occasionally dumped garden waste can make it hard work. Despite these challenges, on a very warm Midsummer’s Day we cleared the riverbanks by the community orchard then returned to wade up the river to access the big clump by the bridge. The balsam was fairly tall and a few flowers were starting to appear.

Looking downriver from the bridge

Balsam cleared by Church Road bridge