On Sunday March 28th 1998 Manchester GLASS co-ordinated the efforts of volunteers from several of the local 4x4 clubs along with local GLASS members. These were:
Romily Friendship 4x4
Letters had been sent out to all the
councils in the Greater Manchester area offering assistance with maintainance of unsurfaced vehicular highways and giving them an idea of the kind of work that we could carry out along with a brief history of Green Lane Day. A Press Release was sent out to all the newspaers that we could find within Greater Manchester in the hope that some publicity might be generated for both GLASS and the local Council's Highways Department.The only council to accept the offer was Stockport MBC who identified two lanes near Marple that would benefit from the cutting back of vegetation on both sides and in places, overhead.
Stockport MBC provided a very large skip and we provided the man power and the tools. Several vehicles turned up: a series III LWB station wagon with a V8, a 2.25 LWB station wagon, a SWB series III, a Range Rover and a Discovery along with a very useful LWB series IIA soft top belonging to local GLASS member Mike Smyth. I was only one to turn up in a saloon car because Clifford (my LWB series IIA) had been stolen the previous week. Also there were three dogs, Lady, Daniel and Omey.
We started on the longer of the two lanes from the end furthest away from the skip and worked back. The trees on both sides of the lane were cut right back and several large over hanging branches were chopped back. In some cases the roof rack on the V8 station wagon was used as a platform for cutting from. The V8 also pulled a trailer which was loaded with the branches that were cut off and taken to the skip. We soon lost count of the number of times that the trailer was loaded and unloaded!
Following a brief pause for lunch we started on the second lane which, although shorter, was more overgrown. Progress was slow but it was quite obvious that we were making a real difference. However, several people had to leave fairly early on in the afternoon. Mike Smyth's LWB had by this time had its canvass top removed and its contents stored in a barn on the nearby farm. This was being used as a second vehicle to transport the rubbish to the skip. This was very fortunate as the V8 (and its trailer) had to leave at about 3:30pm. So often farmers and landowners get bad reports from green-lane users but here was one who was really supportive of our actions even though the lanes both start right outside his farm gates.
It was not long after the top was taken off the series IIA that the rain started; gently at first but that soon changed and we decided that as it was raining, we only had four people left, darkness was approaching and (most importantly) the pub was calling, we would clear up what we had already cut and call it a day. That was not as easy as it sounds for by this time the skip was piled really high and there was little room. So Brian set off on a mission to make more room and spent the next couple of hours inside the skip chopping the branches into smaller bits and arranging/compressing everything. Before long it looked as though one skip had been taken and replaced by another empty one! Mike was now left moving the last but biggest trees down the lane to the skip. As these would not fit in the back they were towed behind the Land Rover and dragged.
Brian looking pausing to show how much space was now in the skip
By this time we were completely soaked through and very pleased to be heading off to the reletive warmth of the pub to have our thirst quenched - a successful day and our efforts were apprieciated by Stockport MBC.
We left the southern half of the second lane untouched and intend to return there in the week to tidy up the bits that were left. Watch this space for more details and pictures of Green Lane Day.
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