It was a truly sweltering morning on the Ham Lands as the September summer continued and a group of 6 GoodGymers gathered - with the addition of a couple of little people and a doggo - to do our monthly bit for the preservation of the area of natural beauty.

The GGers peeled away from the main Friends of Ham Lands group to tackle an area of brambles and a hawthorn bush with particularly brutal thorns. Fortunately the area was under the shade of the trees as the sun was getting hotter by the minute.

It was far too hot to wear anything but shorts so we had to be particularly careful of the spikes and thorns. We got to work with loppers and secateurs, making piles of the branches and brambles beside the path. It took some skill to manoeuvre these into the large sacks without getting pricked and scratched, but we managed admirably and deposited 4 sacks in the undergrowth before finishing the job.

Feeling pleased with our efforts we decided it was time for refreshments, and had iced coffees and soft drinks on the grass outside the Swiss Bakery which was packed with people enjoying the hot weather.

Next time at the Ham Lands is likely to be a lot cooler! Sign up now here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/helping-the-happy-ham-landers-a217e66c-ae8a-445d-8874-d0b8d1fdb9a2