A surprisingly large turnout for a frosty Sunday morning saw eight of York's finest descend on Danesmead Wood to clear nettles and eat cake.

With directions that bore very little resemblance to the actual location of the task, finding where we were working proved to be a bit of a challenge. Luckily, the happy sound of Goodgymmers in their natural habitat made it easier for those of us that were confused to find where we were meant to be.

In the clear part of the wood where we were working, nettles had dug in for the long haul and it was our job to dig deep and dig hard to get them out by to root so the area would be clear for the spring. It was hard work but the combination of a few days rain to soften the ground and autumn sun to warm us up meant this was not an unpleasant task.

The nettles hard surrounded one poor sapling and so we paid particular attention to clearing the space around it so the tree could establish itself and defeat the nettle menace.

After an hour of hard work, the nettles were beaten and Jude dished out the tea and cakes. Which were awesome.