It was a great turnout of new and familiar faces to help the Friends of Westcombe Woodlands.

The woodland is a hidden gem, nestled neatly behind Maze Hill station. Blink and you might miss it. To the untrained eye you would not even know it was there.

When we first arrived, we were welcomed and briefed for our mission by one of the volunteers, Andrew, who also gave us a brief history of the woodland. Until the eighteenth century, Greenwich was just a small village, and the surrounding area of Westcombe woodland was completely undeveloped. Hard to imagine now.

After our briefing, we got straight on with the job at hand, which was to shift as much nutrient-rich soil from the bottom of the woodland to the top, in order to create a wildflower meadow there. This job was not for the fainthearted, as it involved relays of GoodGymers carrying bags of soil up steep steps, and then pushing heavy wheelbarrows a few hundred yards to the glade.

However, it was all worth it to get the job done, and it was greatly appreciated by Andrew and his team. And more to the point, we did not scare the two newcomers, Sivaranjani Subramanian and Daniel Clements off! In fact, they said they had a great workout and would not need to go to the gym now. Result!

After the mission was finished, we had time for a quick glass of lemonade (well earned) and a group photo. I think you’ll agree we all look tired but very pleased with ourselves. After this, we headed home to put our feet up and rest after all our hard work!

*credit to Julian for the title!