We try to have a regular volunteer litter pick with the aim of keeping the environment at Hodbarrow pleasant for walkers and safe for wildlife.
A gentle stroll, a friendly chat with other volunteers and fill a carrier bag or two with the odd crisp packet or plastic bottle.
But a few of us knew there was a job that was out of sight and out of mind. We were putting off but it had reached the point where it simply had to be done:
The floating trash near the north east side of the old sea wall (seen below)
The bottles, polystyrene and aerosols discarded into the lagoon eventually seem to get trapped in this quiet corner. Access is difficult due to the steep muddy slopes.
Mhairi donned a new pair of waders and I came with a 10 ft pole to push and prod the trash.Chris Lloyd-Rogers armed herself with a litter picker and a roll of bin bags. Just before we made a start I checked the depth of the water with the pole as part of the risk assessment.
Be very careful in this area.
There seems to be a concrete platform that extends for a foot or two and then the water suddenly gets very deep, certainly most of the pole disappeared ! This lagoon is not a natural benign water feature, it is a flooded former industrial site with all sorts of hazards that need to be taken into account.
After an hour or so almost all the rubbish had been removed into about 9 sacks.
One unexpected find was the floating islands of vegetation that had grown through the polystyrene (the green leaves seen near the bottles).
Having completed the clearance we took a walk to Hodbarrow Point to watch the waves crashing onto the beach on a 10.5m tide. We could only just stand up in the wind. Quite a contrast to the conditions in the front cover photo on the new Hodbarrow information leaflet!
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