Mowing verges

[Bogweevil]

You know all this fuss about mowing verges and killing the orchids. How were verges kept down before tractor and flail?

I seem to remember we had a village roadman with hand tools, but my memory is not what it was.

 

[Gong Farmer]

Perhaps more of the country was like here in the Forest, just turn the sheep out on to them.

 

[Netherfield]

With a Scythe round here, one fellow looked like the grim reaper.

 

[brigadoon]

A gang of roadmen armed with scythes - but that was in the 1960s

 

[colhonk]

My `other` Grandad worked for the council. he cut verges with one of them DEVIL machines........Allen sythe mower thing.

 

[DrWazzock]

We used to take a crop of hay off the verges off this A road till about 5 years ago when baling agsinst the traffic became too risky. We used to get £600 worth of small bales off it and it kept it nice. Looks a bit rough now with briars. The council man does take a metre off but there’s much more than that. The hot road and wind from the traffic used to dry it quickly. Lots of litter in it though. Too dangerous now with volume and speed of nutters.)

 

[DrWazzock]

Granny used to tent cows on the verge back in the old days. Smallholders even scythed the graveyard for their livestock. Nothing was wasted and people seemed to have plenty of time.

 

[Bogweevil]

A gang of roadmen armed with scythes - but that was in the 1960s

My vague recollection is from 60s, maybe not so gaga as everyone says

 

[Bogweevil]

My `other` Grandad worked for the council. he cut verges with one of them DEVIL machines........Allen sythe mower thing.

Allen scythe - forgotten about them

 

[Bogweevil]

We used to take a crop of hay off the verges off this A road till about 5 years ago when baling agsinst the traffic became too risky. We used to get £600 worth of small bales off it and it kept it nice. Looks a bit rough now with briars. The council man does take a metre off but there’s much more than that. The hot road and wind from the traffic used to dry it quickly. Lots of litter in it though. Too dangerous now with volume and speed of nutters.)

Yank farmers apparently take 'ditch hay' - I saw some verges big baled in Holland, not sure if for farm use though.

 

[Bogweevil]

Granny used to tent cows on the verge back in the old days. Smallholders even scythed the graveyard for their livestock. Nothing was wasted and people seemed to have plenty of time.

i had forgotten that - tethering goats, gathering greenery for pets and small livestock...

 

[CPF]

 

[Lili]

'Lengthsmen' here up until around 1980. Ours lived in the village and he had a bike, an Aberaeron shovel for clearing the ditches, a hook, a fork and a brush. He had an allotted length of road to maintain and he kept it far better than the road gangs with all their fancy gear do today.

 

[Bogweevil]

Still people doing that, how nice, remember seeing that in the chase, great ditch round it now to deter travellers.

 

[CPF]

Still people doing that, how nice, remember seeing that in the chase, great ditch round it now to deter travellers.

i first posted it on wreckers , they were talking about the Longmeadow . Photo was taken 27th of June 2020 .

 

[yellow belly]

We used to make hay of verges and if grass was short graze them
father said that the council used to spray them for weeds
now lcc cut 1 m and we cut 4 m on the farm frontage near the yard the rest are now getting bushes to the road edge
too much litter now days although since Macdonald’s opened on the a1 they litter pick every other day
and further away The council twice a year or more

 

[teslacoils]

Verges round here are often wide - maybe ten foot each side of the road. Village used to sell the grass on the "long acres" for mowing. But now too full of crap thrown from cars. Mostly, the local farmers just flail them.

 

[rob1]

Know a chap whose grandfather started out by grazing a cow on the side of the lanes in Somerset, he sold the milk to passers by, he then expanded into two cows etc, he had several sons and made enough profit to buy ground for all of them in the end

 

[primmiemoo]

Our sheep used to keep a lot under control. Steady wandering of the flock to new grazing, allowing them to nibble as they wentwent. Breakers never strayed far. Always a variety of flowers and grasses.

 

[2wheels]

Yank farmers apparently take 'ditch hay' - I saw some verges big baled in Holland, not sure if for farm use though.

driving across canada we saw hay bales on the centre reservation of the trans canada highway. some of them looked a bit old.