Friends of Hell Wath

17/07/2026

16/07/2026

The eye to the long game makes its self very clear on Hell Wath.

1. Leaving the Ragwort to grow rather than be pulled has created a haven for butterflies, bees, hover flies and beetles. The Hell Watch grass is not used for feed so Ragwort has been now left for three years.

The thistles, Vulgers Bugloss and other indigenous flowers are rapidly increasing the butterflies seen in our summer weekly surveys.

2. Trees planted on a plain grassy bank by the playing fields is now a maturing hedgerow, also full of insects and birds. The grass looks parched however.

3. The Tawny Owl boxes put up two years ago have increased the numbers on Hell Wath, including this one spotted today.

15/07/2026

Thank you to 4th Ripon Cubs for a fantastic effort tonight. Balsam being well and truly bashed.

11/07/2026

Why not join these strange individuals in the undergrowth on Hell Wath.

Balsam Bashing

Therapeutic
No experience needed.
In the fresh Air.

9.30am every Wednesday and Saturday in July.
Meet at the Panthers clubhouse.

1 hour and then you are done.

Thank you as well to all those who are pulling up balsam as they walk around the site. Every plant pulled is up to 800 seeds that are stopped from spreading on Hell Wath.

Spots the individual piles (off the paths) left by these unknown volunteers.

05/07/2026

Being a FOHW volunteer does involve being willing to wait a long time for the results of the work.

This stunning show of Vipers Bugloss has taken three years in the making. In 2023 Army College volunteers cleared a series of double strips, turning over the top and seeding one strip each with a wildflower seed mix. This main stretch shows one of those strips now in full flower for the first time since then. We also seeded molehill and this is now showing as well.

The wildflower area protected with rabbit fencing has been instantly successful in one area and maintained this again this year. It would not have been possible without the scrub clearance previously. The other area has yet to give us so much back but we will persevere with it.

The last job, assembling our storage shed has been on the ‘to do’ list for two years but Carol, Kate, Carl and Tony have got this done and it will fill quickly. Thank you to the Panthers who let us have a bit of their storage area.

If you want to chip in with the ultimate long term job why not co e and Balsam Bash every Wednesday and Saturday in July. Meet at 9.30am at the Panthers clubhouse. It is a free therapy. If you need to let off steam take it out on the Balsam.

Finally there is a members meeting this Wednesday at 4.30pm, Panthers Clubhouse. If you are not a member but want to find out more they please feel free to come along, we don’t bite,

15/06/2026

The latest Management Plan for Hell Wath and is available on the website. This link will take you to it.

Hell Wath is an area of green space which forms a link between the historic city of Ripon and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal in North Yorkshire.