Work continued removing Himalayan Balsam throughout August, helped by the drought. This noticeably restricted the growth of any plants that didn’t actually have their roots in the brook, although at times it made it too hot to work.
Trumpington Farm Company and our contractors had mowed the meadow and some of the wood earlier in the year. This mowing has drastically reduced the number of plants but they continue to emerge from seed, so its important to keep checking and pulling them.
Mike focused on removing emerging plants from the meadow, helped because the mowing had made them much easier to spot.
The Meadow, late July 2026
In parallel with this, Tom, Anne, Michael and Mark focussed on removing plants upstream and downstream of the meadow, and alongside the meadow from a canoe. By 23 August, the whole of “our” stretch had been completed, extending from the footbridge upstream of the M11, downstream to Byron’s Pool, and half way along the leat to Grantchester Mill (where it’s blocked by a fallen tree)
Using a pruning saw from a canoe, upstream of M11
Removing several 100kg of balsam from the brook, downstream of the meadow.
Part way through clearing the Himalayan Balsam from the Leat to Grantchester Mill
Delicate handling needed, when plants are about to spit their seeds
Small heaps of pulled Himalayan Balsam stand out against the brown vegetation.
This map shows the approximate situation on 23 August, after the completing at least one clearance of the whole stretch….. This was a nice milestone, but there will undoubtedly be more plants emerging, especially as we’re now starting to get a bit more rain!
If you would like to help by spending a few hours pulling Himalayan Balsam in this beautiful spot this summer, do signup here, or email us on info@camvalleyforum.uk