Today was gonna be the day when GoodGym returned to Southcot burial ground. You might call it an "Oasis" in the heart of Bath, full of bluebells and other wildflowers among the gravestones.

Our task was to remove the ivy from the wall and restore it to its "morning glory". The site is looked after by Bath Preservation Trust who were very clear about its dangers. Although the plant looks attractive, one website describes it as "one of the most pernicious, nasty and destructive of the invasive plants." Left unchecked, its rootlets burrow into masonry, weakening it and eventually causing it to collapse.

Gloved up and armed with loppers, we took on the green enemy, ripping it from the stone and throwing it to the rest of the team who wheeled it away to add to a growing pile. With the help of Colin from BPT we achieved quite a transformation - as you can see from the before and after photo.

"And all the roads that lead you there were winding..." Special mention should go to Liza and Jer for completing the group run to the mission.

"And by now, you should've somehow realised what you gotta do..." And a GoodGym welcome to Liza, Caroline and her dog Bosley for their first session. You've gotta "Roll with it!".

Apologies to Liam and Noel Gallagher for the dreadful puns!

Weed did it! GoodGym Bath takes on the graveyard shift

There are a number of hidden gems in Bath from Ralph Allen’s town house to Brown’s Folly mines but this was a new one for me. Jill from Bath Preservation Trust revealed a secret garden when she unlocked the wrought iron gate to Southcot Burial Ground. The Baptist cemetery dates back to 1810 and is usually only seen by the public once a year on heritage open days.

It has become badly overgrown so GoodGym have been called in to bring it under control. The team spent an enjoyable hour wrestling with brambles and playing tug o war with bindweed. The task tested our gardening gloves to the limits with the occasional yelp of pain when there was a particularly troublesome briar.

We had the advantage of numbers. Wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow was filled with the fruit of our labours while Jer just carried the cuttings himself, a green man piled high with coils of weeds. I wish I’d caught it on camera.

This space pays tribute to the lives of past Bathonians and there is still plenty more to do to tidy it up - but we certainly made an impression.

This evening Ellie, Helen and I were joined by task leader Jill at the Southcot Burial ground at the bottom of Lyncombe Hill. The cemetery is a lovely little hidden garden that opens up once a year for Heritage Open Day.

We were tasked with removing large areas of bindweed that had essentially taken over the entire floor of the burial ground, whilst bee-having and staying clear from the active bee hives at the bottom of the cemetery.

As you can see in the pictures we were successful in removing a large area of bindweed in such a short space of time, and it would be great to return soon to continue the job we started today!