News and Events
Work in the Park last Winter
Lockdown might have prevented the Friends from doing much in the park, but the Garden's Team have been busy.
Before Christmas they cleared away the fallen tree by the pond. Since Christmas they have trimmed back a lot of shrubs (mainly Privet), put a floating duck house on the pond and taken down the sycamore that was beginning to damage the bank to the pond.
Individually on our permitted walks and between lockdowns we have done some litter picking, cleared the grotto with out new patent grotto cleaning tool and filled the hedgehog cages with leaves.
Spring and Summer
As lockdown eased we were able to meet again for our regular work sessions. We have continued to look after the beds we cleared last year and have also taken on the long border above the pond and the small rockery near the urn bed.
We have also had a visit from the 16 brownies who litter picked and put in some wild flower plugs, both activities counting towards their badge work.
The grotto has been repaired and the lily pond cleaned out. This revealed a leak in the mill pond dam which has been repaired. The overflowing manhole cover below the bridge has also been sorted. Finally the stream has been diverted so that part of it now flows into the pond which means the waterfall is again in full flow.
Rotary Club Charity Event - August 14th
Along with many other local charities we attended a charity fair on Westborough from 10am until 3.30pm.We had a stall selling jigsaws, books and plants as well as providing information and fliers for prospective members. The jigsaws sold particularly well and at the end of the day we had made £110 towards funds, enough to buy bulbs for planting in the Autumn.
AGM
Wednesday November 3rd
Woodend
This went very well. 26 people attended and the business part of the meeting was over fairly quickly. After a cup of tea and chat the secretary gave a talk entitled
Following in Anne Bronte’s Footsteps;
A Walk in the Park in 1840.
This was well received by those present and gave a fascinating insight into what the valley was like in 1840.
Armed Forces Day 2022
It was armed Forces Day last weekend (June 25th) and the Friends set up a stall near the Vernon Road roundabout to try and get a few more people involved in the group. We also encouraged local people to fill in a short questionnaire about how they use the park and how they would like to see it developed.
Brownies Litter Pick and Bulb Planting
In early October, Saint Mark's Brownies collected litter and planted bulbs in the shade border. It was dark by the time we got to putting in bulbs and had to do it by torchlight. It was quite exciting.
Consultation Weekend - October 8th and 9th
This went pretty well although we had hoped for a few more people visiting the event. However, those that did come were very supportive of the work we do, and enjoyed the displays and the refreshments.
We made a number of useful contacts including Crescent Arts, The Old Parcels Office, and Councillor Richard Maw.
We’ve had a good number of questionnaires completed and the comments are broadly as you would expect.
Most of the people who responded use the Gardens to walk their dog or to get to town, a few visit the park to feed the ducks or admire the flowers.
The most popular improvements visitors would like to see in the park include better maintained paths with improved disabled access; more seating; lighting alongside some of the paths; repairs to the walls; cleaning out the pond; increasing the number of litter bins; adding information boards and using the park for events.The suggestion I particularly liked was closing Valley Road to traffic in the region of the park. I can’t see it happening, but we can always dream.
AGM - November 1st
Twenty eight people attended the AGM early in November. This was an excellent turn out. The business part of the meeting was dealt with quickly and efficiently by Felicity, tea and coffee were then served and the talk that followed - Forgotten History of the Gardens, was well received.
