A walk around the meadows is always a great pleasure and a favourite time of day to take a stroll is in the early evening when the working day is over. A favourite spot at the moment is the stretch of land where Sir Ray Tindle once had his caravan and which is now covered in a mass of wild flowers – poppy, thistle and oxeye daisy – simply stunning and worthy of closer inspection.
Image courtesy of Jonathan Durham ARPS
image courtesy of Jeremy Pilgrim
In and around the perimeter of the meadows are the whites of the dropworts and parsley whilst from the trees the vanilla shades of the elderflower are in evidence as it fades from its former brilliance.
The dogwood rose is also in full bloom, it’s carnival pinks greeting you from the sides of the paths (in particular along the path that leads to Crosby Gate) and all around are the grasses in all shade of greens and laden with seed. Underfoot can be seen a great number of juvenile grasshoppers whilst the skies are getting busier with the arrival of the swallows – summer is upon us! The serenity and beauty of the meadows is captivating and a wonderful tonic to remind us all of the reason why nature is so good for nurturing and replenishing our souls, especially when times are tough.
The meadows are being enjoyed by many more people than usual and the additional footfall during the recent heatwave has been very evident as people have soaked up the sun. The good news is that this has resulted in the Trust having a sizeable upturn in our membership which bodes well for the future. However, some members have contacted us via info@bishopsmeadowtrust.com telling us of their concerns over use of the meadows by large groups of youths, horse riders and motorbikes. Those of you who walk the meadows regularly will see that we have erected yellow signs adjacent to the most popular area of the riverbank. These reflect conversations that we have had with the groups of young people who have been congregating to swim in the recent hot weather. If they do not comply with our requests and are not respectful towards our neighbours, then they understand that we will deny access to the river at that point by erecting fencing on our side opposite the Mill cottages. We are encouraging dogs and families to continue to use the river, but access it just below the weir, in order to give our neighbours privacy and more importantly leave the wildlife in the deeper pools above the weir, in peace.
Many will remember that back at the start of April the Trust planted over 7,500 wildflower plugs in eight areas around the meadow. (Read HERE for more detail) The results have been mixed, but I can report that where they have survived the attention of the crows and the parching from the sun they are doing quite well. This is especially the case in the first area by the notice board in manor field but other sections could bear similar results. Most of the sections were given a high cut today and we were surprised at how many had survived and might well go on to succeed.
We have also been busy in promoting the meadows and are currently in the last stages of setting up a nature trail which can be enjoyed by all, especially children. This is being done after consultation with St. Andrews Infants and Potters Gate Primary School and with the help of our partners at www.space2grow.space who have organised it. We hope to have the details posted on the website and our noticeboards shortly.