Some minor stuff to report 1. Joshua, who runs the mink eradication project for the Waterlife Recovery Trust, which we're helping on, has told me there have been numerous sightings of mink across the county in recent weeks. He's concerned about an uptick in the population
In researching Lodge Park, with a bit of detective work, I came across a document that has never been publicly encountered before – it’s part of the Conservation Management Plan for Lodge park, written over 10 years ago. It's hosted on a webpage by the Cotswold National Landscape.
Third in a series. In the last two pieces on Sherborne's historic economics I argued that Sherborne's landscape has always been chosen but driven by the economy of the estate. Winchcombe Abbey built a working valley of mills, leats and washing pools, handsome because it worked.
Second in a series. My recent piece on Sherborne's economic transformation after the dissolution of the monasteries drew quite a number of cogent responses. Thank you. It also left a question hanging, and it has nagged at me since. Economics tells us who owned the land. It does
This image is interesting. I don't have the full facts or pretend that I do. The object on the trailer sits abandoned in Sherborne on National Trust property. I suspect it was used in the 1970s or 1980s. The object, a strange amphibious machine, is fitted with twin
This may bore a small proportion of the Sherborne Brook Support Group, but I imagine it is of some interest to most of you. I think it is important I keep you up to date. I apologise if you are overwhelmed by emails from me. Many of you have expressed
Subscribers to these emails may recall that three months ago, through our membership of the Windrush Catchment Partnership, I attempted to engage with Thames Water after monitoring the sewage outflows from the Bourton in the Water Sewage Treatment Works. You'll recall that the sewage from Sherborne is pumped
A few weeks ago, I wrote about paddling in my canoe with George, who was taking film along the Sherborne Brook. If you recall, I got a bit carried away with my own thoughts as George was filming. Anyway. George has put together the following video using what he filmed
This is a follow-up to my last post where I raised some questions about a county council strategy that seemed to include the possibility of a wildlife bridge over the A40 at Sherborne. I engaged with the Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership, who have a coordinating role in this. Although
I have picked up in my research some county level strategy development that might, possibly, include some significant and expensive engineering on the A40 here in Sherborne to create a "wildlife bridge". What is a Local Nature Recovery Strategy? First, some context. A Local Nature Recovery Strategy is
I spent some time today talking to a gentleman called Vaughan Taylor. Vaughan was brought up in Sherborne. The Taylor family go back several generations, and indeed his ancestor was the Sherborne turbine electrician who ran the turbine house down by the lower weir. His parents ran the village shop
Our favourite Sherborne musician, Richard Boothby, is giving a concert in Windrush next weekend. Highly recommended!