 |
John
Riches our Village Correspondent writes weekly reports about the village for
the local media. We are pleased to place them on our web site in
order that those interested in Abthorpe can access the latest village
news from anywhere in the world.
This page will keep the latest 3 or 4 reports.
On the Archive page we will store past articles
and other pieces of
particular interest.
Also, our newsletters can be downloaded on the Newsletters
page.
|
5th May
THE
BLUEBELLS in Abthorpe’s Bucknells Wood are absolutely stunning this
year. Glade after glade in this Forestry Commission ancient woodland are
carpeted almost as far as the eye can see with the familiar much loved
vibrant blue flowers. In the warm sunshine the bluebells’ intense scent
heralds the arrival of summer. An anonymous cuckoo’s call completes this
wondrous attack on the senses. Visitors wishing to see this typical
English scene must hurry as within a week or so the bluebells will be past
their best. Now that the Forestry Commission has closed the visitors’
car park on the Silverstone village side of the wood, drivers must take
their chance of finding a parking space alongside the road if they wish to
explore Bucknells from that side. Far better, if they have a couple of
hours to spare, to experience the wood from the Abthorpe side. Park at the
pub or by the church and then walk up
Brackley Lane
until the houses give way to countryside. About 200 metres after
negotiating the second set of gates across this ancient unpaved byway,
veer left over the stile into Bucknell’s Wood where the bluebells’
magnificent show begins. Make sure you wear your wellies as many of the
paths are still muddy from the winter’s rain. But hurry as within a few
days this miraculous display by Mother Nature will be over for yet another
year.
23rd April
Ian Morgan, the Assistant Scout Leader at Greens
Norton is furious! He regularly takes his scouts to Bucknells Wood, a
large Forestry Commission site totally within Abthorpe Parish, for field
craft and adventure exercises. Ian has recently noticed a small A4 poster
affixed to the entrance to Bucknells Wood car park that states that with
effect from 1st May 2008 the car park will be closed due to a
short fall in funding.
The unpaved approach road and the car
park itself are in a poor state of repair with many pot holes. Ian states
that if someone puts up the money for a load of gravel, he feels sure that
he could get enough scouts together to repair it at minimal cost. Ian, who
is well known as a partner at Towcester’s Paynes Nursery, believes
that with our Government pushing for youngsters to have more exercise in
the fresh air, it seems ridiculous that another government department The
Forestry Commission is effectively preventing many people, including
youngsters, from visiting Bucknells Wood.
The Clerk to the Abthorpe Parish
Council has explained that although Bucknells Wood is totally within her
Parish, she has not received notification from the Forestry Commission
about the imminent closure of the road to the car park.
Bucknells Wood, the Forestry
Commission states on its web site, is a delightful ancient woodland with a
pleasant mix of semi-natural broadleaf woodland and conifer plantations.
The small car park, accessible from the Abthorpe to
Silverstone Road
, allows visitors to park safely away from through traffic. There are
delightful picnic and play areas close to the car park. The wood teems
with traditional woodland birds such as woodcock, turtle doves, barn and
tawny owls plus all three varieties of woodpeckers. It is home to both
muntjac and roe deer as well as snakes and slow worms. It is truly a
wonderful national asset and many people believe that for the Forestry
Commission to effectively prevent visitors enjoying Bucknells Wood is
outrageous. It is very well used by walkers and riders of both horses and
mountain bikes – many of whom arrive by road and use the car park.
Kevin Stannard the Commission’s
Forest Management Director for the Northamptonshire Area was not available
for comment.
22nd April
“Always plant your potatoes on Good
Friday,” was something my Grandfather told me when I was
very young. An undereducated farm worker all his life, he was nevertheless
highly intelligent and a fount of country wisdom. I’ve tried to follow
his instructions ever since. But this year as Easter Day was almost the
earliest it can be, Good Friday fell on 21st March – surely
too early to plant potatoes? If I had planted them then they would have
sprouted and would almost certainly have been nobbled by Jack Frost. So we
planted them a month later and are hoping for the best. Today, 22nd
April, we were busily erecting cane pyramids to support runner and
climbing French beans when the call of a cuckoo startled us. We couldn’t
see this harbinger of summer, but it must have been very close as its call
was loud and very clear in the warm sunshine. Although the RSPB states
that cuckoos arrive in this country as early as the end of March this was
the first we’d heard. This really is a wonderful time of the year in
Abthorpe with myriads of daffodils lingering in bloom and the golds and
yellows of celandines, cowslips and primulas acting like beacons in the
garden. This year the plum, cherry and pear blossom is spectacular and as
there are plenty of bumble bees around, a good crop of fruit seems likely.
The apple blossom is just beginning to burst and if there are no late
frosts we could be in for a bumper year. Isn’t it a lovely thought that
after six somewhat dreary winter months, we have the six summer months to
look forward to?