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At
a lakeside ceremony today, the circular walk around
Thrupp and Bullfield Lakes, was officially opened by
Graham Scholey, chairman of the Earth Trust, Jim Haggan,
Manager of Didcot 'A' Power Station and Archie Eyres
a pupil of Radley Primary School, who cut the ribbon.
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| As part of improving public
accessibility to the area around Thrupp Lake, the Earth
Trust, who manage the site on behalf of RWE npower, for
the benefit of the community, has made a walkway completely
encircling both Thrupp and Bullfield Lakes. The 1.6km
walk includes a permissive path across the area west of
Bullfield Lake, consented by the landowner, Mr John Curtis,
without which complete encirclement of both lakes would
not have been possible. Clearance of the site and construction
of the path has involved hundreds of man-hours of work,
much of it carried out by volunteers from the local community.
The cost of the boardwalk, bird hide and signage was split
between RWE npower and South
Oxfordshire LEADER, and the boardwalk also had a contribution
from COMMA[pdf]
funded by the DEFRA aggregates levy. Along the route of
the new path, visitors will encounter a unique
lily shelter, a boardwalk across one corner of the
lake and a bird-hide
with a 'green' roof as well as astounding views across
this beautiful lake, now a haven for many species of wildlife. |
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| Today these facilities and
the walk were officially opened to the public at a ceremony
attended by representatives from local councils, RWE npower,
LEADER, and the Earth Trust, a contingent of children
from Radley Primary School, and invited members of the
public including many who were involved in the 2005-8
campaign that saved the lake from destruction. |
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The
weather forecast for the day was certainly not promising.
The weather began dry but rain soon began to fall, becoming
steady just as the main ceremony proceeded. However
it seemed to go unnoticed as speeches about the value
and importance of the site, and its past and future,
were made and applauded, and as the ribbon was duly
cut, in several snips, by Radley School pupil Archie
Eyres. The children then played wildlife croquet, in
the rain, and (hopefully) enjoyed the setting for a
short while before returning to the school.
Meanwhile,
the rain fizzled out and remarkably held off until after
the day's events had concluded. Guests were able to
enjoy a guided walk around the lakes in the dry. Notable
encounters included several
bee orchids in bloom and a lime
hawkmoth resting on a twig just above the water
at the corner of the lake. |
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| The following is a photographic
record of the day's events. |
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Guests
gathering for the event, while tea is brewed on a wood
burning stove (hence the smoke). |
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Graham Scholey, Chairman
of the Earth Trust (Left) with Archie Eyres and Jim
Haggan (Right) conduct the official opening of the lakes
walk. |
Archie Eyres cuts the
ribbon. |
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Above:
Inspecting the new display board - as rain descends, |
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while other
guests, seemingly heedless of the rain, chat among themselves. |
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Above:
Chaotic croquet being played, in the rain, by pupils
of Radley Primary School. |
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Above and
below: Wildlife croquet it may surely be: croquet never
got wilder than this! |
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Above and
below: The rain stops and everyone is able
to enjoy
the refreshments provided in the dry.
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Above:
Frog's eye view of the wildlife croquet 'hoops'. This
game was the popular choice of pupils (and teachers)
of Radley Primary School Thames class and is playable
by all ages. The wooden hoops are attractively adorned
with illustrations of some of the wildlife found at
the lake, and some of them have ingenious flaps and
doors to add interesting twists to the game. |
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Walkers
crossing the boardwalk at the NW corner of Thrupp Lake, |
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... and
eventually returning along the byway south of the Bullfield. |
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Related
Links
Thrupp
Lake events
Memories
of Radley Wetland Centre activities and events in 2011
(See
Memories
page for earlier events)
Radley
Lakes wildlife agreement signed
Northmoor
Trust appointed to manage Thrupp Lake
Earth
Trust
Friends
of Radley Lakes
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