Recently Friends’ volunteers decided to deal with the topmost branches of a large tree that had fallen over the River Chor near to the wildflower meadow.
The result of two hours work was several neatly stacked log piles and a much improved appearance to this part of the Park. The piles may be left to become homes for small wildlife or assembled, akin to a layered hedge, and form a barrier to discourage access to the river.
In the last few days the Park has had a covering of snow. Visit the Gallery for more winter scene pictures.
Once again, The Astley Village Inn played hosts for our annual post-festive season meal. Around 20 Friends’ members enjoyed a nice meal and a good chat…
Season’s Greetings to all our Members and website viewers. Here’s wishing you all the very best for Christmas and the New Year 2024.
There are hazards in Great Wood for those who stray away from the main paths. There are areas of boggy ground and steep slopes where people can get into difficulties. A temporary, unsightly solution is to use taped cordons. A longer term more appropriate measure is to construct barriers made of natural materials.
Using branches from a recently fallen tree and other timber lengths collected from the nearby woodland, a barrier has recently been constructed by Friends’ volunteers using a method similar to hedge laying.
Chorley’s MP Lindsay Hoyle and Borough Mayor Tommy Gray have formally marked the installation of the six Ramblers’ benches in Great Wood of Astley Park. Funded by the Terry Lewis Legacy in memory of this former Rambler and marking 50 years of the Chorley group, these locally made green oak benches were placed in position by Chorley Council staff a few months ago in liaison with the Friends of Astley Park.
What gold is in Astley Park at the end of the Rainbow? Well at this time of year there is gold appearing all over the Park. Here is a clue to what’s behind it all…
For more images of the Park in autumn take a look at the Gallery
Litter picking in the Park recently focused on cleaning debris from the River Chor and although many stretches were surprisingly clear of discarded items Friends volunteers did unearth two shopping trolleys! One is pictured below. See also our ‘Riverfly’ article explaining how we intend to sample the quality of the river water environment. That initial training session revealed the river in quite good condition, but we need to be vigilant to spot any pollution incidents.
The first training session for Friends’ volunteers to learn how to sample ‘riverfly’ invertebrates has recently taken place. It is a way of gauging how healthy the River Chor through the Park is. The greater the variety and number of a specified range of invertebrates the better the quality of the water environment. It is part of a wider initiative called ‘Turning the Tide’ aimed at improving the River Douglas, its tributaries and the water they discharge into the sea. Many thanks go to Sam Phillips and Sara Clowes from Groundwork who did the training. After further tutoring and assessment early next year the Friends hope to do regular river sampling and submit the results for a catchment wide database. For more information click here https://forthriverstrust.org/lessons/who-is-riverfly/
When we are busy working in the Park, we often get questions from people passing by interested in what we are doing. Whilst we are always happy to pause and explain, we now have a convenient card to hand out. This directs people to our website information and how they can join us if they wish. Stocks of the card are being issued to our members so that opportunities to spread the word about the Friends are not missed. The image below shows both sides of the card.
Friends of Astley Park 