Yesterday, May 3rd 2014, after 5 years we opened Puzzle Wood. Many thanks to all who have supported over this time. I will put my opening day "speech" on the blog but first will put all the photos from the day.

More progress

Yesterday (Saturday) Shaun and the Community Payback Team completed the paths and they look great. They have barrowed another 16 tonnes which has provided a firm and hard wearing surface. 

In addition I cleared around 150 self set trees and used some of the stems to provide small sections of screening by basket weaving them through stakes.

Today (Sunday) John Highton and I cleared some of the tall hawthorn trees to the rear of the wood. The trees, which had grown to a considerable height, used to form the hedge but obviously has not been managed for 60/70 years. John used his chain saw to cut then down to a manageable height and then laid the remaining trunk. 

This has really opened the wood up and will provide daylight and allow the evening sun light to shine through the wood. I am going to fill in the gaps with some more hedging.

In the photograph above you can clearly see the paths in the distance meandering through the wood.

In the photograph below you can see the view across the fields. It  would be a great spot for another bench especially if it was situated looking north west rather than this westerly view. This would provide a full picture of Singletons parkland.

And finally to end todays post I took the opportunity to take a picture of a bunch of daffodils close to where John and I had been working. the daffodils are in full bloom and most of which have been donated by Jim Pawson and planted over the last 5 years.

Final steps

We are getting close to arranging an opening event for the wood and it is being planned for early May. In order to get ready we have started to apply the top surface to the paths. As the original foundation hardcore went down 2 years ago I had to clear leaves and twigs which had been rotting away in order to the top surface to be laid.

Singleton Dumbreck Trust kindly donated money for the top surface and i calculated that i would need 17 tonnes which was confirmed by a local builders merchants! This was delivered on Friday 28th March.

As you can see this provided an instant playground for a couple of local juveniles namely Millie and Tommy K. The Community Payback team volunteer their services and laid the 20 tonnes in around 5 hours helped by Tommy.

The surface was compacted down and provides a smooth path to also allow wheel chair access.
The only problem was that I had underestimated the amount of stone by about 12 tonnes!

Whilst the Payback team were laying the path I took the opportunity to clear many of the elderberry tress therefore allowing the young trees and woodland flowers to grow.

The next steps are to finish the top surface which the Community Payback Team are doing next week. Then we plan to sort the hedge at the rear of the wood and clear some of the undergrowth and finally paint the lych gate. As soon as we confirm the date of the opening it will be advertised in the Parish news letter and this blog.

Its a while since I have managed to update the blog but this doesn't mean to say that progress has not been made.

Firstly back in March I attended Singleton School to give a talk about wildlife and then went up to the wood with several pupils to install 10 new bird boxes. 4 of these boxes have been successful in attracting blue tits and this years first fledglings which is a really good result!

The trees which were planted by local Children as part of the Queens Diamond Jubilee and donated by The Woodland Trust are all doing great and growing well.

In addition Fylde Mayor Heather Speak generously donated a lovely beech tree also as part of the Diamond Jubilee. This has been complemented by the installation of a plaque in recognition of this event.

During her visit to the wood Heather also presented Tommy Kay (Jnr) a certificate as recognition for all his help on a weekly basis and shared passion for Puzzle Wood (although Tommy Kay Snr has also made valued contributions)!!

Cllr Maxine Chew has always been generous in donating various items during the restoration. Last week Maxine donated various woodland furniture including a wooden bench. This has been strategically placed at the end of the path looking across Singleton's Parkland. During the summer months and when the sun is setting it shines straight through the gap at the edge of the wood and onto the small area where I have secured the bench. It is almost like Thomas H Miller designed the wood with this in mind!

Up and coming jobs include treating the wooden lychgate and removal of young saplings. Following this one of the final tasks is to arrange a grand opening which is hugely anticipated by the residents of Singleton. So please watch this space!!!!

Queens Diamond Jubilee event 11.11.12

As Part of the Queens Diamond event today several families from Singleton and some who's children attend Singleton School gathered at the wood to plant 105 trees which were donated from the Woodland Trust following a successful grant application.

In addition several trees have been planted this weekend that were kindly donated by Maxine Chew on behalf of her Mother, Hannah Miller, to commemorate 25 years since Maxine's Father's death. The trees included rowan, holly and crab apple and so will provide lots of colour and fruit for the wildlife to feed on.

Also spring bulbs that have been donated by Jim Pawson have been planted around the wood so look forward to a great spring display. All these donations are greatly appreciated and will ensure that the wood is enjoyed by generations for the future.

Below follows pictures from today including all the children surrounding the oak tree which was part of the pack of 105 and had been seeded from one of the Royal households. Upon planting the tree we held 2 minutes silence at 11am to commemorate Remembrance Day.

It was a great morning and many thanks to those who gave up their Sunday morning.

 

Work on entrance

 Yesterday Jim Pawson and myself set about laying the entrance way flags. The flags were kindly donated by Maxine Chew. It really sets the lych gate off and provides a firm footing for visitors to the wood once it has opened to the public. Below shows several views of the lych gate following the work being completed and thanks go to Jim for donating his time to undertake this work. (It was the hardest he has worked since he retired from BNFL, Salwick!!)

I am now going to set about sourcing the material for the top layer of the paths. Various materials are being considered for this but obviously needs to be hard wearing but in keeping with the wood. Singleton Dumbreck Trust have generously donated £500 towards the materials for this work to be completed.

The completion of the work coincided with the end of a wedding ceremony who asked if they could take some pictures in the entrance. This was followed by a visit from Reverand Martin Keighley who gave his blessing by having a walk around the wood!

Spring is here!

The blue bells are spreading year on year and the ones which required transplanting (due to the location of paths) have also taken and in full bloom. For those of you who may have peered into the wood over the past week you will have noticed that there are 10 bright red tulips in full bloom. The bulbs must have been mixed in with a load of top soil which Steve Catterall donated from his garden in Kirkham. Also in the soil was some old bits of pottery which looks like Roman..........since Kirkham was a originally a Roman settlement then this would be no surprise! No Roman coins found as yet though! However what I have found is a 1900 silver sixpence which Mr T H Miller must have dropped on his way to church. The coin has a star shaped punch mark in it....?? any ideas.

Singleton Dumbreck Trust have donated some money so that the surface for the paths can be purchased and so I am currently sourcing material for this purpose.

John Highton has been working with some of the children from Singleton School on making some bird boxes for the wood. The Children will also be involved in siting the boxes (obviously not climbing the ladders though).

Singleton Parish Council have kindly agreed to purchase an information board for the entrance to the wood which is great. First thoughts are to include a brief history of the wood along with birdlife that can be observed.

In the next month or so the entrance will hopefully be finished off by laying some flags down. In addition the pond will be designed and hopefully started to be dug out. The soil can then be used to build up around the edges of the path.