Much has been happening in 2022. This newsletter brings you up to date and gives advance notice of our programme of events later this year.
We have welcomed a new trustee, Jayne Lacny. She brings enthusiasm about the Lakes and experience in charity governance, fund-raising and involving people, including children, in environmental projects. This broadens our skills and brings our number up to ten, which we believe is about right.
New Trustee Jayne Lacny
We are also indebted to our lead volunteers, who have been behind much of the progress in recent months: Harvey Ball on website development, Tim Parker on website maintenance and database administration and Rachel Ruscombe-King on social media.
These have now been designed, fabricated and delivered...and they look very good. You will see them progressively erected on site over the next two to three months.
The Interpretation Boards include QR codes, linking to additional information on the RLT website. And we will also be launching a leaflet version, including a handy map to help you orientate.
Watch out for the 'RLT' discs on the signs, as on this Way Marker.
This new permissive path runs all the way from Lower Radley via the 'sounding bridge' under the rail main line to the heart of the Lakes area. No roads and no lorries. There is more about the route at http://radleylakestrust.org/news/sounding-bridge-path.
We are very grateful to the two landowners, Mrs J McDougall and H.Tuckwells Ltd, for agreeing this important new path.
The route is attractive and varied.The signage has now been erected, including two of our smaller interpretation boards. The vegetation has been cut back by Ramblers volunteers. It is reasonably dry underfoot.
Give it a try but respect what is said about litter and keeping dogs on leads
Fingerpost by the Sounding Bridge
Pathside view of wetland on Thrupp Green
The car and bike parking area by Thrupp Lake is planned to be open in May. The leylandii have been cut down in preparation and the groundwork should follow later in the Spring. Finally a new native hedgerow and trees will be planted by volunteers in the autumn.
Alongside will be one of the two Radley Lakes 'hubs'. It will include one of our large interpretation boards, describing the Lakes area as a whole, and somewhere attractive to sit and enjoy the surroundings.
There will be a similar hub on a similar timescale, on Barton Fields at the Abingdon end of the Lakes. Alongside will be a much improved all-weather path providing a mud-free link between the Sustrans cycletrack and the Thames path.
We are working closely on this with the Vale of White Horse District Council (who own the land), Abingdon Naturalists (who manage it) and the Thames Trail team (whose volunteers have already erected signage for the link path).
The existing path with mud, even in a dry winter
We have upgraded the RLT website with some chunky new material about four aspects of the Lakes:
There are some great pictures as well as informative text.
Meadow Brown Butterfly, photo by Steve Stephens
The website now also keeps you more up to date with news and events. We plan to develop this further linking with our Twitter, Instagram and (about to be opened) Facebook accounts.
We are planning to host some great events in 2022, in some cases collaborating with other groups. Some of this is provisional, but we will keep you informed.
While some of our events will be open to all, some will be just for Friends of the Trust. Being a Friend is anyway the best way of ensuring you are kept in touch with all that is going on. If you have not already done so, it is very simple to join and there is nothing to pay. Just use this form.
Contact details
Richard Dudding
Secretary, The Radley Lakes Trust
Mailing and email addresses are given below