ENHANCING ROUNDHAY PARK

One of the pleasure of being a Friend of Roundhay Park is working in it, making it an even more wonderful environment for ourselves and all the other visitors.

Instead of saying (or just thinking) "Why don't THEY clear this" or "Wouldn't it be nice if THEY made a . . ." we actually create new features or restore and improve exsiting ones.

Mostly we do this at monthly working parties. These are held on the second Saturday in every month.

We meet at 10 am (usually in the Mansion car park) and work for about three hours. We have a coffee break discuss the work and possible future projects. We provide tools and protective clothing and the weather is ALWAYS fine; it is a fact that, for many years, the great Park-Keeper in the sky has been exceedingly kind to us and has watered everywhere except where we are working!

Some of our members also meet every other Tuesday and weed and maintain the Friends' Garden - for details click HERE.

Below you will find a list of some of the things we have done and are planning. So why not come and join us? You will enjoy fresh air, some healthy (but not too strenuous) exercise, good companionship and a great sense of having made this wonderful Park an even more special place. Either just come along at 10am on a second Saturday or, for more details, contact me - jon@vogler.demon.co.uk or on Tel: 0113-2661885

PAST PROJECTS

THE RAVINE FOOTPATH

This is the footpath which descends, steeply, beside the beck below the Upper Lake waterfall, through woodland to emerge below the sham castle, near to the northern tip of Waterloo Lake. It is a secret, shady and magical place for a walk with the dog, a game of hide-and-seek or a lovers' tryst. Much of the path was laid out by the Nicholsons (who owned the parkland and lived in the Mansion) and where there are existing kerbs we try to preserve and repair them. We maintain the footpath itself, repair steps and remove fallen trees or branches, bridge over muddy patches and cut back obstructive brushwood and, especially, the invasive Himalayan Balsam.

The wood itself was planted by the Nicholsons as an arboretum (a collection of specimen trees) and includes giant redwoods and other exotic trees among its species. So that it will still be special when our grandchildren's children play there, we have tried to plant one or two exotic trees there every year - not always successfully because the tree cover is very dense, so there is little sunlight. We have been more successful planting ferns along the stream margins; they love the shade and moisture and the Ravine is now a fern-lover's paradise, although we have a constant struggle against briars and nettles and the ever spreading laurel and rhododendrons.

If you have never been down (or up) the path, try it now. The top can be found by descending the serpentine path from the southern tip of the Upper Lake and turning sharp right, just before the lower bridge below the waterfall.

If, instead, you cross the bridge and bear to your right, along the firm, wide path through rhododendrons, you will eventually reach the sham castle and pass through its gothic gateways. Beyond it you can rejoin one of the major woodland paths which (as the upper gorge path) heads towards the Ring Road. For many years there was no junction between these two paths but about five years ago we cleared around the castle and a thousand walkers feet (and paws) have kept it clear ever since. This is a good example how a dozen enthusiastic volunteers can make changes that enhance the subsequent enjoyment of thousands!

THE WATERFALL TERRACES

On either side of the Upper Lake waterfall, and beside the serpentine path that winds down to its base, we have cleared briars and nettles and planted - ferns and hostas, geraniums, primroses and wood anemonies, as well as small trees (to keep the laurels and rhododendrons in check) and gunnera, meadowsweet and yellow marsh marigold on the margins of the beck. We have even planted one or two trees - a conifer and a couple of rowan (mountain ash) on the rock terraces themselves and they seem to be thriving.

In 2004, after the Heritage Lottery Fund project, this area was bare and ugly, like a fringe of the Sahara Desert. Now it is green and lush and fertile. We want it to be so attractive it lures people beyond the lakesides and Park grassland, the road train and the tarmac paths and cricket area, and leads them to enjoy exploring the woods with their mysteries and secret places.

THE CASTLE MEADOW

Below the sham castle (another Nicholson feature) is a wide sloping meadow, sunny and open and a splendid spot for picnics or games. It is bordered on the east by woods and footpaths of the gorge and on the West by the woods of the Ravine.

However, in recent years this western border has been colonised by Himalayan Balsam, briars and nettles which slowly closed in and threatened to strangle the castle. As no handsome princes came to rescue the sleeping beauty within, we spent three working parties "balsam bashing"; if the pest is knocked down before it seeds, for two or three years in succession, it gives up.

We were handicapped by the regulations that prohibited the use of powered equipment but in 2009 the Park Management agreed to provide safety training in the use of strimmers and a power mower and eight of our members qualified. With these weapons on our side the "Battle of the Balsam" has become more even. The next stage is to remove the remaining fallen trees so as to create a neat and easy-to-maintain margin between woodland and meadow, so that picknickers can move easily between sun and shade.

We have found that the use of power tools is noisy and not conducive to conversation, so we tend to use these tools in special sessions, separate from the sociable monthly working parties.

THE GEOLOGY TRAIL

We worked with the Leeds Geological Society to create the Trail which covers the interesting and significant geological features around the Gorge. We gardened and cleaned up some of the rock faces and installed the marker stones which were carved by one of our members.

LITTER PICKING

There is always litter to be removed. Some of our members never walk their dogs or stroll in the Park without a bin-bag in their pockets. Instead of deploring the litter that others have left, they do better; they pick it up and, at the end of their walk, place it in a bin. Why not do the same, so that Roundhay Park becomes the cleanest park in the world?

From time to time we do collective litter picks - we even tackle those dreadful lake margins and we always try to keep the beck clear when we are working in the Ravine.

CREATING THE FRIENDS' GARDEN

A full description of three years' work creating the Friends' Garden can be found HERE.

In addition to the regular Tuesday maintenance sessions we sometimes repair paths, put in stakes or wires and do any heavier work that is required.

THE WILDLIFE MEADOW

Clearing brushwood and opening up paths is great for human park users but can be quite the wrong thing for its feathered, scaly and furry inhabitants. To compensate we try to create 'wildlife friendly' habitat as we work - piles of sticks or stones that will be colonised by insects on which birds will feed, etc.

An even more ambitious project is the wild-flower meadow which we are creating on the grassy slope that runs down from the Upper Lake towards the northern tip of Waterloo Lake. We have paid for a mechanical digger to invert the turf (we need infertile subsoil, not rich topsoil in which grass will flourish and strangle the wild flowers). Then the Park staff rotavated it to a loose tilth which we finally raked, removed the worst stones and sowed:

Musk mallow
Ox eye daisy
Field scabious
Ribwort plantain Kidney vetch
Yellow rattle
Lady's bedstraw
Wild carrot
Betony
Cowslip
Birdsfoot trefoil
Knapweed
Corncockle
Corn marigold
Cornflower
Corn poppy

We hope that the flowers will, in turn, attract butterflies and other interesting insects. The location has been chosen to be near the Upper Lake (where a project is underway to create habitat for cray-fish) and the (recently restored) circular shelter. There is a fine new education centre beside the Mansion and Visitor Services/Education staff plan to use these locations to show children the pleasures of wild-life fieldwork - pond dipping, insect netting, flower and tree recognition and the like. So this work complements that of our colleagues who maintain the Lester Library so that children (and adults - why not you?) can read about and identify the species they see outside. So much more real and exciting than slumping on the sofa, watching David Attenborough have all the fun!

BIRD FEEDERS

A future project will also complement this - to create bird-feeding stations (and possibly hides) in the woods that border Mansion Lane. This should enable children (and adults, of course) to enjoy bird-watching and, perhaps, learn how to attract birds in their own gardens. So, if you are a bird enthusiast, please contact jon@vogler.demon.co.uk and join the team who will get this started.

THE DOGS-MOUTH SPRING

We managed to restore the flow from the rocks and we hope soon to landscape the area around the Spring and plant suitable flowers - to complement those magical primroses that appear, long before they have any right to, at the end of winter.

THE KISS OF THE SUN FOR PARDON

Many people were fond of the familiar poem in the Canal Gardens. It rotted away but we are pleased to have replaced it, with a new oak plaque, with the same poem inscribed on it by one of our members.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The work described here has all been done by volunteers. Many people are not able to join our working parties, due to age, infirmity, business or whatever. However we would like to acknowledge the contribution they make through their subscriptions. The fact that we are well-equipped, have the right tools and safety gear and somewhere to store it, is due to those who subscribe (and those who collect the subs as well).

We also wish to acknowledge the help, encouragement and support we receive from the Park Management and from other officers of Parks and Countryside in Leeds. We now do many projects jointly with them and we value their experience and professionalism. We know that they too value our input; not only because it helps them to gain that coveted Green Flag award but because it enhances the Park and gives an opportunity to do things for which budget and staffing is not always available. We look forward to working together for many years to come.