| Meeting point: |
Wilmslow Parish Hall, Cliff Road, Wilmslow SK9 4AA (the
published coordinates) |
| Date: |
Saturday 7th May 2011 |
| Start time: |
2:00 pm |
| End time: |
4:00 pm |
Please post your 'Will attend' log with numbers of adults and
children so that I can keep tabs on how many cachers will be
coming along. I look forward to meeting you on the day. The Friends
will provide all necessary instruction and equipment to us on
arrival. (In case you're wondering, I'm not a member and have only
just discovered this group myself.) Just come along suitably
dressed for the weather and the job at hand. We can decide on the
day whether to mix in with everyone else or form our own specific
'hit squad'!
About the Carrs
The Carrs is a park in the heart of Wilmslow that follows the
course of the River Bollin through the town. It features beautiful
woodland and riverside walks, and has attractions including a
playground, skateboard and football park, tennis courts and of
course several geocaches (none of them published by me, yet...). As
a natural park in an urban setting it suffers from a constant
battle against litter, and more recently the Friends have also
started to fight back against the Himalayan balsam that is
spreading fast and choking out more native species.
The word 'Carrs' derives from the Norse 'Kjarr' meaning
'meadow recovered from bog' and so identifies not only the original
state of the land but also its subsequent use, as pasture land for
the villagers to graze their cattle. The park that we enjoy today
began to take shape in 1925 when Henry Boddington of Pownall Hall
donated the eponymous Playing Fields (a gift commemorated on the
stone archway in Chancel Lane). The 1935 purchase by former
Wilmslow Urban District Council of the remaining land up to
Twinnies Bridge brought the parkland to 50 acres and established
The Carrs as the town's playground.
For more details visit the Friends of the
Carrs website, which gives general information, news and
history, and a great photo gallery.
The images below are from this event:
Balsam bashing
Litter picking
Caption competition
Heading back for ice cream, after a job well done. (Apologies to
those missed off this photo. That includes me, of course.)