Somerford Keynes > Things to do

NEW! ThamesWey Canoe Club has moved from SCOEC to Waterland. They are seeking permission for a small building. You can learn to canoe on your doorstep. If you are looking for planning detail, Waterland is in Wiltshire.

Newt Watching? Following a claim of Great Crested Newts near Keynes Country Park, Would you recognise one if you saw it? Newts, ordinary, are probably in your pond if you have one, but newts, Great Crested, are much bigger and brighter. Oh, and they are protected, so don’t tread on them, or otherwise disturb, as you tramp across the field. Volunteers at Cokes Pit Several volunteers from the village helped the Rangers on Weds 14th March, when they cleared an island on Cokes Pit Nature Reserve to encourage nesting sites. An enormous bonfire was created and all the trees and scrub removed. Several of the more substantial trees were felled into the water with some bark remaining to provide suitable nesting sites for coots and grebes. Note for those who did not make it this time, Phillipa, the chief ranger, makes good muffins! Golf The Somerford Keynes Amicable Golf Society (SKAGS) was formed in the spring of 2011. Its purpose, initially, is to have 3 or 4 golf events through the year at a course fairly local to the village. Our first event was held at South Cerney Golf Club on 6^th June with 9 members taking part. The individual prize was won by our one lady member, Jo Cook, with 41 points and the runner-up with 40 points was Ron Munroe. The necessary Handicap adjustments will be made. Sadly no photographic record was taken of this historic event. A second event was held at South Cerney on 22 August. We now recognise that most golfers go on holiday in August and therefore we were restricted to a field of only four. Apparently it was a question of quality over quantity. The winner, with a very impressive total of 43 points, was Ron Munroe. Once again the necessary Handicap adjustment will be made. Equally sadly !! a photographic record was taken of this event. The more acceptable being included here. We held our third event for 2011 on Monday September 26^th, again at South Cerney Golf Club. We are not a democracy, but a dictatorship. Our President is Paul Cullen, poorly assisted by his Deputy, Pat Cook. Our contact details are President Cullen paulpjcullen@btinternet.com tel 869778 Deputy President pat.cook25@btinternet.com tel 861656

Birdwatching The area is famous for overwintering birds, due to the huge number of lakes. We direct you to the best reports, provided by keen watchers to the Cotswold Water Park Ranger staff. These list lake numbers where sitings have been made. The site has useful maps of lake numbers for you to decipher. It also confirms that my sighting of a red kite above my house is plausible, as one was reported over Cricklade on July 1st, heading west. Keep your waste food even more covered! The biodiversity staff at the CWPT are keen to know if any Kites seen are juvenile. Look to see if all flight feathers are undamaged, I am told. Reports to the birding blog above, not to us! Cokes Pit (above ) is usually good for a variety of birds, and has a hide. The top lake of Keynes Country Park is designated a quiet zone and used to have many birds. However the disturbance throughout last winter and continuing means there are only a few hardy ones left. Lower Mill Estate does not allow boating on Somerford Lake, the main lake overlooked by all those new holiday homes, in the winter, to minimise disturbance to birds, but winter numbers are lower than before the housing boom. A better winter lake is the one further towards Ashton along the Thames Path, Flagham Lake. A careful look around the Swillbrook Corridor will show a new roost for storks!!!! Watch out for Jeremy’s next publicity stunt. That is, after the Santa Chimney stunt! Walking in the Water Park Footpath diversion agreed The Water Park villages are currently engaged in a campaign to protect our access in particular to Keynes Country Park, which has been regularly walked since the Park was created in the late 1960s with public money. The park, or rather part of it, was sold to a private company who have put threatening signs on various paths. People from both Gloucestershire and Wiltshire have provided evidence to the Rights of Way officers of both councils of the longevity of walking these paths. Background information on our problems with the waterpark are given on www.cotswoldlakes.org.uk See the article “A walk in the Park” The main path to walk must be the Thames Path Many walkers pass through the village, stopping for refreshment at the Bakers Arms, on their way to London, even though the path proper passes a field away along the river bank. It is many years since the Parish last produced walking guides, when many of the old paths in the parish were realigned to the edges of fields. Most are clearly signed and numerous different circuits are possible. We do remind dog walkers that allowing their dogs to foul fields is unacceptable, as it is not just unpleasant for following walkers, but can spread disease to farm animals - most fields with public paths are grazed at some point in each year. The County Archaeology Section has produced a heritage walk around Somerford Keynes, which can be downloaded from the bottom of their page, which also has newsletters that may be of interest. The Cotswold Water Park Society publishes an a ccess map on its website for walking, biking and riding. Ashton Keynes Parish also has a booklet with a selection of walks some of which pass through here.