I am very much hoping that if you are reading this notice you may already be familiar with the lovely Leap Valley and have noticed how well the volunteer group look after it.
Due to the demographic changing, due to an ageing group and relocation of an important member we are looking for new members to join our small work party.
We currently work on a Monday morning but this may need to change to weekends if this suits you better.
If you think you would be interested in finding out more please use the contacts page on the website.
The Friends of Leap Valley realised the need for another bench where the stone bridge crosses the stream. This is a good resting place between the other seats in the valley and also a lovely shaded spot under the tree canopy to relax and gaze at the stream and watch the passers by, just like this lovely lady did. We have to thank Downend Round Table for their grant to enable the purchase and installation of the bench. The grants are awarded using funds raised from the Bonfire and Fireworks event that the Round Table run in King George V Playing Fields in November. The community will now benefit from their generous donation.
On one of the rare dry days in the valley, the team took a third from many previously split clumps of snowdrops and planted them around the valley. They have performed particularly well in this wet weather we have been experiencing.
Today while the friends were out on their usual work morning, we received the most wonderful thank you for our efforts from the children and teachers of The Great Expectations Day Nursery. They not only gave us a beautiful hand crafted Christmas card with a box of biscuits for our breaktime but also sang us a carol. To see these young folk enjoying our valley every much as we do is always such a pleasure. Thank you all so very much. You lifted our hearts as high as the tallest trees.
Recently two young trees kindly donated to Leap Valley have been ripped out of the ground and discarded by vandals. One, a Larch tree was lying nearby and has been replanted, the other a lovely Oak tree cannot be found. Why on earth someone would find this activity fun we just don’t know and it is so disheartening when we strive so hard to enhance the habitat of the valley. If you are one of the frequent walkers of the valley and see any such damage please report such to the contact for the Friends Group on the Website.
On a walk around our beautiful valley on Friday it was so good to see all the Snowdrops beginning to show through the leaves and grass. A sure sign that Spring is here.
Our beautiful open space of Leap Valley has been a respite to many who are using it for daily exercise and soul lifting. In these frightening and frustrating times it does us good to get out and hear see and smell nature and know that normal spring events are still happening. There is so much bird song, enhanced by less noice pollution I think. Bluebells in the wooded areas are beautiful as are the Marsh Marigolds in the Wetland.
I have never seen or heard so many people in the valley and I am concerned that not everyone is staying within government guidelines of safe distancing. It has also been recommended by South Glos that dogs stay on leads at this time to prevent unintentional close contact with other valley users when they have to be retrieved. This is not being done by most of the dog walkers so perhaps take this on board if you can so that everyone may feel safe.
Our three volunteer hard working men who do such a good job of caring for our valley are unable by council requirement not to be holding work days during this crisis. Please everyone take care of this beautiful area of ours. Take home any litter, use the dog bins and please dont break the trees as has happened for no apparent reason.
We do so hope that this crisis is soon over and we can go about our lives more normally. Please keep safe everyone and do as we are required by the government and the council who have our best interests at heart..
If you have been up to the orchard you may have seen the new kissing gate where the stile was. The stile had rotted and was unsafe so the Friends removed it but it then became a concern that children or dogs could easily go out through the gate from the orchard to the road which does carry quite a lot of resident’s traffic plus some fast cars cutting through who shouldn’t be.
We reported this to South Glos. Council and we are very grateful that they have now installed a kissing gate. We hope this will make it easier than climbing over a stile and safer than an unprotected opening.
Angie has been working on a new map of the orchard. There are still 3 cider apple trees that we don’t know the names of but hope that the Bromley Heath Cider Collective might be able to help. All the trees have been relabelled as the copper labels were not successful.
The Friends of Leap Valley 
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