Road Works in London Road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have been caught up in the long delays in London Road, just at the junction with Vale Road, you will want to know what is going on.  Kent Highways are making improvements to enable pedestrians coming down the path from the Common to cross the road more safely.  This involves moving the end of the path slightly and scraping off some of the bank to give a clearer view of the oncoming traffic.  They are also installing a refuge in the centre of the road, so things will get worse for drivers before they get better.  These works are annoying, but will improve safety for pedestrians enormously.

 

 

New nets at the Cricket Pavilion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new (very large!) practice nets looking resplendant at Linden Park Cricket Club.

 

 

Happy Valley

 

A large area of scrub at the end of Happy Valley (furthest from the Beacon) has been cleared over the winter, which has opened up the area and  the views.  When it starts to green up in the spring it will be a major improvement to the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clearance at Mt Edgcumbe rocks

 

As Steve has mentioned in his blog, a good deal of clearance work is going on at the moment, some of it at Mt Edgcumbe rocks.  This is how it looked before work started: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heavy Snow December 2009

 

We all woke up on 18 December to find Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons showing a seasonal face after heavy snow overnight.  The pictures below give you the flavour, and there are more pictures to be found in the gallery and Wardens Blog.  We are grateful to Christopher Cassidy for allowing us to use his photographs, as most of the pictures of Tunbridge Wells Common in the snow on this website were taken by him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress at Bishops Down Road

 

As you will have read in the Warden's blog, work has started on filling in the end of Bishops Down Road and returning it to Common.  The photographs show the work so far

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scraping earth from the newly cleared area near London Road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The earth is moved by dumper truck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The filling in begins

 

Rare glow worm on Rusthall Common

 

Ian Beavis, from Tunbridge Wells Museum, has discovered a rare example of a lesser glow worm living on Rusthall Common.  The discovery is of considerable significance, as you will see from the article below, which appeared in the last edition of Local (the free magazine from the Borough Council).

 

Rare glow worm found on Rusthall Common

One of Britain’s rarest and most elusive creatures has recently been found living on Rusthall Common. It appeared during a walk led by Ian Beavis from Tunbridge Wells Museum for members of the Kent Field Club, the county’s natural history society. One of the participants spotted a strange insect wandering across a footpath, which Ian recognised as being a male of the lesser glow worm.

The lesser glow worm was first discovered at Lewes in 1868, and since then has been seen on only a few occasions, mostly in East Sussex but also in Surrey and Hampshire. The find at Rusthall is the first record from Kent, and nationally only the third since 1961. With their sandy heathland habitats, Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons are home to many other special plants and animals.

Britain has only two species of glow worm, one of which is fairly widespread, although not so often seen nowadays in a world of artificial light. Common glow worms have been known from Rusthall Common and other sites around Tunbridge Wells for many years. As its name suggests, the lesser glow worm is smaller than its relative, but both share the amazing ability to generate light without surplus heat, a feat which human technology has only recently been able to match. The lesser glow worms shines less brightly than the larger species, showing two tiny greenish white tail lights at the end of its body.

Glow worms are in fact a type of beetle, but the wingless females are hard to recognise as part of that group of insects. Male common glow worms are much more like regular beetles, but they are less often seen. They fly at night, searching for the female’s light. The male lesser glow worm, on the other hand, has very short wings, incapable of flight, and so is closer in appearance to the female. It follows the female’s scent and is active by day, showing up when it crosses bare surfaces like the sandy footpaths on Rusthall Common.

Glow worms are in fact a type of beetle, but the wingless females are hard to recognise as part of that group of insects. Male common glow worms are much more like regular beetles, but they are less often seen. They fly at night, searching for the female’s light. The male lesser glow worm, on the other hand, has very short wings, incapable of flight, and so is closer in appearance to the female. It follows the female’s scent and is active by day, showing up when it crosses bare surfaces like the sandy footpaths on Rusthall Common.

 

 

 

Path at Happy Valley

The Warden's Update recently mentioned that the final section of path at Happy Valley has just been finished, and it is now possible to walk from St Paul's Church to the rocks without having to pick your way through muddy puddles.  These are three sections of the path - the start, at the church, the middle section, that has been there longest, and the final section at the rocks: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do take a walk up there and see for yourself.     Take a look, too, at the Gallery where there are   some new pictures of the rocks at Happy Valley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kwik Cricket

 

A fine sight on a lovely spring day - Kwik Cricket being played on the Higher Cricket Pitch with the Wellington Rocks as a backdrop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Where You Live - Walk on Tunbridge Wells Common

April 8

 

Steve Budden will lead a walk on Tunbridge Wells Common as part of the Love Where You Live Week.  Meet at 12.30 on April 8 at the Millennium Clock in Fiveways.  The walk should take about an hour.

 

Interestingly, this date is also the 100th anniversary of the town being granted the Royal prefix.

 

The walk has been organised by Nick Atkins, the Healthy Lifestyle Coordinator for Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, who leads health walks five days a week.  One of these weekly walks take place on the Common, and is free and open to anyone.  Meet at No 1 Community Centre on Showfields Road at 10.00a.m.  The walk is approximately 1.6 miles and should take about an hour.  Further details can be obtained by following this link:    www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/healthwalks  Alternatively, please contact Nick on 01892 554411 or email to nick.atkins@tunbridgewells.gov.uk for futher details.

New Paths at Brighton Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two paths have recently been opened up and widened to link the back of Brighton Lake with the terrace walk (see Warden's blog  30 Jan and 6 Feb).  One is an improvement to the old path, but the other is new and slightly to the side of the old one to produce better drainage.  The steps shown above are at the top of the right hand path as you look from the lake.

 

 

Igloo

 

This appeared on the Common in last week's snow.  More fun that the average snowman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snow - 2 February 2009

 

Another view of Mount Edgcumbe Road with the new avenue of cherry trees looking very different from the last posting in December:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find more photographs of the snow in the Gallery, and, for some stunning pictures of the Commons in the snow, look at http://anke.blogs.com/

 

Sweeps Cave

 

Another stunning project has been finished recently, funded by the Freehold Tenants.  The clearance of the area around Sweeps Cave and the installation of the new steps has opened up the area, and made a huge difference to the views.  It was completed before the end of December, but the Christmas break meant that the photographs did not appear on the Wardens Blog.  The following shots were taken by Chris Cassidy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How did it get there? Part 2 January 2009

 

This poor truck driver, misdirected up Castle Road, had no chance getting round the corner.

 

Eventually he was led out by the police who took him the wrong way up the one way street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Cherry Tree Avenue

 

Last Wednesday the last cherry tree was planted in Mount Edgcumbe Road by the mayor (you can see a photograph of the ceremony in Warden's blog 19.12.08).  You can see the curve of the road, and t the way this is followed by the trees, in the picture below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trees should flower next spring, but it will take four or five years before we will see the magnificent displays these trees give.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tree Planting in Mount Edgcumbe Road

 

The mayor is coming to Donkey Drive (as Mt Edgcumbe Road has been known for generations) on Wednesday 17 December 2008 at 12.30 to plant the final cherry tree in the splendid new avenue that has been funded by the Freehold Tenants.  Those of you who read the Warden's blog will be aware that the old, decaying trees have been removed recently and the stumps ground out.  Most of the trees had been standing since the coronation of George V1 in 1937, but a few of them were planted by the then owner of the Mt Edgcumbe in memory of the girls who were tragically murdered in 1987, Caroline Pierce, who worked there, and Wendy Knell.  As the mayor plants the tree, we will be remembering the two girls. 

 

 

New Photographs

 

Better late than never, we have finally added some pictures to the Photo Gallery of the lovely autumn colours on the Commons.  Do take a look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further damage at Bat Cave

 

Yet again, vandals have tried to break open the bat cave, and we are wondering if they think it could be the entrance to the old tunnels under the Commons.  Every young person in Tunbridge Wells has heard many (mostly mythical) tales about these caves and thinks, quite wrongly, that there is something interesting or mysterious down there. 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet again the wall has been repaired, but if anyone can think of a way to deter the vandals, please do let us know.

 

Path at Brighton Lake

 

Click on this link to see photographs of the newly restored path at Brighton Lake.

 

Bank clearance between Mt Ephraim and London Road

 

Click on this link for an article that appeared in the Kent and Sussex Courier this week. 

 

And click here for our own before and after pictures.

 

 

How did it get there? 12 June 2008

 

On Thursday evening a coach travelling down Church Road from Mount Ephraim managed to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mount the kerb and then drive up the steep bank before coming to rest at an alarming angle just before the London Road junction (doing a fair bit of damage to the Common in the process).  Luckily it managed to stay upright, although extracting it without toppling it was a job for the experts.

 

Latest work at Brighton Lake

Work has now started on the path, and you can see pictures of the work in progress on the Path at Brighton Lake page.

 

 

Cricket Pavilion finished - April 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clearances on Commons - Winter 2007/8

 

The Conservators carry out clearance on the Commons for a number of reasons.  This winter quite a lot of clearance has taken place along the A264 to remove dangerous trees and create some graded woodland edges to encourage wildlife.

 

There have also been some extensive clearances around Wellington Rocks in an effort to make them less attractive to vandals (fewer places to lurk in the evenings).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exciting New Projects for 2008

 

The Freehold Tenants have offered to pay for four different projects to be carried out of Tunbridge Wells Common this year:

Cherry Tree Avenue
Local people will be aware of the avenue of cherry trees in Mount Edgcumbe Road (also known as Donkey Drive or Donkey Walk). Sadly most of these trees are nearing the end of their lives, but t he Freehold Tenants have offered to pay for the removal of the old trees and their replacement with 40 new ones. They will be reasonably large, so should not take too long to establish themselves. They will be planted this autumn.

Bank between St Helena and Gibraltar Cottages
If you look at the bank now all you will see is scrub and bramble, but underneath this, as old postcards show, are some interesting rock outcrops. It is not known how deeply these rocks are now buried, but the Freehold Tenants are going to fund the removal of the scrub and some excavation work to discover whether it is feasible to clear the rocks again.

Brighton Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Postcard which appears to be postmarked 1906

 

The Friends of Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons have done a great deal of work at Brighton Lake recently to clear back the edges, and are hoping to fund some dredging and weed clearance this year. As they have cleared the path, it has become apparent that there is very little left of the hard surface, and the Freehold Tenants have offered to restore this path with crushed stone over a geotextile membrane.

Scan Minute Books
The Conservators have the original minutes of every meeting held since they were established in 1890. the first minute book, starting on 24 October 1890, is hand written. In 1921 the minutes were printed and in later years typed, but the original minutes are the only record we have. In order to ensure that these valuable documents are not lost to future generations, and to enable us to make them available for research on this website, the Freehold Tenants are to have all the minutes scanned.



Commons in iLocal Magazine - March 2008


Look out for an article about the Commons in the next issue of iLocal, the magazine produced by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and dropped through your letterbox four times a year. The issue should be coming out in the first week of March, and will feature this picture, or one like it, of Steve Budden with Jade on Wellington Rocks recently.



Pond Clearance
The regular clear out of the ponds has begun with Bracken Cottage Pond. This is how it looked before work started........




....and this is the men clearing it out.....




....and this is how it looks now.



It looks a little muddy at the moment, but this will clear.


Work Parties for this Winter - 6 October 2007

These are some of the volunteers who came to help on 6 October. They worked on the cleared area near the new bat refuge (it was they that cleared it last winter) and below you can see them clearing around the refuge itself.



The dates for the rest of the winter's work parties, organised by the Friends of the Commons (see item at the bottom of this page) are as follows:

5 January
2 February
1 March

They all start at 10.00 a.m. and you should meet in the Fir Tree Road car park. The work will only be light so it will be suitable, whatever your abilities.
Tools will be provided.

If you care about the way the Commons look, please come along and help. You do not need to be a member of the Friends of the Commons, as everyone is very welcome.



Litter Pickers - Sept 2007
This is Gemma who is our new litter picker, sharing the job with her father, John, and their two dogs.

They are permanent, so we are all looking forward to seeing a big improvement in the litter situation on the Commons.

They have only just started though (Sept 3 2007), so they will need a few weeks to learn the ropes.














The Ragwort Story - July 2007
It is that time of year again when we start to recieve calls asking why we are not clearing the Ragwort from the Common, so I thought an explanation of the situation might be useful.



Ragwort is a native species and has been around for many centuries. Like a number of plants, it is poisonous to grazing animals. Because of this, grazing animals very sensibly do not eat it. If they did, they would presumbably have been extinct long ago! The problem comes when the Ragwort is cut and included in fodder or winter food.

In recent years there has been an increase in Ragwort because of the amount of land that has been put into Set-Aside and has not been managed. It is for this reason that there has been a policy of removing Ragwort from farmland and roadside verges in recent years. The press have latched onto this and have published many over the top articles with headlines such as "Peril of the Yellow Killer" but as usual they are only reporting half the story.

Whilst Ragwort is a problem on grazing land, it is a very useful plant for much of our wildlife. It provides a huge nectar source for many insects. Stop and look at a Ragwort plant in full bloom and it is likely to be covered in butterflies, hover flies and bees. It may also have a number of caterpillars on it which will belong to the beautiful, day flying Cinnabar Moth, for which Ragwort is the principal food plant. It is for this reason that DEFRA only ask for clearance of Ragwort from grazed sites or areas that are adjacent to grazed land. The Commons do not fall into either of these catagories. For more information on this subject and many others, the DEFRA website is worth a visit.



Broken glass on Wellington Rocks - June 2007
As the Warden reported in his blog this week (15 June 2007), there are increasing problems with broken glass and litter left on the rocks. Large numbers of young people use Wellington Rocks as their Friday and Saturday evening entertainment venue, and leave behind them a sea of broken glass and empty bottles. The rocks are then used by small children (and dogs) as a playground the next morning.

The Conservators employ litter pickers who clear up certain areas of the Commons (including Wellington Rocks and the Forum area) every morning, but the current levels are beyond anything they can cope with.



Clearly the Conservators need to rethink how to deal with the problem, and talks are now going on with various Borough Council departments who are keenly aware of the problem and working with us to find solutions, both to the behaviour and the clean up.



All Ability Paths - June 2007
The Borough Council has agreed to award the Conservators a grant in order to improve andupgrade the two paths that are currently badly breaking up near Wellington Rocks and the Cricket Ground (see Warden's Blog 1 June 2007).


The picture on the left shows their current dangerous state.

After resurfacing, these paths will be All Ability Paths, suitable for buggies and wheelchairs and others with mobility problems. The surface should be durable and will last for many years.

Update
You will see a picture of the newly surfaced path on the Warden's blog 7 September 2007













Bat Refuge/ Hibernaculum - Spring 2007
The Friends of Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons have very kindly given the Conservators a donation to enable the conversion of the disused public lavatory behind the Fir Tree Road Car Park (see entries in Wardens blog for 27 April 2007 and 4 May 2007). Instead of being an eyesore and a magnet for flytippers, it will now be a bat refuge and home for reptiles.

The refuge is now complete and is already occupied by both birds and small rodents. Steve will give more details of the species in his blog when he returns from holiday. The picture above shows how it looks now. It should blend in with the surrounding sandstone very quickly.

The work involved closing up up the old doorway and windows with sandstone, leaving small gaps at the top for the bats to enter and exit. There is also a pipe at the very bottom of the doorway (bottom left, although it is not really visible in these photographs) for reptiles. This is Phil on the left, busy turning it into a des res.













Cricket Club
Work is about to begin on a new cricket pavilion to replace the one that was burnt down on Good Friday 2006. The remains were dismantled some time ago and this week (1 May 2007) a series of containers appeared on the Common as the first step towards the construction of the new one. Progress will be documented on a separate page, for those of you unable to watch it happening. Cricket Pavilion pictures. UPDATE - work has finally started (early November), and wed will get some pictures of the work in progress on this site shortly.



Volunteers
Although all the work requiring specialists or equipment is done by contractors, the Conservators rely heavily on the goodwill of volunteers to do much of the clearing through the autumn, winter and spring.

The Friends of Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons arrange voluntary work parties on the first Saturday of the month at 10.00. Meet at the Fir Tree Road car park. Everyone is very welcome, however little or much you can do.

The picture on the left shows the newly cleared area behind the Fir Tree Road car park which was recently completed by the volunteers. Heather is being reintroduced to this area, which will gradually return to heathland.

Without the help of the volunteer work parties, many of the improvements to the commons cannot be made, as the annual budget is fully spent on maintenance and essential programmes of work..

If you haven't helped before and would like further information, please contact the Warden at the office on 01892 554250.

Page last updated: 02/08/2010