Wrekin Forest Volunteers: Forest Glen Car Park

15 Dec 2008

Forest Glen

What a wet day! But it doesn't deter the dedicated team of Wrekin Forest Volunteers as we set out to clean up and enhance the Forest Glen Car Park at the foot of The Wrekin. As we worked on forging a new path from the CP to the layby I wasn't aware that there was a famous connection between this sylvan location and a very famous author of fantasy fiction - and one of my favourites...

This photo was taken a few months before his death in 1973 and I wonder how many others realize that The Wrekin was visited by JRR Tolkien when writing 'The Lord of the Rings' and in fact the hill could well have been an inspiration for him when creating 'The Shires' as part of Middle Earth.

Fascinating stuff!

But our task today was not fiction or fantasy. It was hands on with spades, loppers and saws. Whilst a few members of the crew - The Sleeper Team and The Ivy League worked on the main hill entrance most of us were given the task of creating a woodland path from the main car park east to the layby along the lane.

On completion this would then link with the path heading off to Limekiln Wood and The Ercall taking walkers off the lane and hence away from traffic.

So we set to...

Hi Ho, hi ho, it's off to work we GLOW!

And then it rained.
It got colder.
It rained some more.
It got even colder and even wetter.

It was even too wet for toads!

We soldiered on.

After forging the route right through we then held a ceremonial 'opening'.

In the absence of a local dignitary (other than Pete of course) the cutting of the ribbon went to Alistair who was initially concerned about the possibility of his photo being published yet again in the local papers (we didn't ask why!) but with no paparazzi present we managed to put his mind at rest and he happily took to the role. I wonder if he knows this blog is potentially viewed by millions worldwide though!?