Valley life spring 2017

Spring 2017

Valley Life

Features

Get into Clyde and Avon Valley Festival

[P2] Make Your Way maps and artists

It’s back and it’s even bigger and better than before! The Clyde and Avon Valley Festival is a jam packed extravaganza of FREE walks, talks and activities for all ages, taking place Saturday 6 – Sunday 14 May.

Capturing the Past exhibition [P3] #CAVWChallenge Fin-tastic fun with #SalmonHomecoming #HHA2017 [P4] Training, volunteering and events

@ClydeAvonValley Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership

The Festival kicks off with the not-to-be-missed Blossom Day at Overton Farm, Crossford on Saturday 6. Celebrating the historic orchards, Blossom Day includes a Farmers Market, live music, craft stalls and fun for all the family.

Once Blossom Day has whet your appetite, sign up to a variety of events that will help you get to know the Clyde and Avon Valley better. Explore ancient wooded gorges, crumbling castles, orchards, wildlife and more with experts and local guides.

www.clydeandavonvalley.org

On Saturday 13, the Landscape and Heritage Conference provides a forum for historical and archaeological projects in the area. Please get in touch with CAVLP Heritage at pmurtagh@yorkat.co.uk to book, or if you’d like to submit a paper.

01555 663 430

For a full list of events and to book, visit www.clydeandavonvalley.org/news

clydeavonvalley

Header image courtesy New Lanark Trust

Keeping Jock’s Burn beautiful Around 30 volunteers took part in eight Clydesdale Community Initiatives led community clean-up days at Jock’s Burn – Carluke’s own oasis of nature running through the town.

The difference is startling – the woodland has been transformed into a much cleaner, safer and attractive place to be, whether it’s to walk your dog, play or use as a through route between home and the train station.

Get in touch with South Lanarkshire Council Grounds Services on 01555 667 958 to organise litter pickers and rubbish bags if you have a group that would like to get involved in a community clean up.

Make Your Way – Carluke, Glassford, Lanark, Larkhall and Stonehouse New art installations, maps and workshops to get you moving in new ways Art installations Clear your diaries for the end of March – you’ll want to visit the new art installations in Carluke, Glassford, Lanark, Larkhall and Stonehouse. Six artist residences have been commissioned to create the installations as part of the #MakeYourWay active travel campaign.

Site specific The site specific installations were created by artists, both local and from further afield, in collaboration with local

communities as part of the campaign with icecream architecture and SYSTRA, to encourage walking and cycling on routes to work, school, appointments or for leisure.

Community focussed The #MakeYourWay team have been working closely with communities to identify favourite routes and features in the towns and villages since last October.

As part of the exploration, they have been undertaking workshops such as Dorodango mud dumplings, digital mapping, citizen journalism social

Industries of old examined in new exhibition The historical lives of people of the Clyde and Avon Valley are set to be laid bare in an exciting exhibition, Capturing the Past, at Flowers of Scotland Garden Centre, Rosebank, from Saturday 25 March – Saturday 8 April.

Created from research undertaken by CAVLP Heritage volunteers during the Capturing the Past project, the exhibition offers visitors the chance to put themselves in the shoes of the miners, fruit-pickers, brickmakers and more, who shaped the Clyde and Avon Valley landscape we know and love today.

The exhibition has been set up to evoke the meandering River Clyde, so visitors can step in and follow the flow.

The exhibits include historic artefacts, Medieval style tiles fired last Autumn, textiles, cyanotope photo montages and hanging displays.

Volunteer for the Local Landscape Heroes project which explores the characters associated with the Clyde and Avon Valley. Find out more at www.clydeandavonvalley.org, email cavlp.heritage@gmail.com, or call 01555 661 555.

reporting and periscope headdress walks.

Get involved Look out for a series of active travel roadshows coming to Leisure Centres, health centres and train stations in the towns and villages, where you will be able to pick up copies of the maps and tips on walking and cycling locally.

Download your FREE maps at www.clydeandavonvalley.org/m ake-your-way and get involved in discussions on social media using #MakeYourWay

Clyde and Avon Valley Wildlife Campaign Pull on your wellies and grab a pencil – it’s time to get involved in the Clyde and Avon Valley Wildlife Challenge and 500 Words Competition, taking place for the duration of 2017.

Get to know the fascinating array of wildlife that calls the Clyde and Avon Valley home by taking part in the two competitions.

Fin-tastic fun with There’s still time to help #SalmonHomecoming

uncover hidden stories in the Clyde and Avon valley, by 21 Primary Schools have volunteering for the Capturing embarked on an exciting new the Past project CAVLP education projectwith celebrating Heritage. the return of the iconic Atlantic salmon tohave the Avon The team beenWater. researching recording The project, and led by Clyde River Hoolet Row at Chatelherault, Foundation, follows the Stonehouse Kirkyard, completion of two fish passes Craignethan Castleallow and Clyde on the river, which fish Valley market gardening sites upstream for the first time in amongst others. over a hundred years. The multi-phasehave project Volunteers the will chance to culminate in a series of learn traditional archaeological community events. Visit survey and archival research www.clyderiverfoundation.org skills, as well as artistic for more details. interpretation, photography and the latest 3D imagery techniques.

A series of FREE hands-on learning opportunities relating to the historic working lives of people in the Clyde and Avon valley are available to schools, youth and community groups as part of the project.

#HHA2017

For volunteering and hands-on learning opportunities, With so much to show contact off on cavlp.heritage@gmail.com / our doorsteps, we were 01555 661 555. delighted to hear 2017 is the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.

From fruity archaeology, to gorge-ous geology and songs celebrating the market gardening – there are lots of exhibits in the Virtual Museum to help you get under the skin of the Clyde and Avon Valley. www.clydeandavonvalley.org/ museum

#CAVWChallenge: Join in with spotting events and download spotting sheets to complete a checklist for your chance to win.

500 Words Competition: Pick your favourite of the 12 species and write a short, fictional story about it in under 500 words. Ages 5 – 9 and 10 – 12.

See details on how to enter at the bottom of this page.

12 wildlife species are included in the campaign – one for each month.

Species of the month March – Great Spotted Woodpecker What’s it like? This woodland bird is black and white with flashes of red, and is about the size of a starling. Seen on tree trunks throughout the year, they use their strong beaks to extract insects and sap from them, but also eat nuts and fruit in autumn.

Where does it live? Look out for this bird in mature woodland, or in parks and gardens with old trees. Listen out for a loud ‘tchick’ call or for a continuous drumming for a few seconds in spring. This drumming is for communication – advertising territory or looking for a mate. Look out for holes in rotting trees around 5cm in diameter, as in indicator of nesting.

Where can it be seen? Try walking along the Clyde Walkway, other woodland trails in the Clyde and Avon Valley, or by visiting any of the Clyde Valley National Nature Reserves. For ideas of where to go, visit www.clydeandavonvalley.org/explore

Species sighting difficulty rating (out of 3): 2 – it might take a little time, but you’re likely to see this.

Download a checklist, join a spotting event, be inspired to take part in the 500 Word Competition and find out more at www.clydeandavonvalley.org. Record your sightings on iRecord at www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/join/clyde-and-avon-valley-wildlife-challenge.

Training and Volunteering Opportunities FREE Local Landscape Heroes Archive Sessions, every Thursday until 30 March, 11am – 7pm, Local History and Reference Room, Hamilton Town House Library. Volunteer to uncover the Local Landscape Heroes of the Clyde and Avon Valley with CAVLP Heritage. Research will help formulate a new trail through the area.

Get in touch at cavlp.heritage@gmail.com / 01555 661 555 to find out more.

FREE environmental training and volunteering with CCI, various dates and times throughout the year. From therapeutic gardening to woodland and graveyard maintenance, path resilience and much more in between, go to www.clydeandavonvalley.org/join-in/events FREE Mauldslie Woods volunteering team days, Thursday 2 March and Thursday 6 April, 10:15am – 3pm.

Join the brand new volunteering group at Mauldslie in a range of tasks from creating new tree enclosures to path maintenance. Contact Clydesdale Community Initiatives on 01555 664 211 / colleen@cciweb.org.uk

Events and exhibitions FREE Inspired by the Castle – Poetic Promenade at Craignethan, Saturday 4 March, 2 – 4pm, Smuggler’s Brig Car Park, Crossford, ML8 5SE. It’s said that Sir Walter Scott based Tillietudlem Castle in ‘Old Morality’ on Craignethan Castle. Find out about Scott and other literary connections! The walk is part of the Local Landscape Heroes Framing the Landscape series. Booking essential www.cavlp.eventbrite.co.uk FREE Inspired by the Falls – Representation Ramble at New Lanark, Saturday 11 March, 2 – 4pm, New Lanark. Paul Sandby and J. M. W. Turner are just two artists who were attracted to the beauty of the Falls of Clyde. Find out more about the artists who have been inspired to paint here. The walk is part of the Local Landscape Heroes Framing the Landscape series. Booking essential www.cavlp.eventbrite.co.uk FREE Strawberry Fields - Jelly Jaunt in Carluke, Saturday 18 March, 2 – 4pm, starts Carluke train station, ML8 5DF. Explore the history of the Scott brothers and their prolific jam making legacy. The walk is part of the Local Landscape Heroes Framing the Landscape series. Booking essential www.cavlp.eventbrite.co.uk FREE Capturing the Past exhibition, Saturday 25 March – Saturday 8 April, Flowers of Scotland Garden Centre, Rosebank. Get under the skin of the historic industries and working lives of people in the area. P2 for details.

FREE Easter holiday Growing Up Wild outdoor family play sessions, Tuesday 4 & 11 April, 1 - 3:30pm (Baron’s Haugh, Motherwell), Wednesday 5 & 12 April, 10am - 12noon (Chatelherault Country Park), Thursday 6 & 13 April, 1 – 3:30pm (Birkwood Estate, Lesmahagow). Book at www.Growing-Up-Wild.eventbrite.co.uk FREE Clyde and Avon Valley Festival, Saturday 6 – Sunday 14 May, various times and locations throughout the Clyde and Avon Valley. Kicking off with the ever popular Blossom Day at Overton Farm on Saturday 6 and continuing for over a week with a bumper selection of walks, talks and activities, get to know the local landscape better. For full listings, visit www.clydeandavonvalley.org/join-in

For full listings go to www.clydeandavonvalley.org Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership David Dale’s House, Rosedale Street, New Lanark, Lanark, ML11 9DJ www.clydeandavonvalley.org info@clydeandavonvalley.com @ClydeAvonValley Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership clydeavonvalley Check out all news, events, volunteering, training and sign up to our monthly e-news!

The Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership is a Heritage Lottery Fund supported programme, working with ten key partners: Central Scotland Green Network Trust, Clydesdale Community Initiatives, New Lanark Trust, North Lanarkshire Council, Northlight Heritage, RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Wildlife Trust, South Lanarkshire Council and Rural Development Trust