Clyde and Avon Valley: Valley Life Summer 2016 newsletter

Summer 2016

Valley Life

Features

Clyde and Avon Valley Heritage Festival

[P2] Winter wonders captured on film

Clear a space in your diary Saturday 7 – Sunday 15 May for the inaugural Clyde and Avon Valley Heritage Festival. The Festival will feature FREE spring walks, talks and events that will help you delve in to the area’s fascinating landscape, history and heritage.

Return of the salmon [P3] Community links to the Clyde So long, farewell Growing up wild St Patricks Kirkyard restoration [P4] Training, volunteering and events

@ClydeAvonValley Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership clydeavonvalley www.clydeandavonvalley.org 01555 663 430

The celebrations kick off with family fun at Blossom Day, Overton Farm.

Expect spring chickens, gamboling lambs, farmers market, craft stalls and a display focussing on the rich growing heritage of the Clyde Valley.

A programme of FREE spring walks led by expert guides takes us through the following week, with twilight trundles, dusk danders and midday meanders exploring some of the area’s best kept secrets at Chatelherault, Falls of Clyde, Stonehouse, Mauldslie Woodlands and New Lanark to name but a few.

Get stuck into Robert Owen Bicentenary celebrations at New Lanark, the Wallace Weekend at Lanark and the CAVLP Heritage: Heritage and Landscape Conference and FREE experimental archaeology workshops Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 May. Book your FREE place on the spring walks: www.cavlp.eventbrite.co.uk and find out more: www.clydeandavonvalley.org.

Explore the Clyde and Avon valley online Regular readers might notice that we’ve had a facelift. It’s all part of the design work that’s taken place as part of the Clyde and Avon valley website redesign.

Head over to the website to find new ways of exploring this beautiful valley. View the places that make the Clyde and Avon valley special, find out historical information and discover trails.

Visit www.clydeandavonvalley.org

Valley winter wonders captured on film Five talented winners take home framed snaps Five entries showcasing the winter wonders of the Clyde and Avon valleys have been selected for the seasonal photo competition – as the search for spring winners begins.

The winners Denise Baranowski, Aileen McCaskill, Carrie Metcalf Watson and Stuart Stevenson were selected as winners from over 100 entries across the categories of Geology, Inspired by the Landscape, Play and Woodlands.

A special mention The judges were so impressed by a picture of rare nacreous clouds over Nemphlar by Lucy West, age 11, that she was awarded a prize too. It was decided that subsequent rounds of the competition will include an under 16’s category.

Get snapping for spring Spring entries to the competition can now be submitted under the categories of Geology, Industrial Heritage, Orchards, Wildlife and Woodlands until midnight, 31

Capturing the Past with CAVLP Heritage There’s still time to help uncover hidden stories in the Clyde and Avon valley, by volunteering for the Capturing the Past project with CAVLP Heritage.

The team have been researching and recording Hoolet Row at Chatelherault, Stonehouse Kirkyard, Craignethan Castle and Clyde Valley market gardening sites amongst others.

Volunteers have the chance to learn traditional archaeological survey and archival research skills, as well as artistic 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.

For volunteering and hands-on learning opportunities, contact cavlp.heritage@gmail.com / 01555 661 555.

May. A winning photo from each category is chosen and the photographer wins a framed print of their image. Submitted images may be selected for inclusion on the Clyde and Avon valley website.

To find out more, visit: www.clydeavonvalley.org Submit your entries by email to info@clydeandavonvalley.com

Return of the salmon to the River Avon Wild salmon will soon be seen leaping the falls on the Avon Water for the first time in nearly two centuries, thanks to a new initiative taking place this summer between River and Fisheries Trust Scotland (RAFTS), SEPA, Clyde River Foundation, South Lanarkshire Council and the Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP).

Community links to the Clyde Pathways linking the Clyde Walkway to communities in and around Law; Rosebank, Ashgill and Dalserf; Braidwood; and Crossford and Nemphlar, have been subject to recent improvements.

Locals and visitors alike can now enjoy the upgraded access and signage. The walks have been digitised and can be explored online at www.clydeandavonvalley.org

In March, over 50 members of the local community, angling groups and specialists gathered at a public consultation to hear more about the two specially designed ramps to be built at Ferniegair and Millheugh Weirs.

The weirs have been an obstacle for migrating Atlantic salmon since they were built to service mills in the 19th century and the passes will open up 200km of potential spawning area.

Those with an interest in salmon, angling and freshwater biology, might also be interested in the FREE one-day conference, ‘Clyde Salmon Homecoming – the Status and Future of Salmon in the River Clyde,’ taking place at the University of Glasgow on 21 May 2016, coinciding with World Fish Migration Day. Book your FREE ticket at www.clydesalmonhomecoming.co.uk.

St Partrick’s Kirkyard restoration, Dalzell Estate St Patrick’s graveyard, in Dalzell Estate next to RSPB Baron’s Haugh, is the site of the first Christian church in the Motherwell area. The kirkyard houses the mausoleum of the Hamiltons of Dalzell, built around 1798 using stone from the demolished kirk, and many graves of local people from past centuries as well as a pet cemetery.

However, it has long been out of use and is falling deeper into disrepair.

So long, farewell . . .

The mausoleum has now undergone a comprehensive restoration, with repairs undertaken to the walls and intricate stone tile roof, following damage through vandalism. The outer wall of the cemetery has also undergone repairs, along with the removal of trees which threatened to further encroach into the site and cause even more damage.

In March, we said goodbye to two CAVLP Board Members, Anne McCall (RSPB) and Jim McCaffer (South Lanarkshire Council).

A report was produced which further emphasises the historical significance of the kirkyard and recommends a programme of repairs and conservation to reinstate fallen stones, remove rubble, and make the site more accessible for visitors.

We’d like to thank them for all of their input which has helped CAVLP get to where it is today and wish them all of the best in their future endeavours.

The next steps for the project will involve undertaking a thorough site record with the help of volunteers from the local community and Archaeology Scotland, as well as undertake some of these repairs to make the site more visitor friendly. To find out more, contact ewan@clydeavonvalley.com / 01555 663 430.

Training and Volunteering Opportunities FREE hands-on learning opportunities with CAVLP Heritage, dates and times flexible to suit individual needs. Explore the production and working lives of people in the Clyde and Avon valley through a variety of FREE workshops, including MapCRAFT, Tasting Through Time, Sheep to Shawl and Brick by Brick.

Contact cavlp.heritage@gmail.com / 01555 661 555 FREE historical and archaeological training through ‘Capturing the Past’ with CAVLP Heritage. Join the expert team in their ongoing quest to uncover the hidden histories of the Clyde and Avon Valley. Map, place-name, archive and artistic research training is available and focussed on the market gardening, orchard and industrial heritage of the Clyde and Avon valley. Contact cavlp.heritage@gmail.com / 01555 661 555 to find out more.

Events FREE Pits, Ponies, People and Stories Exhibition, Thursday 10 March-Saturday 31 December 2016, Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm; Sundays noon-5pm, Low Parks Museum, Hamilton.

FREE New Lanark Spring Food and Gift Fair, Monday 2 May, 10am – 4pm, New Lanark World Heritage Site. For more information visit www.newlanark.org/visitorcentre/events.

Clyde and Avon Valley Heritage Festival, Saturday 7 - Sunday 15 May, various times and locations. Family fun at Blossom Day, FREE specialist guided walks and more. See page 1 for details. Book your FREE place on the spring walks at www.cavlp.eventbrite.co.uk and find out more at www.clydeandavonvalley.org.

FREE Clyde Salmon Homecoming Conference, Saturday 21 May, 10am-3pm, University of Glasgow.

Celebrate the biggest good-news story in freshwater biology – the return of salmon to the River Avon (see p3) – this World Fish Migration Day. Book your FREE ticket at www.clydesalmonhomecoming.eventbrite.co.uk.

Spring Clyde and Avon Valley Photo Competition deadline, Tuesday 31 May, midnight. Send us your spring snaps of the stunning Clyde and Avon valleys for your chance to win a signed print. ***NEW*** Under 16’s category. Find out more at www.clydeandavonvalley.org and send your entries to info@clydeandavonvalley.com.

FREE Scotstyle Exhibition, Thursday 2 June-Sunday 31 July, 10am-5pm daily, New Lanark Institute River Room. Showcase of the 100 ‘best’ buildings from Scotland’s past 100 years. One of over 400 events taking place across Scotland in 2016 as part of the Festival of Architecture celebrations.

Falls of Clyde Badger Watching Experiences, available June-August, various times, Scottish Wildlife Trust Falls of Clyde. Choose between Family, Regular and Luxury Badger Watches. Prices vary according to type of watch. For full listings and to book, visit www.TheFallsOfClyde.eventbrite.com.

FREE Growing Up Wild play sessions, throughout the school holidays, times TBC, RSPB Baron’s Haugh, Lesmahagow Woodland Walk and Mauldslie Woodlands. Wild play sessions for all of the family. For full listings and to book, visit www.Growing-Up-Wild.eventbrite.co.uk.

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

St Partrick’s Kirkyard restoration, Dalzell Estate info@clydeandavonvalley.com

@ClydeAvonValley Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape clydeavonvalley St Patrick’s graveyard, in Dalzell Estate next to RSPB Baron’s Haugh, is Partnership the site of the first Christian church in Check out all news, events, volunteering, training and sign up to our monthly the Motherwell area. The kirkyard houses the mausoleum of the Hamiltons of Dalzell, builte-news! around 1798 using stone from the demolished kirk, and many graves of local people from past centuries as well as a pet cemetery. However, it has long been out of use and is falling deeper into disrepair.

The mausoleum has now undergone a comprehensive restoration, with repairs undertaken to the walls and The Clydestone and Avon is a Heritage Lottery Fund supported programme, working with tenalso key partners: intricate tile Valley roof, Landscape following Partnership damage through vandalism.

The outer wall of the cemetery has Central Scotland Green Network Trust, Clydesdale Community Initiatives, New Lanark Trust, North Lanarkshire Council, undergone repairs, along with the removal of trees which threatened to further encroach into the siteNorthlight and Heritage, RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Wildlife Trust, South Lanarkshire Council and Rural Development Trust cause even more damage.