Mary Payne MBEGardening

•Time to plant up your hanging baskets and containers. •Give some of your border perennials the “Chelsea Chop”. If you cut some of them back by about half now it will delay flowering but extend the display longer in your garden. •Harden-off annual bedding plants ready to plant out soon. Put them in a shady spot, keep well watered but bring them back inside if frost is likely. •Be ready to cover tender plants with horticultural fleece if frosts are forecast. Check the forecast every day this month. •Order slug nematodes and rid your plants of this pest the natural and safe way. •Stake border perennial varieties that are tall growing and that tend to flop over. Either use pea sticks (tree and shrub prunings are good) or use purpose-made support systems. •Plant out Cannas and Cosmos (chocolate plant), Dahlias and Begonias. •Trim foliage off early flowering perennials to encourage fresh new leaves. Lungwort (Pulmonaria) responds particularly well. •Hostas divide well this month. Lift clumps and split them up making certain that each shoot has plenty of root attached. •Wait until spring flowering bulb leaves die back naturally before removing them. •Watch out for scarlet lily beetles. This pest can eat your lily leaves in a few days! •Earth up early potatoes and keep a watch out for late frosts, cover with horticultural fleece if frost is likely.

GARDEN CENTRE VEGETABLE PLANTS READY NOW!

Including TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS, COURGETTES, CHILLI PLANTS, LETTUCES and many more! BEDDING & HANGING BASKET PLANTS READY NOW!

HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS, ALPINES, SHRUBS, HERBS & ORNAMENTAL GRASSES FOR LOTS OF COLOUR IN THE GARDEN!

NEW RANGE OF HOUSEPLANTS NOW AVAILABLE –ESSENTIAL FOR PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN THE HOME

WELLS ROAD, CHILCOMPTON, RADSTOCK BA3 4RR Telephone: 01761 232137 Open Mon–Sat 10am to 4pm • Closed Sundays

Hedging

Stump grinding

Services include: Treework | Stump Grinding Fencing | Turfing | Logs Garden and Ground Maintenance Avant and Operator Hire

We also offer one-off or regular contracts, Domestic and Commercial

Contact Dan 07827 328874 or email dan@a1gardening.co.uk web www.a1gardening.co.uk

Fencing

Turfing

Getting back to work

WITHlockdown restrictions eased, members of Temple Cloud in Bloom have been out and about tending to the various locations in the village. One of the leaders, Beccy Pictured (l to r) Lins Herbert, Lyn Paul and Doris Gentle, with Pam Jeffery and Anne Thomson at the front Angell, said: “Spring colours are in full bloom and it was super to be back out working and planting in various locations around the village, catching up with friends.”

The focus this year is planting for pollinators and the first job was the planting of snowdrops, bluebells and aconites, wildflower plugs, cowslips, primroses and red and white campions, carefully nurtured during lockdown.

Members will be out again working on Saturday, May 15th, meeting at Paulmont Rise at 10am. new volunteers are welcome.

Details: Facebook Temple Cloud in Bloom TCiB or Doris Gentle 01761 451060

Timberwork Buildings

bespoke buildings to suit you

We specialise in the manufacture of quality standard and bespoke garden buildings to suit your individual needs including:-

WORKSHOPS/GARAGES

GARDEN SHEDS SHELTERS & STABLES

PLAYHOUSES

Let our dedicated team assist you in your choice whatever your budget . . . Full design, installation and delivery service available –customise your shed to suit your needs We also do: chicken Houses Dog Kennels • bin & log Stores

YOUAREWELCOMETOVISITUSANDSEEOURSHOWMODELS – OPEN 7 DAYSAWEEK THE TIMBERYARD • SHUTE SHELVE • CROSS • NEAR AXBRIDGE Tel: 01934 732 396 • www.timberworkbuildings.co.uk e.mail: timberbuildings@aol.com

Magnificent magnolias

Laura Richards admires the magnolia in the Bishop’s Palace grounds

VISITORS to the Bishop’s Palace in Wells and to Glastonbury Abbey have been admiring the attractions’ stunning magnolia trees.

Glastonbury Abbey boasted impressive displays of daffodils also

Weston Garden Machinery

Garden Machinery & Woodburning Specialists

Fitting Service AvAilAble

Behind Shell Garage Winterstoke Road, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset BS23 2YS Tel: 01934 626093

Make more of your garden

ELIzA Gray has been designing gardens for 15 years now, but this year has seen a huge demand for her services.

Eliza said: “People have spent more time than ever at home this year and are increasingly finding that their gardens are able to offer a safe space for meeting up with loved ones. now more than ever, we are looking for the ‘outside room’.

“We are demanding more from our gardens, from special seating areas to veg patches, and often a professional consultation or design can help you to save time and money to get your desired result. I can help you with your garden layout, your choice of materials and choosing which plant to put where.”

Details: www.elizagraygardens.co.uk

Greenways Grounds & Gardening Maintenance

l General gardening duties l Grounds maintenance works l Soft & hard landscaping l All aspects of treeworks l Fencing l And much more . . . “just ask” l All staff qualified l Insured Company 07757 696610

Contact Our Amy: greenwaysgmoffice@gmail.com

Whole of the South West of England covered!

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NURSERY

MASBURY, NR. WELLS, SOMERSET BA5 3HA TEL: 01749 841014 FAX: 01749 841055 www.rockymountainnurseries.co.uk

COME & SEE OUR FINE RANGE OF FRUIT TREES, SHRUBS, GERANIUMS & FUCHSIAS Visit our MASBURY’S CAFE

Serving breakfast, lunch & afternoon tea Delicious homemade meals. Sunday Roasts, Outside catering, buffet lunches delivered, themed cuisine events. Telephone 01749 841155 for further details.

BROWSE AROUND JAMES STORE

SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS WWW.ROCKYMOUNTAINNURSERIES.CO.UK ALL YOUR GARDENING NEEDS – SET IN 12 WONDERFUL ACRES –

Watcombe, Winscombe

Mature three-quarter acre mature Edwardian garden with colour-themed, informally planted herbaceous borders, pergola with varied wisteria, two formal ponds and growing collection of clematis. Opening details: Sunday May 16th, 2-6pm. Admission: £4, children free. Address: 92 Church Road, Winscombe BS25 1BP.

The Hayes, Newton St Loe

Sunnymead and Coombe Cottage, Long Ashton

Stunning in all seasons. One acre garden on edge of Duchy of Cornwall village. Opening details: Saturday May 29th and Sunday May 30th, 11am–4pm. Admission: £6, children free. Address: The Hayes, newton St Loe, Bath BA2 9BU.

A third of an acre walled garden with shrubs, borders, trees, circular potager, topiary, combining beauty and utility. Opening dates and time: Sunday, May 16th, 2–5pm. Admission: £4, children free. Address: Fivehead, Taunton TA3 6PX.

Sunnymead dates back to 1403, with a wrap-around family garden (0.4 acre), 1700s pond and rockery. Opened in memory of Marja-Liisa Walden. Combe Cottage is a Georgian cottage overlooking a field. Opening details: Sunday, May 30th 2-5pm. Admission: £5, children free. Combined admission for both gardens. Addresses: Sunnymead, 153, Long Ashton Road, BS41 9JQ; Combe Cottage, 161, Long Ashton Road, BS41 9JQ.

The Red Post House

Booking tickets: Some garden visits may have to be pre-booked. Check the NGS website. OTHER GARDENS OPEN FOR THE NGS To see more gardens open for the NGS, see The Yellow Book, or Local County Leaflet, available from local garden centres, or go to: https://www.ngs.org.uk

Tel 07914 636958 Email: purehydro@hotmail.com Website www.purehydro.net

Pure-Hydro, The Yard, The Borough Mews, Wedmore BS28 4EB

PISCeS

FISHmonGer & GreenGroCer

direct supply of Cornish Sea Food • Loch Fyne Smokehouse stockist. Fruit and vegetables personally selected at market, exotics and the unusual, fresh herbs and the best local produce. Selection of culinary ingredients.

Open all day Tuesday to Friday plus Monday and Saturday mornings. 5 The Borough Mall, The Borough Wedmore, Somerset BS28 4EB • Tel: 01934 710318

Celebrating 30 years of service

Specialist clinic

AnnekAWright had been a nurse for 16 years when she decided to branch out into colon hydrotherapy with her own practice, Pure-Hydro, based in the Borough mews at Wedmore.

She’s been operating for nearly a year offering the highest quality treatment in a calming and aesthetically pleasing environment.

She said: “our aim as a business and a clinic is to break the taboo surrounding internal hydrotherapy and ultimately guide our patients to a lifetime of understanding the long-term benefits of gut health.”

Celebrating 30 years

deAn downer of Pisces will celebrate 30 years in business in may, making him one of the village’s most enduring and popular traders. Pisces provides customers with fresh fish from newlyn and Loch Fyne and fresh, quality produce which dean selects personally from Bristol Wholesale Fruit market. He’s provided a lifeline during the pandemic, staying open throughout, apart from one week at Christmas, when he showed up on someone else’s track and trace. He said: “I’d like to thank customers for the support I’ve had. The fish trade was particularly busy after supermarkets closed their fish counters.”

Ready to welcome visitors

Wedmore jeweller, erica Sharpe, is ready to welcome customers to a brand new studio. Working by appointment only, erica has recently created the perfect space from which to make the bespoke jewellery she specialises in. She also takes on the re-designing and making of old pieces into new - giving them an exciting modern upgrade. When her retail shop had to close she took her work online and her website now hosts her collections.

Sports clinic expands

SomerSeT Sports Therapy Fitness Clinic is based in the beautiful village of Wedmore at the bottom of the mendips. Jeni davis, the owner, started her business in the Allertons after moving from London and has recently moved the clinic next to The George in Wedmore. Jeni offers sports therapy, sports massage, spin classes and personal training in a beautiful private gym.

Her vision at the clinic is to treat and offer pain relief and a variety of treatments that cross over into rehabilitation and personal training, ensuring that patients can get back to normal life and the sport they enjoy. They also have Shockwave therapy at the clinic for tendonopathies.

Jeni over the last 15 years has worked pitchside locally for the rFU and the FA treating sports injuries.

Claire Tidswell and roberta Bass are also based at the clinic. Claire is originally from Somerset and achieved her masters in osteopathy at oxford Brookes and offers a high quality hands-on treatment with follow-up advice and exercise plans to enable people to return to sport and work. roberta is a women’s health physiotherapist from Cheddar who works locally in the nHS. She completed her degree at UWe in Bristol and now brings her specialist knowledge to the clinic for private appointments in her women’s health clinic.

Osteopathy with Claire Tidswell 0707376648835 • claireosteopathy@gmail.com

Sports Massage Therapy, Sports Massage and Personal Training Shockwave Therapy 07747 798508 • www.somersetsportstherapy.co.uk

Women’s Health Clinic with Roberta Bass Pelvic health issues, Pregnancy related pain, Menopause symptoms 07862 620259 • www.robertabasswhphysio.co.uk

jeni@somersetsportstherapy.co.uk www.somersetsportstherapy.co.uk fb. somersetsportstherapyfitnessclinic The Cottage @ The George Inn, Church Street, Wedmore BS28 4AB

We are open!

At Wedmore dental Practice our vision is “Better Teeth for Better Health”. maintaining good oral health is vital to maintain your overall health; ensuring you visit the dentist regularly remains important.

We recognise that the Coronavirus pandemic has been demanding for all of us; whether in terms of mental health, finances, illness and loss. But it has also given us the opportunity to think differently, re-evaluate what is important and re-shape our lives for the better. Investing in your health and wellbeing is fundamental and we are here to help.

We have recently teamed up with denplan to offer a wider range of plans, personalised to your specific dental needs. denplan is a really easy way to spread the cost of all of your routine treatment into affordable monthly payments, reducing the chance of receiving unexpected dental bills. Plans cover regular check-ups and hygiene visits with your dental team, and some plans even cover any restorative treatments you may need. our team can talk you through your options, and recommend a personalised plan for you. Currently, anyone joining one of our plans can benefit from: •a free scale and polish (worth £80.50) with our

Hygienist •discounts for multiple members •discounts on any treatments that fall outside of the plans •kid’s plans starting from £5.74 per month •options for worldwide emergency dental cover dental and oral health is an essential part of your overall health and well-being. did you know, poor oral hygiene can lead to dental cavities and gum disease, and has also been linked to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes?

We are committed to supporting you to maintain your dental, and overall, health and wellbeing.

So don’t delay, come and see us today.

@wedmoredental

Energy challenge

GreenWedmore has launched a new project hoping to get 1,000 properties in the village and surrounding area to install solar panels. They have teamed up with a local company, Sunlit Solar, to provide discounted solar packages, and a financing scheme through Lendology, which is backed by local councils to target home improvements and energy efficiency measures.

It says: “They like our project because not only are we installing renewable energy but there are other benefits too like the reduction of fuel bills.”

Details: info@rogerselectricians.co.uk

WELCOME TO WEDMORE!

Lime is brimming with wonderful clothing and accessories. Come and treat yourself to a lovely shopping experience in these strange times, new clothes give a lift and a feeling of wellbeing, so pop in and see us, a warm welcome and plenty of fun awaits!

Look forward to seeing you all. Claire and the lovely team!

The Swan Wedmore –ready to welcome you

THe Swan in Wedmore is turning Inside out for weekends of outdoor eating and drinking until Sunday, may 16th. only a minority of pubs and restaurants will open before mid-may, when indoor eating and drinking will be allowed, but The Swan has great outdoor space.

The Georgian village inn has recreated its stylish interior vibe in its large, covered, luscious terrace and garden. There’s spacious seating, heaters, sheepskin rugs and romantic lighting for memorable times under canvas.

Customers will be able to enjoy the blooming country garden as they tuck into the enticing Inside out menu of delicious local food from head chef Sam Sperring-Trendl and his team. expect starters of smoked mackerel and chalk stream trout fishcakes and mains of vegan miso roasted cauliflower, roast fillet of market fish and spiced spring lamb. And what feast would be complete without a rhubarb pavlova or dark chocolate mousse with honeycomb and cherry sauce?

The Inside out cocktail list features classics and clever new creations. A Chase Grapefruit and Pomelo cocktail or a glass of english fizz from the Test Valley will make the perfect sundowner.

Spring is the time for chilled, sunlit wines. If you’re raring to try new things, then order a chilled red. not icy, but colder than cellar-temperature, a bottle of nebbiolo elvio Tintero from Piemonte could make you rethink red wines.

But perhaps you simply crave a thoroughly well-crafted pint of local cider or Cheddar Ales Potholer in the spring sunshine?

The Swan, Wedmore, will open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12pm-11pm (food until 9pm) until Sunday, may 16th. reservations for up to six people from two households can be made online at: www.theswanwedmore.com or by calling 01934 710 337.

When art deco came to Cheddar

Restaurant and tea room

UNTIL George Cox cleared debris in the cave, until he found interest in Cheddar and commissioned a found the cave that the large and superbly decorated St. Paul’s new complex of buildings around the bears his name in and Diamond Chambers. entrance. 1837, there were few He installed the novelty of electric The architects were Russell Page & caves known in lighting (the first show cave in Britain to G.A. Jellicoe and they designed a modern Cheddar Gorge. They be lit in this way) and Gough’s Stalactite art deco building, with large glass With PHILIP HENDY included Long Hole, Great Oone’s Hole and Saye’s Hole. A Cave was opened to the public. The south side of the Gorge had been purchased by the Thynne family of windows and pink external plastering, to complement the grey of the cliffs. On the ground floor was the Caveman few locals added to their meagre income Longleat in 1558; later the head of the Restaurant, a luxurious establishment with by showing visitors around the caves and family became Marquess of Bath and his uniformed waitresses and a palm court by selling souvenirs, mainly spar or eldest son was titled Viscount Weymouth. trio. stalactites and stalagmites taken from the Cox and Gough held separate leases on Later, a glass-bottomed goldfish pond, caves. Antiquarians also explored, looking their land and there was a lot of rivalry complete with fountains, was built above for ancient bones and artefacts for sale or between the two cave proprietors, who the restaurant. There was also a terrace, for their private collections. Most of these employed touts at the railway station to tea garden and snack bar. The grand have now been lost. persuade visitors to visit their superior opening in June 1934 saw the road lined

An old couple, Jack and Nancy cave. with Rolls-Royces and the centrepiece of Beauchamp, showed visitors around a The animosity continued until the 20th the inaugural dinner was a life-sized small cave below Long Hole, now known century, when the leases expired and the replica of the famous skull of Cheddar as Gough’s Old Cave. This was taken caves came under the control of Longleat Man, fashioned in ice cream. over by Cox’s nephew Richard Gough, Estates, with Gough’s Cave in 1927 and Entrance to the caves was at the top of a who extended the cave, built pools of Cox’s Cave in 1938. broad staircase leading up to two semiwater, and imported formations from other Under the Gough family, the area circular kiosks, beyond which steps led Mendip caves. between Gough’s Cave and the road had a down into the cave itself. The

In 1890 he turned his attention to Sand very rustic appearance, with wooden development proved to be very popular, Hole, a roomy shelter at road level almost buildings, arches and gardens. After the although there was controversy when later beneath the Old Cave. It had been lease reverted to Longleat, Viscount a store was built above the restaurant. variously used as a cart shed and Weymouth, Henry Thynne, who later This was thought to be out of keeping gambling den. By 1898, Gough had became the sixth marquess, took a keen with the original design.