Friends of Bidston Hill Newsletters

Newsletters from Genevieve will be in the order of the latest at the top of the page

Sorry it's been a while since the last update but you will have to wait for the explanation until the next update. (and sorry I took so long to get it online!! - mk).

Over the past two years we have had contractors in to cut back gorse and treat the stumps to prevent regrowth. Although Gorse is good for wildlife, we were rapidly losing the Heather that makes a good heath land under it and with that the very wildlife we want to encourage onto the Hill. It was done in two sections and we have already seen the difference in last years work, seeing the heather bloom was beautiful. Now that the Ranger has a collecting Flail, he will be able to age the heather to provide the perfect habitat for bugs and butterflies

Any one who has seen older photographs of the hill will know that once, before Vyner road was blasted out both the Observatory and Windmill were surrounded by heath land with very few trees. We are looking into raising the money to expanded the work onto the side of the hill as it runs up to the windmill.

I must say how good it has been to have Mike come up and take pictures as well as hosting our updates, you can tell the difference between my shots and his and I thank him for coming up when we had the workers on the hill.

Yes, Mike, I have kept YOU the piece of original Windmill Roof Planking with nail in lieu of payment for your help and support. Everybody else, if you would like a piece of original windmill roof to help fundraise for live theatre on the Hill, please see the next update for details. (Its now 12 months on and I have not received any further updates from Genevieve - mk)

As usual, The Friends thank everyone for their help and support, remember, we need YOU to keep going, and our track record speaks volumes. Over £30,000 worth of grants in the last three years and the Windmill restoration at over £45,000 this year alone, we are working well and will continue to do so with your support. At the moment we have a committee of twelve and a membership of nearly a hundred and We are listened to, lets keep it this way, preserve your Hill, join the friends and have your voice heard.

For a great many years, there were three direction finder plates on various places on Bidston Hill. They looked very similar to sundials and had marked the direction of numerous points of interest with the distance to them, a true piece of Victorian sensibility in an era before cars, high speed trains and the information superhighway. The Direction Finders were removed from the hill during the second world war in case of invasion and only one was replaced afterwards, this remaining plate then disappeared in the sixties.

We felt it would be proper to replace this last direction finder and set Glyn, our Historian to work collecting all the information he could. In November last year we finally resorted to asking the local press for help in locating information about what was on the original plates and their size, on the 30^th our appeal went to the public on page three of the Wirral News and by 10.30am that morning we couldn’t believe our luck! A very kind gentleman called the rangers office to say “I think I have your direction finder dial” not only did he have a direction finder, he had the first one made, which was never finished due to the size of the writing, this meant we had a visible, intact dial to create a new one with. Anyone who remembers the old direction finder on the hill will remember that the writing had nearly been worn away with years of polishing.

At this present moment in time, thanks to ranger Nic’s drawing skills the new direction finder is in production and will be replaced on the hill by the end of February. We invite you all to come and view the places for yourselves but we can’t guarantee the weather.

Any one wishing to join the friends of Bidston hill can drop into Tam O’Shanter's urban farm any day of the week between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm where you can pick up an application form, find out about how you can volunteer with us to help manage the hill or even just find out a little more about this wonderful area of countryside preserved in the middle of modern day Wirral.

Genevieve Wilkinson - Press Officer

The Friends of Bidston Hill Feb 5th 2006

An article in the Wirral News dated 8th February 2006 (click on image for full size). My sister Michelle sent me this