Friends of Bidston Hill Newsletters

The welcome sign as you enter from the car park. http://www.tamoshanterfarm.org.uk/		1
2	1200 hrs And I arrive at Tam O'Shanters Urban Farm
My first impressions were good, its come on a long way since the last time I saw this place, from the road admittedly, which was admittedly some time ago.		3
4	Its quite obvious that a lot of very hard work has gone into the site
The enclosures for the animals and birds are rotated yearly and are very spacious		5
6	And the housing for the animals is of the highest quality, nothing has been spared for their comfort
The actual cottage has been thatched to perfection.		7
8	And, from the other side
This young feller is one of three piglets born in December 2005		9
10	Inside the eco built workshops, the walls are actually made from straw
Genevieve Wilkinson, Scourge of the Council Committee's, helps me to plant two Rowan trees near to the Farm		11
12	One of the two Rowan Trees I planted, a very pleasing moment for me.
Nearby, the remains of a tree that had been hit by lightening		13
14	The Sheep
One of the beautiful things about woodland walks is - look down - many beautiful things pass by your feet		15
16	Lichen and fungi adorn the remains of tree stumps, making life grow from death, the entire recycling process
On the fun side, a nearby allotment had this miniature model of Bidston Hill		17
18	Who remembers Bill & Ben - come on - admit it?
Donkeys on the farm		19
20	The end of the cottage, showing the Tam O'Shanter mural
Bidston Hill
21	And then Genevieve & myself went up onto the hill. Here we see the windmill, soon to have a renovated roof.
Conservationists rest on a lunch time break after being busy on Gorse clearance		22
23	Carved into the doorway on the Mill. Restored 1894
The roof as seen before the renovation work, due to commence on February 19th with the lifting to the top of the Hill of scaffolding etc.		24
25	Genevieve by the plinth where the direction finder will soon be reinstalled after many years. The original disc, which is gunmetal, and was first rejected, will replace the missing brass disc long since vanished. Its hoped to renovate the plinth also and remove the distasteful graffiti.
Stone carving of a man's face, probably put there by the workmen installing some wooden postholes which can be seen close by.		26
27	Beech clearance on the top of the Hill between The Mill and the Observatory
Below the observatory, the giant Beech had to be felled as it had grown so large it was a danger to the public, the weight of the boughs was quite formidable.		28
29	Oh, how many times did I drink out of this fountain in my young days after climbing all the way up from the Village below? It would be very nice if they could restore this, a fountain of refreshment on a hill of pleasure.
On the side of the fountain reads "Glenfield & Kennedy Kilmarnock" see base of page.		30
31	First of the rock carvings, a mans head and torso possibly 15th - 16th C
Second Carving, also of a man and torso, arm raised pointing towards the sea (west)		32
33	The inscription reads J Leay and is the daughter of Richard Leay
Horsehead carving		34
35	The carving of the Sun Goddess with gorse in her belly and womb.
And nearby, the Moon God which is almost obliterated. It will have to be recarved to ensure its survival.		36
37	This is most intriguing, it stretches from probably the base of the Hill near the farm to the top of the Hill above Bidston Hall and is carved with horizontal lines at regular intervals. My theory is that it was "rutted" to provide grip for wagon wheels taking corn/grain up the Hill at the shallowest climb in order for it to be transported along the top to the windmill.
Next to the highest section of the "road" is this carving of a horses head. I can recall this area vividly and recall that this stone must have been covered over in my youth (60s) as the head when shown to me by Genevieve is new to my mind, never having seen it before.		38
39	This is a view of both the "roadway" and the horse carved large stone.
Located not too far from the Bidston Lighthouse as you can see from this image.		40
41	The cock fighting pit. Personages who won certain numbers of fights were allowed to carve their names in the stone. "Evil" is one such carving and
this was another but I cannot make it out on the image		42
43	Bidston Hall from the top of the Hill, beyond is the Village.
This tree is a one off, the only one of its kind on the Hill. Its a Maritime Pine.		44
45	Symbiotic growth. A Horse Chestnut grows out of the limb of a dead tree. The dead tree is a Cherry Lime.
As we went around full circle, another view of the conservationists hard at work.		46
47	Heading back towards the Urban Farm, the area where my two Rowan trees will hopefully flourish and provide please for generations to come, long after my passing!

I returned to the Hill on 14th June 2006 and took a few images; some can be seen on bidston2.html and on the Friends of Bidston Hill page, the rest are below: