On the last day of September we visited Hall Grove School in Bagshot for its National Open Garden Scheme day.
The surprise was the school hosted a small gathering of classic cars, included were a veteran car, some sports racing cars, and one mightily expensive Ferrari Monza SP2.
I’ve posted a short video of the the classic car display, and below a few photos of the long border in one of the gardens, which helpfully had a information board of the planting plan.
Lightwater County Councillor Rebecca Jennings-Evans reports via Facebook that the footbridge over the M3 between Lightwater Country Park and Bagshot will be closed for two years. The closure is at the request of National Highways not Surrey County Council, and the bridge itself is planned to be demolished within two months.
Here are two photos on the footbridge, courtesy of Alex McGregor and Alan Hunt on geograph.
Message from Rebecca
“I have today, 2nd 0ctober 2023, received notification from SCC Highways officers that the footbridge between Lightwater Country Park and Whitmoor Road, Bagshot over the M3, is to be closed from 06:00 on 3rd October.
This is on safety grounds as the bridge has been damaged by high sided vehicle strikes. The closure is expected to last for 24 months, to allow time for the design, commission and installation of the new structure.
On a positive note, National Highways have agreed to an upgrade of the bridge so that the new structure will be able to carry a bridleway and provide a cycle link over the M3 to the benefit of the Rights of Way network and local residents.”
Yours truly, with my chum Reg Davis, cleaned and restored nine milestones in the borough of Surrey Heath – in North West Surrey, and subsequently have obtained Grade II listing for four of them.
We were asked to give a talk about our experiences. My part of our joint talk was more about the history of milestones and such. To lighten my part of the talk I found a story of about stagecoach travel along the A30 from Bagshot to Hartford Bridge and on to Exeter, both home to staging posts. I’ve combined two sources of information to tell the story, from The Exeter Road by Charles Harper, 1899, and from an article in the Camberley News 23rd November, 1990. A public domain print of the Regulator and the Comet stagecoaches passing one another on this stretch of road, taken from Charles Harper’s book.
Here’s the story.
An old passenger travelling from London to Exeter, having had an uncomfortable coach ride, quits the coach at Bagshot, congratulating himself on being safe and sound.
Approaching a waiter he says, “Pray sir, have you any slow coach down this way today.” A slow coach covers 8 miles in an hour. The waiter replied, “Why, yes sir, we have The Regulator down in an hour.”
He has breakfast, and at the appointed time the coach arrives. The waiter announces that the Regulator is full inside and in front. “But, sir”, he says, “You’ll have the hind dickey all to yourself, and your luggage in the hind boot.”
While the old gentleman passenger again congratulates himself, they’re about to enter Hartford Bridge Flats, having the reputation of the best the best five miles for a coach in all of England. The Coachman ‘springs’ his horses, and they break into a gallop which does those five miles in 23 minutes.
Here’s a postcard view of the Hartford Flats on the A30 in early 1900’s near where Blackbushe Airfield is now. The milestone is not 33 miles from London as stated, but 32 miles.
The coach being heavily laden forward, rolled in a manner which it is quite impossible to find a simile, and the passenger utterly gives himself up for gone.
In the midst of its best gallops, halfway across the Flats, the Regulator meets the coachman of the Comet coming the other way, whose coachman has a full view of passenger in the hind dickey and describes his situation thus, “He was seated with his back to the horses, his arms extended to each extremity of the guard rails, his teeth set as grim as death – his eyes cast down toward the ground, thinking the less he saw of his danger the better.”
In this state the old gentleman arrived at Hartford Bridge. “I’ll walk to Devonshire”, he cried, then thinks better of it and says he will post [hire] a horse, then is told posting will cost him £20. He then says, “This will never do,” and asks whether the landlord can suggest a coach that does not carry luggage on top. The landlord of the White Lion, craftily, says, “Oh yes, we shall have one here tonight that is not allowed to carry a band box on the roof. The Quicksilver mail, sir, one of the best out of London. Jack White and Tom Brown – picked coachmen over this ground”. “Guarded and lighted?” “Both, sir. Blunderbusses and pistols in the sword case, a lamp to each side of the coach, and one under the floorboard – to pick up a pin in the darkest night of the year.” “Very fast?” “Oh no, sir, just keeps time and that’s all.” “That’s the coach for me,” says the passenger. “I’m sure I’ll feel at my ease.”
End of story.
It’s worth noting that the red and black wooden wagon was known as ‘Quicksilver’ because it was the fastest coach in the country as it travelled its regular route from London to Falmouth in Cornwall. The image of Quicksilver, the last surviving Royal Mail coach is from the Bonhams auction of 10th December 2015, where it sold for £133,660.
There aren’t many places where you can get so close to so many different rhododendron flowers, Earlswood Park in Bagshot adjacent to the Waitrose store on the A30 is one such place.
The flowers are emerging on some of the rhododendrons, while many others are weeks away from their showy display. I love the plants, and specially enjoy those in Earlswood Park because you can get really close to the flowers, and as they are mature bushes the flowers can be viewed at eye level, or be looked up to.
The plants have been here for many years, and sadly, apparently, haven’t received any maintenance. There are paths through the stands of rhododendrons, which have, over the years been restricted in width without the necessary pruning. A letter to the Borough Council will be my next task, hopefully getting them to identify some of them. Here are a few photos of the plants I took a few days ago.
Finding a partially hidden pillbox is fun. You’ll have read that my newest hobby is learning more about WWII pillboxes. I know it’s not the answer to the meaning of life, it does, though, afford me the opportunity to get out and search out the unloved pillboxes.
I promise not to turnover my upcoming blog articles entirely to the topic. It’s just the flurry of excitement in a new hobby.
While looking at the eDoB database for information on the White Hill pillbox in Lightwater, mentioned in an earlier article here, I noticed that there was a pillbox marked in Waterers Nursey in Bagshot, now known as Earlswood Park. Having driven past it thousands of times, and walked past it many times I was surprised that I’d no awareness of it, and I’m one of those people always on the lookout for the odd and strange things. Well worth an exploration I said to myself.
The pillbox is alongside the footpath on the London Road, next to the footpath entrance gate to Earlswood Park. It is small, in good condition, and mostly hidden in amongst trees and shrubs. Here’s the eDoB database item on it. Here are my photos on the pillbox.
Earlswood Park greenspace lies adjacent to the Waitrose store in Bagshot. Once home to Notcutts Garden Centre and before that I think it was a Waterers nursery growing rhododendrons and azaleas.
Near the centre of the park stands an old oak tree, which is close to the bank of rhododendrons. I visited the Park yesterday and found the oak tree much reduced in size, I estimate by around 50%, possibly more.
Here are photos of before and after the damage. It wasn’t obvious to me that the tree had a serious weakness inside the trunk, I imagine that most of us don’t recognise the health of a tree, just pleased that it’s standing and in leaf. The first is one I took in April 2020, and the following two photos were taken yesterday.
We’ve followed national news and all the government’s news briefings, what we haven’t done is follow all of the happenings locally.
This results in the surprise arrival, in the post, of a request from discount food retailer Lidl for our comment on their application to create a foodstore at Bagshot Retail Park. You can see their plans and all the objection letters at the Surrey Heath Borough Council’s planning application – 20/0405/FFU.
The planning application is described as,
Amalgamation of existing (Class A1) retail units (Units 2B & 2C) for use as a foodstore (Class A1) along with internal works (including a reduction in mezzanine floorspace), changes to the building elevations (including a revised shop front), site layout (including revised servicing and car parking arrangements), external plant area, trolley bay and associated works | Land At Bagshot Retail Park 150-152 London Road Bagshot Surrey GU19 5DF
My dear wife is the shopper in this household, and her opinion carries more weight in this regard than mine. I did, though, visit Lidl in Blackwater to see the style of their store and the amount of available car parking.
We weren’t aware of the trading performance of two of the stores in the retail park. This document, submitted with the application, says that Pets at Home is trading poorly and may seek early release from their lease, while Cotswold Outdoor is seeking a new tenant for their store.
Ours views are that another foodstore at the Bagshot Retail Park is not needed. This in itself is no reason for refusal of the application. In Lightwater we are well served by food shops, we have a Co-op food store, a Cook shop, an M&S Simply Food, a butcher and a variety of takeaway restaurants. While Bagshot too has a Co-op store, and of course its Waitrose food store.
Without studying every part of the planning application and the council’s planning policies, I think that inadequate car parking provision, likely increased frequency of vehicle deliveries, and general increased traffic congestion at the A30 junction will be strong reasons for rejection of the application.
I can see this application becoming a planning battle, with the applicant going to appeal on rejection of their application. I must speak to people in the know to learn about this situation.
We’ve a long way to go before life fully returns to normal. Some activities are returning to normal, which should be appreciated by us all. This bike meet is one such.
Passing Jack’s fish and chips emporium on the A30 in Bagshot on Wednesday, I couldn’t resist stopping by and gazing at the variety of motor bikes, mostly old, as were their owners. Good to see. Click on images to expand.
Yesterday I was the driver taking my dear wife to Waitrose in Bagshot for a small shopping of essential items.
Turning into Waterers Way from the A30 is to be greeted by clusters of lavender in full bloom. Such a pleasing sight, made all the better with them being bathed in sunshine. The lavender planting extents into the car park. Definitely a successful planting plan, where so often such public spaces are often untended.
The show of rhododendron blooms at Exbury Gardens, Bodnant, and RHS Wisley are out of bounds for now. Yet, a mass showing of rhododendrons can be seen in all their loveliness near the Waitrose store in Bagshot.
They can be seen in Earlswood Park, which is the land given in mitigation to the adjacent housing estate and Waitrose retail development. See the background about this below in the photo of the map of the area – expand the photo to read the details. The land was previously occupied by Notcutts Garden Centre, and before that by Waterers Nurseries, hence the stands of mature rhododendrons.
I’ve taken many photos of these rhodo blooms, they’re being among my most favourite plants, and from what I saw when out photographing them, bumble bees as well. Below is a small selection of those photos, chosen for their colour. I’ve posted the photos without size reduction. Click on photos to expand and then for greater expansion click on the full size option at the bottom right of the screen.
I’ve written about the display of these rhodos before, and promised myself to identify some of them. It’s not just the flower that needs photographing, the leaves need to be done too, especially the underside, and that’s what I forget to do, having been overcome with the need to see as many flowers as I can. Well, here’s a lockdown challenge.
Lightwater 