Welcome to the Rudloe and environs website.
Here you will find news, articles and photos of an area that straddles the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in north-west Wiltshire.
Contributions in the form of articles or photos are welcome. Even those with completely contrary views to mine!
Thanks to the website builder 1&1 and Rob Brown for the original idea.
Rudloescene now, in January 2014, has a sister, academic rather than anarchic, website about Box history here: http://www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk/
It contains thoroughly professional, well-researched articles about Box and its people.
Contact rudloescene through the 'Contact' page.
The post Christmas/New Year litter pick took place on Sunday, 3rd January 2021. Here we see a suspicious character self-isolating in the Toghill Crescent bus stop on the Bradford Road.
In the socially-distanced meet-up for the first litter pick of 2021, we see Madeleine, Rod, John, Lorraine, Derrick, Gordon and Dave (in the boot of his Range Rover). Meg has already set off and Brian has yet to arrive. With me, that makes ten of us.
Meg sets off down Boxfields Road ...
... while Derrick, Madeleine and Lorraine head for Westwells Road, Park Lane and Skynet Drive
Brian in the Bradford Road verge opposite the grey, steel-clad monstrosity of 'Corsham Science Park'
Derrick making his way along Skynet Drive; to the right, the Dickens Gate (beep beep) development enters its fourth calendar year
Lions' teeth (dents de lion) find a home at the Toghill Crescent bus stop on the Bradford Road
Brian at the Toghill Crescent bus stop in the 'shade' of Rudloe Estate's beech
Another odd find; the fishing rods encountered on last month's pick still lie at the foot of the wall here
One of many McDonalds drinks containers (and other McDonalds detritus) encountered on this month's pick
Here's another one (both these in the Bradford Road); Brian posing opposite
Some of the extensive amount of builders/fitters detritus lying in the 'green' space of Redcliffe's Park Place development; the big block and other white strips are all polystyrene. the ditch is gradually filling with litter
The Redcliffe, Park Place swamp
Looking south across the swamp to what remains of Tim Barton's elephant grass crop
A close-up of the photogenic elephant grass (Miscanthus)
The boots belong to Kevin, out for a Sunday morning stroll with a neighbour's hound
Ivy-leaved cyclamen in the Bradford Road verge
Cars were parked in this passing place and also in the other, further down Boxfields Road, with occupants using Leafy Lane Playing Fields. The thousands spent on 'Passing Place' signs and their installation was just money down the drain.
And talking of drains, here's a water garden (a fern and possibly a camellia) inside a Springfield Close drain
The 'boot' of Dave's Range Rover with bags to be added to the pile (see below)
The result of our exertions today (with Dave's bags still to be added) will be collected by Wiltshire Council tomorrow
And a Happy New Year to Oscar who passed his (bus) test in September
'Scheduled' litter picking resumes having not been supported by Wiltshire Council over the past two months during the third Covid lockdown. April's litter pick fell on Easter Sunday so the turnout was lower than usual. This was also the first weekend following the relaxation of Covid rules on meeting outdoors; the 'group of six' or 'two arseholes' rules came into force last Monday, 29th March 2021. I'm not sure about that second rule, maybe I misheard but there are certainly some arseholes out and about these days. In Boxfields Road, Dave encountered a family of four whose senior member trumpeted "Get out of my way"; he should learn that such arrogance is not tolerated in Rudloe.
The title picture shows a quiet Bradford Road with the first of many McDonald's cups found today. The same mentality that believes that queueing for a McDonald's onto a busy roundabout and then onto a major arterial road (the A350) is acceptable, is also that which believes that chucking your detritus out of the car window is acceptable. But things are about to get worse, both on the A350 and our verges, as a new KFC (Kentucky Fried Crap) will open shortly at the 'McDonald's' (formerly Chequers) roundabout.
Extreme social distancing on this first litter pick following the third Covid lockdown sees Derrick, John, Gordon and Meg waiting for 'the off'. Dave is unloading the Easter eggs, Mike has already departed so with yours truly we are the Magnificent Seven.
Meg cuts a lonesome figure heading off down the Bradford Road towards Thorneypits
Spring is springing in the Bradford Road on this fine Easter Sunday, 4th April 2021. Thankfully, the Corsham Science Park/Bath ASU monstrosity is somewhat (by design) out of picture to the right.
How the mighty have fallen. The once magnificent ash (see pictures on the Localities/Rudloe page) is now rotting away (a natural process of course) on the Bradford Road verge behind Springfield Close.
A once vibrant, mature hedgerow (see the Localities/Rudloe page and many sub-pages for images of the hedgerow over the years) is now reduced to a sanitized verge to further enable the tyranny of the motor vehicle
Across the road, further sanitization of the natural world thanks to GreenSquare. All the beeches in the woodland here have been stripped of their ivy. The Woodland Trust says "It doesn’t harm the tree at all and supports at least 50 species of wildlife".
The following email has been sent to GreenSquare:
Arum lily/lords and ladies/cuckoo pint/dog's cock (and broken wire fence) surrounded by young celandine leaves in the Bradford Road verge
Derrick cleaning up Skynet Drive
The second McDonald's drinks container at the entrance to Rudloe Estate
And the third lot of McDonald's drinks containers in the Bradford Road verge below Rudloe Estate
The miscanthus has been cut! We can now see (unfortunately) Dickens Gate across the field, part of the (eventual) west Corsham conurbation.
The former Bradford Road milestone twixt Rudloe and Pickwick. The cast iron plate showing distances was nicked some time ago. 'Fresh' dog's mercury and ground ivy proliferate on the bank.
The dry stone wall and dog's mercury again. The contrails of passing aircraft caught my eye here.
Blackthorn in the Bradford Road; the chimney of Lovell Stone Group's Pickwick Quarry beyond
Another blackthorn in the Bradford Road; the view this time is westward towards Rudloe
And the next one right this way please - another McDonald's drinks container in the Bradford Road
Enjoying the sun on the new pathway from Redcliffe's Park Place greenfield development to the Bradford Road 'crossing' below Rudloe Estate. (This pathway should extend to Skynet Drive to give safe access to Rudloe Estate and the school)
Young couple using the field edge where a more formal pathway could be laid to enable safe access by Park Place (and Katharine Park) residents to the school, Rudloe Estate (and the community centre!!) and Dickens Gate
Spring springing in the high Bradford Road verge behind Springfield Close
This month's pile awaiting collection by Wiltshire Council (John has not yet returned so his bags are still to be added)
Sunday 2nd May 2021 of this bank holiday weekend brought a fine morning for the scheduled Rudloe litter-pick. But some people are never satisfied: Rob was complaining of feeling rather tyred and Brian felt a little board.
The troops gather for the litter pick; pictured we have: Rob, Brian, John P, Madeleine, Rod, Lorraine, Gordon, John H and Derrick. Missing from the pic are Meg and Mike (standing behind me), Dave and the supplies plus yours truly so 13 in all.
Brian scouring the Bradford Road verge; I'm doing t'other side; Rob is patrolling at high level, along the footpath from where we used to enjoy a fine view of the Clay Vale, Marlborough Downs and Salisbury Plain but no longer thanks to ...
... the unnecessary greenfield development of Dickens Gate and the (empty) monstrous Corsham Science Park
Brian and Councillor Davies (aka Rob) patrol the now exposed stretch of the Bradford Road where previously we would have been enjoying the shade of a tree canopy unique along the length of this arterial road
Should we concentrate on the positive - the emerging leaves of the beeches? Rather than the bare earth where a fine, mature hedgerow once stood.
Councillor Davies (Rob to you and me) approaching the vibrant leaves of garlic mustard which he could (had he not been equipped for litter-picking) pick and use in a salad for today's lunch
One of a number of odd piles of earth/stones in Skynet Drive; Redcliffe's Park Place greenfield development beyond
Apple blossom at the junction of Bradford Road and Skynet Drive
Mainly hawthorn in the Bradford Road hedgerow here; Dickens Gate greenfield development beyond
I made the mistake of saying to someone the other day: "We don't find that many dog crap bags these days". While this is 'small potatoes' (actually these craps are tiny, like small, new potatoes) compared with the hundreds we used to find (see https://www.litteraction.org.uk/the-rudloe-mob), it is incredible that a million years of human evolution have led to this.
One of about a dozen bags of dog crap found in the Bradford Road hedgerow; but how many more lie undiscovered?
Another bag of dog crap adjacent to the Redcliffe, Park Place pathway
Brian and Rob on the Bradford Road verge below Rudloe Estate
Frames lying on the Bradford Road bank. Too big to carry so left in situ for Wiltshire Council to pick up.
Beyond the beech; Rob at the entrance to Rudloe Estate
Litter picking continues while across the road we find an enormous dock and rock
End-of-pick wash-up along with this month's haul
6th June 2021 and the green leaves of summer are calling us to the Rudloe litter-pick. The verdant, vigorous verge of the Bradford Road features in the title photograph along with Lorraine patrolling in the background.
A low turnout this month with Rod, Lorraine, Dave, Gordon and Meg pictured; Mike is out of picture so with yours truly, that makes just seven
Rod heading off down the Bradford Road towards Thorneypits in search of litter
Oxeye daisies at the entrance to the old barn, Dickens Gate houses beyond
Nettles and garlic mustard in the Bradford Road verge
The Rudloe Estate beech ... and who is that wandering past in the Bradford Road?
The remaining 21 acres of Miscanthus with Redcliffe's Park Place greenfield development beyond (view from Skynet Drive). One wonders what plans are in the offing for this last green patch to the south of the Bradford Road.
The maple at the Bradford Road end of Skynet Drive, Rudloe Estate beyond
It's so much fun paying £126,000 for 40% of a three-bed house (no two-beds left)
The most extensive pile of rubbish, the Corsham Science Park monstrosity, lies empty beyond the fallen ash, nettles and the Bradford Road
This month's modest haul, eight bags (between seven of us) will be collected by Wiltshire Council tomorrow (actually by its French contractor idverde (what about 'taking back control'?))
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