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.
It was blowing a gale and tippling down* overnight (5th/6th February 2022) and this continued to around 8 o'clock when the winds dropped and some blue sky arrived. The wind and rain returned in the afternoon so we were very lucky to have a window of reasonable weather for the February litter-pick. *Northern expression
The title picture shows one of perhaps a score of packets of Rizla Menthol Chill infusion found in the Bradford Road verge. I don't get it, the modus operandi of these menthol infusion cards is demonstrated in the first part of this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dunAMS8mnOs. If you took the time to watch this demo, you will see that you unwrap the top of the silver foil wrapper of your packet of cigarettes, insert the infusion card, rewrap the foil and leave for an hour. Doesn't this beg at least one question? Why is this person performing these actions in the Bradford Road when he/she could have done it (depending on the source of the cigarettes) at home or immediately on leaving the shop (which would allow him/her to deposit the wrapper in the bin)? And even here, why doesn't he/she pocket the small wrapper for disposal at home? And why always in this stretch of the Bradford Road?
A small band of diehard litter-pickers gathered for the February litter-pick: Lorraine, John P, Rod, Rob, Gordon, Derrick and Dave can be seen here before the 'off' with one of the other Johns and Mike still to arrive. With me, that's ten.
And this is Wiltshire Council's modus operandi. Finding it necessary to justify their existence, they wander the highways and byways identifying (with red paint) trees that they have, unaccountably, deemed to require the chop
From a distance, these snowdrops in the Bradford Road looked as if they might be paper litter - thankfully not
Herb Robert in flower in a Bradford Road wall
The Bradford Road verge in winter
The Bradford Road verge in winter; maple still surviving at right
The retention of leaves in winter (by a deciduous tree) is called marcescense. Trees, like this beech in the Bradford Road, that exhibit marcescence are known as everciduous.
Miscanthus is harvested in the spring. This crop, seen from Skynet Drive, will produce the last harvest as the farmer's tenancy agreement has been terminated and the land will be ... developed (of course). Another 100 or so houses for the conurbation.
Another winter landscape, with moss, in the Bradford Road
Lorraine and John P in relaxed mode at the eastern edge of Rudloe Estate
Back to work after the tea break
After heavy rainfall, water pours into the Bradford Road here from right of way CORM72. Redcliffe's Park Place estate beyond.
An old 'friend' - a bag of dog crap in the Bradford Road hedgerow
Not easy to pick out but there are three Rizla Menthol Chill wrappers here (refer to text above)
Back in the old routine - McDonald's detritus in the Bradford Road
Another Rizla Menthol Chill wrapper among the emerging daffodils
The fields to the north of Bradford Road, 'below' Rudloe Estate, the site of the previous (now abandoned) proposal for a slope shaft for Hartham Quarry. This 17-acre site will now become a gold mine by virtue of development of perhaps 150 homes.
A feline friend in the beech woodland adjacent to Rudole Estate
Field maple with a garden escapee (Hebe) in the Bradford Road verge. Monstrous Corsham Science Park buildings beyond.
Today's relatively modest haul which will be collected by idverde (French company) tomorrow
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