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.
Back in the late 50s, there was a BBC TV series of half-hour programmes called Railway Roundabout. The programmes looked at aspects of railway operation throughout the country and were essential tea-time entertainment for nerds. For this 34th ('numbered' Z) in the series of Walks in the Time of Covid, we have Rudloe Roundabout - a selection of photographs taken around Rudloe in the week of 22nd November 2020. The title photo, taken on 26th November, shows the magnificent beeches at Rudloe Manor.
Maidment's Folly Farm with the By Brook Valley beyond shrouded in mist. The escarpments of Bathampton Down (at left) and Bannerdown (at right) rise from the gloom. This photo also from 26th November.
Lower Rudloe on the morning of 26th November 2020. Lower Rudloe Farm (Mr T's B&B) predominates.
Clouds over the lost meadow, now Bellway's Dickens Gate development, in the Bradford Road - 19th November 2020
Mrs French's ponies in the lost meadow. Quite ridiculous that Corsham Town Council (and Box Parish Council) should 'approve' development here then oppose development at the brownfield ex-RAF Rudloe No. 2 Site because of "too much development".
Clouds over the lost meadow, now Bellway's Dickens Gate development, in the Bradford Road - 19th November 2020
Again, quite ridiculous that this 'Bath ASU' monstrosity should be approved when the Wiltshire Lanscape Character Assessment (and Core Policy 51) asserted that important views should be preserved and such development should be at low-level sites.
This is the view that has been obliterated by the 7.5-metre high, steel-clad, empty monstrosity for the benefit of one man and his pension scheme
Ex-RAF Rudloe No. 2 Site in Westwells Road, now a Bellway development site for 168 homes, should have been developed before local meadows were swallowed up. This was Government policy - brownfield before greenfield!
168 homes coming soon to this brownfield site. Why then did Corsham Town Council and Box Parish Council 'approve' development of 88 homes on the Bradford Road meadow just a quarter-of-a-mile away?
Corsham Monstrosity Park blocking what was one of the finest views in north-west Wiltshire all for the benefit of one man and his pension scheme
'Corsham Science Park', shown above, consists of about a dozen units of varying sizes - all are 7.5-metre high steel-clad eyesores which should, according to all relevant policies, have been built on a low-level site. This is just another example of authorities (government, councils) not following their own rules (or, perhaps, being befuddled by the complexity of the rules). As fas as can be ascertained, just one of the units is occupied by a company called Microgenetics whose homepage proclaims SwiftDetect for Agriculture, a flagship product which will "Detect multiple diseases in your crop ...". Let me ask a director of this company and the principal of this supposed science park, Chris Watt, the question ... 'You mean detection of disease that may have occurred on the crop in the field that was swallowed up by your science park?'
Old man's beard, elephant grass and field maple at the Skynet Drive/Park Lane junction.
In the Miscanthus field adjacent to Skynet Drive looking across Basil Hill to Salisbury Plain. This is also a mystery zone ... having studied three maps, I can find no settlement with woodland (on high ground) beyond that we see here at middle/left.
The ash in Skynet Drive predominates in this view north; the beeches (mainly) adjacent to the school complete the picture - 22nd November 2020
Rudloe Estate (with the flats of Long Close Avenue rising above) framed by Skynet Drive's ash and Tim Barton's elephant grass
This for the installation of a Toucan crossing but why here and why now? A Bradford Road crossing will be required for the new Westwells Road (168-home) estate to enable access to schools/bus stops etc, probably by the dual mini-roundabouts.
Branches from the recently-departed (from disease?) sycamore at the brow of Box Hill. Flowers have been laid at this spot regularly over the years, presumably in memory of someone who loved this view.
Berries have been prolific this year; this cotoneaster is no exception - 27th November 2020
A wintry sun in Highlands Close reminds me of my younger days 'up north'. I recall thick fog around Warrington, where ran the River Mersey, the Manchester Ship Canal and others and, through the gloom, the sound of steam engines and clanking goods wagons.
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