nearly 350 miles from Middleton Top in Derbyshire through Lancashire, the Dales and to Byrness in Northumberland. NEWSLETTER

The Garsdale section completes a 52 mile stretch of bridleway threading northwards through the Dales. It will follow the Lady Anne Highway drop- Brought to you by Garsdale Parish Council ping down to cross the road before heading over the slopes of Wild Boar May 2011 No. 1 Fell to The Street. The Pennine Bridleway Team are working with to look at a link to Kirkby Stephen.

For more information see www.nationaltrail.co.uk/PennineBridleway WELCOME to the first edition of our newsletter! We hope you will find it inter- BOOK REVIEW esting and informative. We aim to bring you news of what is happening in Garsdale & Grisedale and what the Parish Council is doing for you, its commu- Bell Pratt of Grisedale - nity. Memoirs at 100 Years of Age More details of all of the items, minutes of past meetings and the date of the This is a delightful book which spans the whole of Bell’s next Parish Council meeting can be found on our new website: life. Born in 1910 in Grisedale, Bell rambles anecdotally www.garsdaleparishcouncil.com : we welcome feedback and contributions across the different periods of his life, going into detail on occasion into an era which is long gone and evoking We are running a PHOTO COMPETITION a real feel for those times. Send us your favourite photos of the Dale He began his life in Grisdale, but also spent time in Leeds as a young man helping in a wet fish shop and going to the football and we will publish winning entries on the website there, running a mobile shop when in and lived for a time in Ken- and use these to head each new Newsletter dal as caretaker of the Museum. He covers his school years and his time in the Army. He describes many aspects of the farming year in Grisdale as he experienced it then. Perhaps the most important thread for Bell in his life was his role as a Methodist lay preacher and this emerges throughout the TIMBER LORRIES IN GARSDALE book. This is a book you can dip in and out of and learn a lot about the past and the history of this area. Available, as they say, from all good bookshops The Parish Council has written to the County Council to oppose plans by the – though not one in Sedbergh last time I looked! [Ed] Timber Hauliers Group to use the A684 through Garsdale as an ‘approved route’ for timber lorries. We are concerned that the road is too narrow and has too many bends to make this safe. Can you imagine loaded timber lorries Tell us about your favourite book about the driving through The Street or Sedbergh? There is a risk that the route would Garsdale/Grisedale area and we will put become the rat run of choice for lorries between the A1 and M6 and would destroy the peace that makes Garsdale special. your review in the next Newsletter There are other -more sustainable - options, in particular going back to the WHAT’S ON? Settle-Carlisle rail line. station has a long history as the loading point for locally grown timber and there is ample space there or further up the Sedbergh Folkfest 2011 – June 24th – 26th – another great line-up includ- line in Mallerstang for timber to be loaded onto trains and safely transported ing Judy Collins - Altan - The Eliza Carthy Band and lots of activities in the to its destination in the Scottish power stations. The final decision is for the arena for adults and children. Last year was great fun. See more on County Council but we don’t know when it will be made. We will keep you www.sedberghfolkfest.co.uk posted.

Garsdale Parish Council, West Mostard, Garsdale LA10 5NT 01539 62466 www.garsdaleparishcouncil.com

NEW WEBSITE - WWW.GARSDALEPARISHCOUNCIL.COM

MORE HIGHWAYS STUFF There is still much to be clarified, both financially and technically, but cur- rent plans include running fibre optic cables along existing cabling, including Did you know that the County Council is trying to improve its Highways Ser- telephone and electricity that will terminate at each dwelling. vice? (Did I hear someone say ’about time’?) At the end of last year the County was divided into 30 geographic areas covered by 30 dedicated ‘find We are lucky to have some very skilled technical people living locally and and fix’ 2-man teams supported by a number of 2-man follow up teams. our own Tony Roberts is the Broadband Champion for Garsdale and joined They have introduced a ‘right first time’ approach for all reactive mainte- on the board of fibre GarDen by fellow Councillor David Labatte. If you nance, which should lead to faster repair times – although it is too soon for would like to know more about this exciting development for the Dale, fibre them to have produced any evidence of this in ! GarDen has its own website: www.fibre-garden.co.uk

Let us know if your experience – have you noticed any difference? Are there KILLER ALIEN PLANTS any particular problems? The Parish Council will take these up with High- ways and make sure they get fixed. Have you got any alien plants in your garden? The local river banks have been invaded by Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam. At first sight RED SQUIRRELS these are both attractive plants - but they are killers: smothering native species and leaving ugly bare ground when they die back in the autumn. Our red squirrel population is one of the great joys of We want your help in identifying any patches of these plants so that they Garsdale. At a recent Parish Council Meeting Jacqui can be eradicated from the Dale. For more information and photographs of Foott from the Northern Red Squirrels Group came to the plants to help identification - see the Garsdale Parish Council website. give a talk which highlighted a number of issues. AND NOW SOME GOOD NEWS Road kill is the main way the squirrel population is de- pleted and in the past there has been a good initiative Otters are making a come-back to Garsdale! Signs of otters have been seen to put up signs encouraging drivers to slow down along the valley – do we along the banks of the Clough in Garsdale. The Environment Agency carries need to do this more? out otter surveys across every three years and the most recent survey in 2010 of the Lune area found positive signs of otters in 70 sites Two bad winters appear to have reduced numbers – including the . This is up from only 37 in 2007 and is due to do we need to look at ways of helping squirrels sur- natural re-colonisation of the region. It is a good indicator of how much vive the winter? More feeders or nest boxes perhaps? habitats have improved in recent years. There may be Community Wildlife Funding for this kind of initiative. Let us know your ideas. Otters started declining in the mid 1950’s due to the use of agricultural pes- ticides, which impair reproductive function. Since the ban on these harmful BROADBAND-fibre GarDen pesticides and the improved water quality which brings back fish, the otter population has slowly recovered. We need to ensure this continues by mini- Cumbria is one of four regions earmarked for mising the amount of chemicals, nutrients, sewage, slurry and soil run off special Government funding to establish Super- that gets into the water course. fast Broadband across the county with an em- phasis on isolated rural areas. Garsdale and NEW BRIDLEWAY Dentdale are both part of this and through the respective Parish Councils have formed fibre There is a new stretch of bridleway in Garsdale, joining the Station with the GarDen Limited as a project delivery company that will also be registered Lady Anne Highway and which is part of the Pennine Bridleway National as a Community Interest Company. Trail. This is the first purpose-built long distance bridleway for horse riders, mountain bikers and walkers. When the trail is completed it will extend for