There is a new information board positioned at Boathouse Corner which gives an overview of the fascinating history of Fleet Pond.
If you are unfamiliar with the exact location of Boathouse Corner, please see the top right of the map of Fleet Pond on the About page above.
See also this interesting article on the Boathouse.
A recent and prominent Halifax Quality of Life Survey has placed Hart in the top spot based on residents’ health and life expectancy, employment, a low crime rate, relatively good weather, and factors such as good broadband internet access. Excellent news!
The survey is based on information from the 405 local authority districts in the United Kingdom.
Further details are in the official press release.
In this context, The Guardian mentioned Fleet Pond as a noteworthy attraction (my emphasis in bold):
Toppling Elmbridge in Surrey to snatch the Quality of Life title, the study found that 95% of Hart’s residents are in good health, and tend to enjoy incomes at 40% above the UK average. Its levels of crime are the lowest in Hampshire and its attractions include more than 1,000 listed buildings, and Fleet Pond – at 52 acres Hampshire’s largest freshwater lake. It was Fleet Pond that laid the first foundation stones for Fleet, Hart’s administrative capital. The birth of the railways, along with the Victorian gentry’s penchant to skate on its frozen lake in winter, transformed the area.
See here for some interesting background on the story behind the role of the railways and the development of Fleet as a town.
Colin Gray writes:
“I hope you all had a happy Christmas and are well nourished and ready for the next few tasks.
In January we will move our activity up to the Dry Heath. There is a good supply of birch scrub and saplings thriving there which needs to be removed. We will have the ‘Lazy Dogs’ tools available for the easier ones but some growth is on old stumps so they might have to be cut.
The target area is adjacent to the footpath that starts just north of the picnic site (through a gap in the bank) and runs towards the car park. If we can find it under the regrowth there is an old fire site within easy drag distance.”
Hope to see you there and all new volunteers are very welcome!
Further information on the Sunday volunteer tasks (including where to meet etc) is available here.
WordPress (who we use to publish this blog) have prepared a report on Fleet Pond Blog for the past year, 2011.
It has some very interesting facts and figures!
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 24,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 9 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
And here’s a graphic showing where our readers come from!
Last month the volunteers managed to advance as far as the tree line, and with the help of scouts from 29th Odiham, Fleet Cubs and RSPB Young Wildlife Explorers, we hoped our nearly sixty-strong team would progress as far as the margins of the pond.
The terrain was pretty rough and it’s hard work wading through marshy water to get to the large clumps of alder, willow and birch sprouting out of the boggy depths. It’s even tougher, lurching, slopping and occasionally slipping, as you drag the chopped wood back to the fire.
After a murky start, the sun was shining by the time we stopped for tea. It was good moment to pause and admire the beautiful Autumn colours around the pond (until the wind changed direction and smoke from the fire brought tears to my eyes).
We covered a fair amount of terrain, although we didn’t quite make it as far as the pond. Hopefully, cattle will be able to graze the area next year, to keep re-growth at bay.
As I sat down on a tree stump, to pour the water from my wellies and check no small, aquatic creatures had taken up residence in between my toes, it was satisfying to view the difference we had made to the landscape.
If you like reeking of bonfires, peeling off wet socks, and finding odd bits of plant and ash in your hair – join us for more fun in the marshes next month!
Photographs: Cathy Holden