Services A-Z
The Woodland and Orchard Site
The site, adjacent to the main railway line in Old Sodbury, was purchased by the Town Council in May 2021 from Network Rail. This followed completion of works by Network Rail associated with the electrification of the railway, which included diverting the course of the river Frome.
The area in the foreground of the picture was allocated for a community orchard (including a wildflower area), with the remainder of the site, above and to the left in the picture, allocated as a woodland.
Wildflower area
The wildflower area was the first area to be worked on. This area had been a compound used by Network Rail during the electrification works. Starting in May 2021 the area was cleared on weeds and the ground prepared and seeded with native wildflower seed. One year later the results are clear to see, with a swathe of Oxeye daisies. Many other species of plant are also present but it may be some years before the full mix becomes apparent.
Orchard
The creation of the orchard has been generously funded by the Cotswold National Landscape with all planting undertaken by volunteers. Most of this planting took place on New Year’s Day 2022
The orchard lies on the Frome Valley Walkway and in order to clearly mark this Right of Way a set of espalier frames were built against which apple trees have been planted.
The orchard comprises a mix of various varieties of apple, pear, plum, fruit bushes and a nuttery.
Woodland
The woodland covers an area of approximately 4 hectares (8 acres) and comprises land both north and south of the new course of the river Frome. Creating a native woodland over such an area required approximately 4,500 trees, stakes and shelters. These were kindly provided by the Woodland Trust, once again with all planting carried out by volunteers.
A mixture of trees and shrubs were planted, starting in November 2021 and finishing in March 2022. Species planted include oak, hornbeam, lime, holly, dogwood, alder, hawthorn and many others. Due to the very dry spring and summer of 2022 approximately 15% of the trees planted failed and these were replaced during the winter of 2022/2023.
Thanks go to the individuals and organisations that have given their time to creating this woodland that will be an asset for future generations, and in some small way will help to tackle climate change.
