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Nature and Nature conservancy Bordering our village is some beautiful countryside.
The lake from the birders viewpoint on the west bank - January 2001 - Picture courtesy of Paul Earle SPADE OAK LAKE BIRD SANCTUARY AND MIELLENNIUM PATH The fact that we have that path is entirely
due to the tenacity of ONE MAN : Christopher Wallis. He was then the
Chiltern Society Footpath rep. for Little Marlow & was asked by the Parish
Council to attend the Public Inquiry to object to Folley's plans to divert the
footpath to beside the railway line. As he always believes in the positive
approach, he suggested the route which was adopted. This was not supported
by the Parish Council: at the time the PC rep at the Inquiry (who had best be
nameless) called him "a little monkey". It
was back in 1966 that the Folley Brothers began to dig the former farmland in
Coldmoorholm Lane that we now know as Spade Oak Lake, to extract the valuable
flood plain gravel that was in great demand for the motorway, building program.
Since then the site has developed into an integrated facility incorporating sand
and gravel extraction, readmix plant, inert waste recycling and land filling. It
may interest younger readers. and those new to the parish that a footpath
originally crossed through what is now the lake. In 1968, a public enquiry, was
held at which Little Marlow Parish Council sought to retain a path running from
Coldmoorholm Lane westward to Little Marlow. Footpath No.4, as it is so
elegantly known. now runs some 200 yards north of its original line. Thanks to
the tenacity, of Little Marlow Parish Council and the Coldmoorholm
Residents" Association, this well used path, forming part of a pleasant
circular walk. is available for the use of future generations. Gravel
is no longer dug from Spade Oak, but the area is used by the current owners,
Lafarge, as a depository for gravel dug elsewhere,. Much of the aggregates
removed from the Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme (MWEFAS)
is stored here today. It
was in 1999 that the Parish Council and Lafarge began discussing a permissive
path around the lake to celebrate the new Millennium. Now a new footpath and
bridge have been built over the stream on the eastern side to link with the
existing network of paths, and a bench sited at a convenient location.
I The
official opening, and a small ceremony to mark the handing over of the agreement
for the permissive footpath to the local community took place on the 26th April
2002. Geoff Fitchew |
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03/07/2007 WebWork by Jonathan |
