Gallery – Millennium Spinney 1999-2019

Taken from the Gayton News Winter 2019 Edition:

This month, December 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the planting of Gayton’ Millennium Spinney by a work party of volunteers. Walking through the Spinney a few days ago we thought back to that day and the tiny saplings that we planted in neat straight rows and just look how high they are today! It occurred to us that it would be interesting to feature some “then and now” pictures in the Gayton News. So, we trawled through all our photo albums and came up with a selection of pictures showing the Spinney in all seasons and the various stages of growth from the planting to the present. The picture of the actual planting is taken from Rita Poxon’s excellent book ‘Glimpses of Gayton’.

We also looked through our old copies of the Gayton News, to see what was written about it at the time. Here are a couple of quotes:

Parish Council report December 1999 – “On the subject of the Millennium, we are now in the final stages of completing the agreement for the transfer of the land on the corner of Back Lane and Blisworth Road. By the time you read this, the trees should have been planted…”

Editorial Spring 2000 – “our new spinney is beginning to show signs of life. There are leaves on the young trees and in recent weeks they have had plenty of rain to help them become established.”

Some years later, in January 2010, another village work party went into the spinney with saws and pruners and did a good job of thinning and tidying. That was 10 years ago and very little has been done since. Another major exercise is much overdue – not just thinning and pruning but the removal of several trees. It’s looking a bit sad now, overgrown and neglected.

We recently posted some of our pictures on the Gayton Facebook page and were pleased to receive several comments including one who wrote that she did not realize these trees were planted for the Millennium. That is not surprising, because there is nothing to indicate that this anonymous clump of trees on the corner of Blisworth Road and Back Lane is Gayton’s Millennium Spinney. We wonder how many other Gayton residents are unaware of its significance. At the very least we should have a name board on the gate and preferably an information board, similar to the one at the entrance to Tiffield’s Pocket Park.

The Millennium Spinney is a valuable village asset and after all the work that went into creating it 20 years ago, we really should be doing more to look after it and make it an attractive place for Gaytonians to walk and relax.
Barry Steer

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