issue no.27 www.damstodarnley.org Spring is blooming here!


Welcome to our twenty seventh edition of Wagtail, the newsletter and events calendar for Dams to Darnley Country Park.


Inside you will find:


– Winter events look back – Country park update – Wildlife witter – Digging in the dirt – Horse hacking – Spotlight on snowberry – Spring events calendar


The next edition of Wagtail will be out in summer 2015.


A sea of snowdrops. What a winter


IT WAS A SOAkING ‘spooky Saturday’ but lots of fearless ghosts and ghouls came out for a woodland walk with scary stories. We had lots of


organisations along to our ‘eco fair’ including RSPB, Open Air Laboratories Network, Hessilehead Wildlife Rescue, Butterfly Conservation, Glasgow University Centre for Open Studies, Glasgow Museums, Cats Protection and Rouken Glen Park. Our ‘beautiful baskets’


truly were! It was a lovely day and everyone made a willow basket to take home. ‘Christmas crafts’ involved


more willow weaving, this time into wreaths decorated with pine, holly, ivy and berries. To welcome in the New


Year we walked from Darnley Mill to Balgray Reservoir and back


Country park update


The beginnings of a beautiful basket.


discussing country park developments and priorities. It was really like ‘walking in a winter wonderland’ as the weather changed from sunshine to hail to blizzards and back again. In February we fought


through the sleet and wind and flocked to Balgray Reservoir to spot wintering visiting birds and our residents. Even in the terrible conditions we saw 13 different species including dipper, goosander, buzzard and great crested grebe.


Waulkmill Glen Reservoir draw-down tower.


VISITORS TO WAULkMILL Glen Reservoir are likely to have seen work being undertaken to the historic draw-down tower. The iconic octagonal tower forms part of the reservoir’s Victorian infrastructure; the valves that it contains are used to control the water level. The draw- down tower, along with the reservoir itself, its associated sluice and regulating house, is a Category A listed structure under the list of important buildings drawn up by Historic Scotland. Following an inspection to


assess the structural condition of the tower, undertaken on


behalf of Scottish Water, it became clear that a number of repairs were needed. In particular missing stone roof slabs required to be replaced. The metal roof trusses also needed replacing. Because of the tower’s


historic status Scottish Water were required to secure listed building consent from East Renfrewshire Council to allow the works to be undertaken. Importantly this sought to ensure that missing roof slabs would be replaced using stone matching the existing ones. The works are anticipated to be completed later in 2015.


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