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issue no.21 www.damstodarnley.org Autumn highlights


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


Inside you will find:


– Summer events look back – Which way? – Wildlife witter – CRIMP! – Two hills hike


– Spotlight on winter thrushes – Autumn events calendar


The next edition of Wagtail will be out in winter 2013.


Autumn leaves. Summer shenanigans


AfTER A loNg Cold spring, a superb summer arrived and we certainly enjoyed it. We went ‘dip-a-dee-doo-dah’ for pond dipping and one boy caught the largest diving beetle any of us had ever seen.


Our angling event was a wash out. Can you believe the weather was too good? The water was flat and the sun was beaming down, which meant the fish were not biting. One very philosophical nine year old pointed out this is why it is called fishing and not catching. We caught lots of creepy crawlies and bumblebees on our bug hunt and the meadows were teaming with ringlets and meadow browns on ‘the big butterfly count’. We also saw a red admiral and a few whites. Mark Roberts from


glasgow life gave us lots of incredible information about Darnley Mill and Waulkmill Glen on our historic walk. Did you know Darnley had a castle? Everyone managed to find


their way ‘from pillar to post’ in order to complete the extended country park orienteering course. You can download the map and control sheet from the website or contact the countryside ranger service. Finally, fantastic dens were built during our ‘dragon’s den’ event. We even camped out in them for lunch!


Which way? little bug hunters.


If you TAkE A WAlk beside Balgray Reservoir look out for five new wooden waymarker posts every 500m. The decision to install the posts relates to an incident that took place several winters ago. on Boxing day 2009 a country park visitor got into great difficulty after falling through ice whilst trying to rescue her dogs. luckily a passing walker was able to assist by pulling her out. The gentleman was presented with a Brave@ Heart award by the Scottish First Minister in 2011 in recognition of his heroism. One of the main issues faced once back on land was alerting the emergency services as to the exact location of the incident because of limited signage. Since 2009 entrance signage at Balgray Reservoir path has been erected,


Scottish Water volunteers.


but it is hoped that the waymarkers will also help new country park visitors orientate themselves if required.


The posts have an additional value. A return journey from either end of the Balgray Reservoir path, passing all five posts, clocks up 4km. So country park visitors can keep track of their efforts to stay in shape! A special thanks to our volunteers from Scottish Water who installed the posts at Balgray Reservoir.


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