An interesting letter appeared in the Bath Chronicle this week, recounting the writer's childhood memories of Twerton Roundhill which date back as far as the 1930s. The letter recalled how there used to be a hut on top of the hill, which was known locally as 'The Shelter'. Apparently built mainly of wood, it contained seats facing the city centre, Odd Down, Englishcombe and Bristol.

The structure survived until the Second World War when it was rebuilt as a hut to be used by the Home Guard. One Sunday morning in around 1948 or 1949, an arsonist set the building ablaze and sadly it burned to the ground.

From May to September a plant with a rich yellow flower can be found all over the slopes of the hill. It is called Birdsfoot Trefoil and produces seed pods that resemble a bird's claw, hence its name. Local people used to call it by another of its common names - Tom Thumb. Caterpillars of the Common Blue butterly feed on the plant, while the adult butterfly feeds on its nectar together with that of other wildflowers. To see a larger photo of Birdsfoot Trefoil growing on the hill click here. To see a video of the Common Blue butterfly feeding from the plant click here.

Also on the hill, usually tucked into the hedgerows, you can find a wildflower called Germander Speedwell. It bears small, striking blue flowers with a white spot in the centre. The plant flowers from April to June in grassy areas and can grow up to 40 centimetres tall. Ancient herbalists believed that it was good for treating a variety of ailments such as skin diseases, measles and smallpox. More recently it was used as a tea to treat coughs and catarrh. To see a larger photo of Germander Speedwell growing on the hill click here.

Joe, 30/05/09

Youth meeting

A youth meeting will be held at Sladebrook Evangelical Church (next to Tesco at Englishcombe Lane) on 5th June at 7.30pm. It is open to all young people in the community to discuss their thoughts and feelings with the Neighbourhood Team. There will be pizza and cola.

Fun on the Farm

This event sponsored by Cadbury is coming to Bath City Farm on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th June. Collect your free tickets from Bath City Farm now. There will be loads of activities including ball games, a puppet show, treasure hunt, face painting, dancing, photo on the farm, climbing and adventure zone, biscuit decorating and much more.

Celebration

An Annual Community Celebration will be held at Southdown Methodist Centre, The Hollow, on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June. On Saturday there will be a summer fete with stalls, games and refreshments. On Sunday at 3pm there will be an Art Workshop for all ages. Then at 4pm there will be a Community Celebration in the church, with people from Southdown Infant School and Southside Youth Centre. Cream teas will be served at 4.45pm.

Life skills

Bath City Farm is offering a 10 week programme to help people develop back to work skills. The programme includes animal care, conservation and horticulture, as well as health and safety, budgeting and project planning. It starts on 1st July and runs on Monday from 10am to 3pm and Tuesday from 10am to 12.30pm. Telephone 01225 481269.

Joe, 27/05/09

It's not often that I put a quiz on the website because they take too long to make. But with not much news to report I thought I'd put together a few questions to test your knowledge of South West Bath. Click on the picture below to go to the quiz.

A question is always easier when you know the answer. Somewhere on the website there's another quiz that I made earlier this year. Ah yes it's here. Okay, time for me to get another lemsip - there's a cold going around Twerton and I've had it over a week.

Joe, 25/05/09

An old newspaper cutting from the Bath and Wilts Chronicle and Herald has been lent to me by Mr Chris Stillman. It describes the discovery of a grotto in the garden of a house in Twerton and is dated 11th September 1930. The text is as follows.

There is a mystery cave in the garden of a house in Twerton - the sort of grim cavern that would delight the hearts of little boys who have a taste for exploring the unknown.

I visited the cave (writes a Chronicle and Herald representative) and, expecting to find little more than a glorified grotto, I was amazed at its depth, darkness, winding passages, and the huge pieces of rock of which it is constructed.

It is in the garden of Woodlands, the residence of Mr Ford, and it was with his permission that we - the photographer and myself - were able to see under what is undoubtedly the most queer back garden in Bath. Woodlands is a detached Georgian house, and contains a wing which was obviously built before the Georges. The garden is bounded on one side by the Avon, and on the other side by the Lower Bristol Road. And between the river and the road is this amazing cavern.

What was it intended for? When was it built? Who built it? These are questions which are difficult to answer. it is an eerie, uncanny place, the more so because one comes upon it so suddenly. Walking in the garden I realised that underneath was a subterranean passage with tunnels just wide enough to walk along, branching off from it. Then, going down a sloping path, I saw the mouth of the cave yawning before me.

Left: 1930s photo of the grotto; right: Woodlands as it is seen today

The entrance is high enough to stand up in, and wide enough to park a couple of motors. Candle in hand, I explored the passages which branch off from the main cave. The whole thing is composed entirely of dry stone work, beautifully keyed in. Some of the stones bear fossil impressions. And - shades of Cheddar - there were some stalactites and stalagmites, some of them seven or eight inches long.

If, as it is said, it takes a hundred years for a stalactite to grow one inch, the cave must have been in existence in the reign of Henry I! One of the passages leads up some steps and out into a higher part of the garden nearer the house.

It has been suggested that the place might have been used by smugglers at one time, and Mr Ford recounts - though he cannot vouch for it - the story that there is somewhere a tunnel connecting the cave with Little Hill, but was bricked in when the railway was built.

It is difficult to imagine that when driving along the high road, there is, but twenty yards away, a mysteriously relic of a bygone age.

Update: What the reporter had discovered was a grotto built by the former Twerton mill owner Charles Wilkins. In the 1840s Wilkins built Wood House which once stood where the bungalows at Woodhouse Road are situated. With some leftover materials he built Woodlands and the stone grotto which he combined with a stream and shrubs to make a public pleasure area.

Today Woodlands is very visible as one of the last buildings you go past on the Lower Bristol Road as you drive out of Bath. Now used by a firm that sells books and videos by the American evangelist Jesse Duplantis, staff knew nothing of any grotto when I called. It lies somewhere beneath the modern carpark, having long been filled in.

Joe, 21/05/09

Judges will be visiting Twerton soon to see if our Carrs Woodland nature reserve is good enough to receive the Green Flag Award. Green Flag status is awarded to high quality parks and green areas in England and Wales, and is a way of increasing levels of public interest.

The Carrs Woodland nature reserves borders Walwyn Close and Redland Park in Twerton, and you can access it easily from Walwyn Close or Pennyquick Park at Newton Road. On Saturday a team of Council workers and volunteers met to clear the wood of fly tipping and litter at the Walwyn Close and Redland Park ends, ahead of the judging.

Unfortunately Walwyn Close is an easy target for people from outside the area looking for a place to fly tip. Last week at the Twerton PACT meeting some residents complained about litter in this area. If they'd have come and taken part we could have cleared the place up in about 40 minutes. So why not join the next litter pick when it is advertised?

Joe, 16/05/09