Wendover News Summer 25

Civil War coin hoard find in Weston Turville

By Richard Byford

What have hoards of English Civil War coins got in common with London buses? Answer: You wait ages for one to arrive, then two come along together!

In the same week as Wendover News was preparing to publish the story of a historic hoard of coins from the English civil war period, Buckinghamshire journalist Louise Parry reported on a similar but different find from Aylesbury on the BBC.

In September 2023, our own contact, Oliver, got a strong response while metal detecting in an open field in Weston Turville –not far from the Wendover parish boundary. He has asked us not to include his surname to protect his privacy.

About six inches (150mm) down, he discovered a terracotta vessel, probably originally made as a tankard, full of coins. He recorded the position and carefully removed the container so that the contents could be processed by the Portable Antiquities Scheme, via the County Archaeologist at Discover Bucks Museum.

Oliver found that the 161 coins were a mix of silver half-crowns, and several sixpences, dating from the reign of Elizabeth I (15581603), but with the most recent having been minted in about 1645 – exact dating for that period is sometimes surprisingly difficult due to the war’s disruption to the mints. With a

similar assortment to those reported by the BBC in the other find, both hoards are very likely associated with English Civil War.

The site where they were found was near the edge of a nondescript field, which may have been ploughed regularly during the last 200 years. There is no building nearby, but from clues found in the plough-soil, Oliver is sure that there was once a house in the field which may have been destroyed by fire before detailed maps of the area were surveyed. The face total value of the coins is about £20, which would have been

Mystery Object at the Antiques Centre

a substantial sum in the time of the civil war – equivalent, perhaps, to the annual income of a prosperous professional person or merchant.

Logically, the coins could have been put in the ground any time after the date of the most recent coin, so it is likely that there was a link to the English Civil War. The description here is a very brief and simplified description. If you are interested in the details, you can do no better than to visit the website of Weston Turville Historical Society at: www.wthsoc.org.uk.

What was Weston Turville like in the civil war?

In the lead-up to 1642, there had been growing unrest about King Charles I and his habit of ignoring the will of the people, deciding how tax money should be spent and bypassing parliament. To make that worse, most of the money he was spending was to finance wars in foreign land, for his own prestige and entertainment. Throughout the country, particularly in London, there was increasing unrest. During 1642, unrest turned to armed fights, and factions aligned either to Charles or Parliament coalesced around different areas of the country.

It is likely that Western Turville would have been biased towards Parliament,  p30

Wendover | Stoke Mandeville | Dunsmore | The Lee | Halton | Weston Turville | Aston Clinton

Contents – Summer 2025

Civil War coin hoard find Front Skool’s Out /Sue Barnes 7 Local News 10 Skatepark update 16 Library 19 What to do this summer 20 Culture, performing and visual arts 22 HS2 Green tunnel 24

WHS2 Mitigation Action Group 29

Front page (continued) ......................... 30 Make Wendover Smile .......................... 32 Acer corner open garden ...................... 33

Community boards 5 year on ............... 34 Club Corner .......................................... 37 From the Clock Tower Back

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Events - Summer 2025

Summer Events for Children

Wendover Community Library

Off Wendover High Street, HP22 6DU Story Garden throughout the month of July. Flowers Scavenger Hunt, ages 4+, Colouring and Activity Pages, ages 3+. Free, no booking required for either.

Sats 12 & 26; Make Wendover Smile* Art & Lego Sessions, 10am-2pm, ages 4-11 Free, Drop-in. *Make Wendover Smile sessions are delivered in partnership with Wendover Parish Council. Fri 25; Make a cress head, 10.30am-12 noon, ages 4-11, Free, booking required. Thu 31; Create an Enchanting Miniature Garden, 10.30am-12 noon, ages 4-11 Free, booking required.

Cosmic Adventures

Discover Bucks Museum, Aylesbury 23 July – 3 September open every day Experience a summer of intergalactic fun that’s out of this world! Step into a world of science, space and sci-fi fun. To book visit www.discoverbucksmuseum.org. See p20

Yoga and Mindful Art Classes

Guide Hut, Manor Crescent, Wendover HP22 6HH

Mons, 09:15-10:15am KundaDance www.happywellyoga.com/classes/ kundadance

WENDOVER MEMORIAL HALL

Great for Children’s Parties Ideal for Weddings & Functions

Excellent kitchen facilities

Enquiries : 07804 671445 angelawmh@aol.co.uk

ST ANNE’S HALL to hire

All enquiries to Angela German 07423 266713 stanneshallwendover@hotmail.co.uk

Merryweather Mowers

SALES, SERVICE & REPAIRS

New & Used Mowers in Stock

54 Brook Street, Aston Clinton Aylesbury, Bucks. HP22 5ES

Tel: Ian Stiles (01296) 631918

Mons, 10:30-11:15am Chair Yoga www.happywellyoga.com/classes/chair-yoga Mons, 11:30-12:30 Mindful HeART Class www.artyparty.fun/mindful-heart-mondays

Yoga with Alice D

Mons, Halton Village Hall, HP22 5NG

7-8.15pm, Pregnancy Yoga

8.30-9.45pm, Women’s Yoga Weds, Wendover Memorial Hall, HP22 6HF 10.30-11.30am, Mum and baby Yoga, 12-1pm, Nurture baby massage. www.yogawithaliced.com

Simply Walks and Cycle Rides

Wendover – Tues: Weekly walks from Wendover Clock Tower, leaving 10am. Aston Clinton – Thus: from Aston Clinton Park leave 10.30am. Meet beside “Your Café in the Park.” Registration is 15 minutes before at both locations.

Aylesbury Cycling UK – Suns. Easy pace: every first and third week of the month. Newcomers: each second and fourth week. www.cyclinguk.org/group/aylesburycycling-uk. New co-ordinator needed. See p37.

Diamond Bridge Club

Tuesdays 6.45 for 7pm, Ellesborough Village Hall, HP17 0XA

A friendly club which plays bridge in a relaxed environment. If you would like to join, contact the Membership Secretary at DBCAylesbury@yahoo.com

Cracklewick Morris

Tuesdays 8.15-10.15pm

Halton Village Hall, HP22 5NG

An all-inclusive mixed Morris side who meet most Tuesdays for dance practice. Everyone welcome – musicians and dancers. No experience needed to dance. Email cracklewickmorris@gmail.com. See p38

Fitness and Fun for the Over-60’s Thursdays, 2-3pm, Stoke Mandeville Community Centre, Eskdale Road Every other Thursday afternoon with refreshments afterwards.

Craft

Group

Wed 2, 16 & 30, 10am-12 noon

Wendover Christian Centre, HP22 6JG

Craft Group provides time, space, and friendly company to work on any kind of craft project. Please bring your own materials or just see what others are doing. Coffee served at about 11am.

Chilterns Light Network

Weds, 7.30 for 8pm

Wendover Memorial Hall, HP22 6HF

Fun and friendly group. All welcome. Openminded and looking for meaning in your life? We provide a variety of topics & discussion. 2 Holistic Therapies with Gui 9; Eddie Obeng The GOOD reset – Mind & Body 16; Tba; 23 Sovereign Project – what kind of law 30; Tba £5 non-members. www. chilternslightnetwork.org or email

ChilternsLight@proton.me.

Poetry Please

Fri 4, 10.30am-12 noon

Wendover Christian Centre HP22 6JG

Grass Cutting Service

Regular or one off cuts

For free quote call Ian Whittome 01296 682361 07885 031431

“One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter,” Henry David Thoreau. Wherever your poems take you, join us when our theme will be ‘Holidays.’ Drinks, biscuits and a warm welcome await you!

Open Garden at Russell Farm

Sun 6, 2-4pm, Cobblers Hill Lane, Wendover HP22 6QD

Ample parking spaces, £14 in advance, includes tea and cake. See p21.

Wanstall Consulting Surgeries

Tue 8, 12–2pm

Wendover Community Library

To book a slot phone: 01296 415700 or email: iain@wanstallconsulting.co.uk

Fat Quarters Patchwork and Quilting Group

Tue 8, 7pm

Great Missenden Memorial Hall HP16 9AE

Talk by The Crafty Quilter Jo Westfoot:

‘How to bypass the quilting freeze.’ Visitors welcome, cost £5.50.

Meetings on the second Tuesday of each month. For a full programme of workshops, talks and details about becoming a member, email fatquartersmissenden@gmail.com

Board Game Café

Thu 10 & 31, 2-4pm

Wendover Christian Centre HP22 6JG

Enjoy a variety of games old and new or take your own to play with others. Open and free of charge for all ages.

Tring Summer Carnival

10-13 July

10; Tring Together Big Quiz Night. Tables of six. £8 pp, (£14 includes BBQ and entry to rock n roll bingo) from https://tinyurl.com/ sc2025bigquiznight or from Fancy That Tring (cash only).

11; Carnival Day.

12 evening; Music in the Marquee Big Band Night Out! Featuring Zebra Jazz Collective and swing, pop and Latin from Tring Phoenix Big Band. Tickets: £15 adults, £10 students at https://tinyurl.com/sc2025bigbandnightout or from Fancy That (cash).

13 noon – 3pm; Soundscape at the Tring Brewery Marquee, Pound Meadow, Tring. Headline act: The Attention Seekers.

Open Mic Night

Sat 12, 7pm

St Mary’s Church, Stoke Mandeville

Do you have a musical talent you would enjoy sharing? In aid of St Mary’s Church funds. Contact bookingsattheark@gmail.com

Politics in Pub debating evening

Mon 14, 7.30pm-9pm,

The Bull pub, Stoke Mandeville, HP22 5UP

The latest in our friendly and informative debating evenings that encourages people of all political persuasions to discuss contemporary issues in a social setting. An ideal opportunity to connect with your local community and meet new friends. Topic for debate for this session: ‘Is the UK’s First Past the Post electoral system fit for purpose? Or is there a case for Proportional Representation?’ Free to attend. All welcome.

Yardfest

Sat 19, Hampden Meadow

Join The Craftyard for a fun day with live music, kids’ entertainment, craft beers. www. weareyardfest.co.uk See p20.

Stoke Mandeville Party in the Park Sat 19, noon to 9pm.

Queen Elizabeth II Playing Fields, Stoke Mandeville

Go along and enjoy the live music, children’s rides, craft tent and a BMX stunt team. A variety of food and drink stalls will be there along with DJ Dan Blaze to keep the sounds pumping. Free to attend (children’s rides will be chargeable).

Book Club Sat 19, 10.30 to 11.30am Wendover Christian Centre HP22 6JG

No set books. Just come and hear what others have been reading and, if you wish, talk about something you’ve read – whether you loved it or not. We begin with coffee and sometimes cake! All welcome.

Aylesbury Vale Stitchers

Sat 19, 2-4:30pm

Wendover Memorial Hall, HP22 6HF Deb McGuire talk – Emotional Quilts. She will be skipping through 300 years of quilt history, drawing on extant examples from collections across the UK, as she demonstrates where inspiration can be drawn from the past to inform new work. See: www.plainstitch.co.uk

Wendover Horticultural Society

Wed 23

Coach trip to Foscote Manor near Buckingham, leaving 9.15, returning 12.30. Cost £32.00. Non-members welcome, contact Diane, on 07966 155775.

Cream Teas, St Mary’s Church

Weston Turville

Sun 27, 3-5pm All welcome.

Wendover Cricket Club

Tue 29 July – Fri 1 August

Witchell Ground, HP22 6EG Two summer camps will take place at the

Witchell ground during the summer holidays, providing fun cricket activities for children aged 6-12. Dates are Tue 29 July – Fri 1 August, and Tue 26 to Fri 29 August (individual days can be booked, or whole weeks for a discount).

The camps are run by Elevate Cricket Academy and you can register here: https:// tinyurl.com/2pdxkz94. See p20

Crafternoon

Tue 29, 11-3pm

Wendover Christian Centre HP22 6JG

Would you like to learn a new craft? Try the Crafternoon! Materials will be provided for crafts, but please take your own lunch. All welcome! Donations welcome to cover costs.

Bel

& The Dragon Events

9 High Street, HP22 6D

Wed 25 Quiz Night; Tue 29 Shakespeare in the Garden.www.belandthedragon.co.uk/ Wendover

Farming

in

Felt

Sat 26 Jul-1 Aug, 10am-4pm, Church Farm Weston Turville, HP22 5SJ See story p21.

Compassionate Café, Great Missenden

Wed 30, 11.30am, Great Missenden

Library, HP16 0AL

Trained volunteers ensure the café offers a welcoming space for people to come together for emotional support. www.bit. ly/3Zqn5RH

Scarecrow Building Workshop

Thu 31, 10-12 noon

Wendover Christian Centre HP22 6JG

Learn the basics of making a scarecrow and use your creativity to personalise it on any of the four workshops in July and August.

Organised by the Florence Nightingale Hospice ahead of their scarecrow trail fundraiser. There will be a charge for material.

The Arts Society Ballinger

Thu 31, 7.30 for 8pm

Ballinger Memorial Hall HP16 9LQ

‘Bound to learn: a brief history of Western bookbinding.’ Library conservator and National Trust advisor Caroline Bendix looks at western bookbinding, in particular during the age of the printed book.

Bookbindings provided an insight into the owner’s wealth and station in life, as books were bought unbound and bindings were therefore generally chosen by the first owner until the 19th century.

For more details email: info@ theartssocietyballinger.org.uk or visit www. theartssocietyballinger.org.uk

Summer Events for Children

Wendover Community Library

Books Scavenger Hunt, ages 4+. Free, no booking required

7; ‘Create a Seed Tray,’ 2-3.30pm, ages 4+ Free, booking required.

9; Make Wendover Smile* Art & Lego Sessions, 10am-2pm, ages 4-11 Free, drop-in. 14; Make newspaper pots and start your own herb garden, 2-3.30pm, ages 4+ Free, booking required.

Scarecrow making workshops, theme: book characters. These sessions will be delivered in partnership with Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity.

Tues 5 & 12 – 2 to 3.30pm

Fris 8, 15 & 22 – 10.30am to 12 noon Sat 23 – 10.30am to 12 noon.

Step back into the Iron Age

Fri 1, 10am-3pm

Wendover Woods, HP22 5NQ

Take part in guided walks around Boddington Hillfort and see how people lived in the Iron Age. www.forestryengland.uk/ wendover-woods

Poetry Please

Fri 1, 10.30am-12 noon

Wendover Christian Centre

Take your ease this month! Bring your favourite poem, the theme will be ‘Holidays.’

Race the Light Trail Run

Fri 1, 7pm, Wendover Woods, HP22 5NQ

Chilterns Neuro Centre has partnered with Runaway Racing to launch a new running event. 5k & 10k trail runs, 1.5k accessible trial run. For details visit: https:// chilternsneurocentre.org and see ad p6.

Stick Man Meet and Greet

Sun 3, various times (See ad below)

Wendover Woods, HP22 5NQ

Meet Stick Man and join in family fun activities.

Wanstall Consulting Surgeries

Tue 5, 12 – 2pm

Wendover Community Library

To book a slot see July listing

Lunch Club

Tue 5 & 19, 12.30pm

Wendover Christian Centre

No need to eat alone – enjoy a cooked lunch in friendly company. Get in touch via minister@wendoverfreechurch.org.uk to book your place. Donations to cover costs.

Compassionate Café Wigginton

Wed 6, 1.30-3pm,

The Sports Ground community café

Time: 10am to 3pm

When: 1 August 2025

Chilterns Light Network

Weds, 7.30 for 8pm

Wendover Memorial Hall

6; Electroculture - grow better crops

13 onwards; tba

Remaining dates and details will be posted on the website. www.chilternslightnetwork.org.

Scarecrow Building Workshops

7, 14 & 21, 10-12 noon

Wendover Christian Centre

Details in 31 July listing.

Board Game Café

Thu 7, 14 & 21 2-4pm

Wendover Christian Centre

Open weekly for the summer holidays.

School of Rock the Musical

Sat 9, 2.30 & 7pm

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

A high-energy, laugh-out-loud, School of Rock The Musical, brought to the stage by Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity. Visit www.fnhospice.org.uk/schoolofrock. See p20

Politics Book Club

Mon 11, 7pm - 9pm

Wendover Community Library, HP22 6DU

Discussing ‘How we let Grenfell Happen,’ by Peter Apps. Please come and join the discussions.

Crafternoon

Tue 12, 11-3pm, Wendover Christian Centre, Aylesbury Road.

Craft Group

Weds 13 & 27, 10am-12 noon

Wendover Christian Centre

Bel & The Dragon Events

13; Wind in the Willows 28; Opera in the Garden 29; Quiz Night. See ad p4

Book Club

Sat 16, 10.30 -11.30am, Christian Centre

Aylesbury Vale Stitchers

Sat 16, 2-4:30pm, Memorial Hall

Open meeting: stitching session. Please take your own sewing. No fee. There will be a sales table, raffle and refreshments.

Wendover Skate Park

Sun 17, 12-4pm, Castle Park Rd, HP22 6LX

Celebrate the official opening. Try skateboarding or demonstrate your skills. See p16

Cream Teas

St Mary’s Church Weston Turville Mon 25, 3-5pm

Wendover Cricket Club

Tue 26 to Fri 29, Witchell Ground

Second summer camp. See July events listing

SAVE THE DATE – SEPTEMBER

Fri 5; Charity Golf Day at Weston Turville Golf Club for Chilterns Neuro Centre

Sat 13; Come & Sing Verdi Workshop at St Mary’s Church Wendover, www. aylesburyopera.org.uk

Sat 13; 6pm, St Anne’s Hall, fund-raising quiz for Maria Bray’s Channel Relay Swim. Donate at: https://revolut.me/mariaz9v1

Sun 28; 3-5pm St Mary’s Weston Turville Cream Tea

Planning ahead?

Here’s the Wendover News next production dates.

To ensure we have enough space, email newsdesk @wendovernews.org or advertising @wendovernews.org to let us know as early as possible.

Issue deadline (18:00)

Skool’s Out!

As we head into the summer holidays, the children of Wendover and surrounding areas will soon forget the daily routine of being at school. No doubt the staff will also be relieved to have some ‘me-time’ and staying in bed late on a weekday.

There’s a lot going on in the schools in this area, despite severe financial constraints. Teachers, school staff and governors need recognition, as do those older pupils who take on the responsibility of being guides and mentors to their fellow learners.

Local Face: Sue Barnes

In September 1990, probationary teacher Sue Dawe took up a post at John Hampden Infant School in Wendover. This summer she’s leaving after 35 years! She says she has enjoyed her entire career in one school because it offered her exactly the career opportunities she was looking for, and she has enjoyed meeting the challenges it has offered. Many of the pupils she encouraged in that time are now parents themselves and some of their children are now coming through the school.

Her first headteacher was Liz Halfacre, although she retired at the end of the probationary year. Sue then married Paul to become Mrs Barnes. It was Lesley Alexander as head who took Sue through her first seven years of teaching, covering Reception and

years 1 and 3. John Hampden was at the time a two-form entry school from Reception to Year 3, though this was later re-ordered so year 3 started in the Junior School.

In 1998, Sue took maternity leave and cooked up a plan with Alison Duggan for a job share in year 2. Lesley encouraged what became the first job-share in the school. Four years later, another maternity leave led to a continuation of the job share for a further four years. In 2008 Sue became assistant head at John Hampden. She started the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). When the then head teacher Katherine Page left, Sue applied for the post and was appointed in October 2010. Sue Lipscomb, who had been acting head, was her deputy.

Sue Barnes realised that John Hampden had become “her life” and she introduced some radical changes, including making The Octagon into part of the Reception teaching space as it is today. She completed a research project which led to “loving to learn,” which is now the school’s motto. She also introduced values which imbue every part of the curriculum.

Anticipating a “bulge” class in 2014 the County Council planned new buildings to make the school a four-form entry with a follow on in Wendover Junior School next door. Sue project-managed the rebuilding

WENDOVER MUSIC

Here’s a short run down of what has been going on locally. We begin with one of those special heroes who has played an important part in the early lives of many local people. Sunday 7th September

This year we are delighted to welcome two exciting young performers

programme, which allowed the old hall to become a new dining room, while the larger new hall is used for the Breakfast Club and After School Club. This means “wrap around care” for pupils is available, with up to 90 pupils using it each day. The school now has a sensory room, nurture room and group room to support pupils. The outside space is arranged for play and canopies allow maths, English and other skills to be taught outside in most weathers. A recent big building project was the creation of two new classrooms and a purpose-built Pre-School in 2017.

Covid presented an unprecedented challenge in 2020 when, at a day’s notice, the school was closed except for children of key workers. Teachers had to learn to teach very young pupils remotely, on-screen. As the pandemic proceeded, Sue became the Covid coordinator, as anyone working within the school had to be tested regularly.

Sue says she is delighted that her deputy, Steph Parkinson, has been appointed head teacher from September. She is handing over a school which has had six very positive OFSTED inspections in her time (most recently March 2024), which confirmed the high standards and that the school is well respected locally. Sue leaves with the knowledge that her decades of hard work are rightly appreciated by officialdom as well as colleagues, parents and students.

Wendover Church of England Junior School seeks new governors

For the team running a modern school, it can sometimes feel as if they are also running a business, community centre, sports centre, emergency centre and even a fort, at the same time! That’s on top of taking a caring, compassionate interest in every pupil they meet during their day.

They need sensible, helpful and dedicated people to support them and maintain ‘big picture’ view. It’s the school governors who perform that valuable role. As outsiders, they can bring in skills and expertise that are otherwise unavailable to the school team. As ‘critical friends’ they can support the head teacher and senior team with valuable oversight and impartial advice.

Now Wendover Junior School would like to hear from you if you think you could be useful in that role. To find out more, contact the school office: admin@wendoverjunior.co.uk

Head teacher, Gareth Kynaston writes: “As we approach the final weeks of the summer term, it is fitting to look back on what has been a successful year for Wendover CE Junior School. We have been working hard to further improve our school so that children flourish, staff thrive, and our partnerships develop. We were pleased to welcome OFSTED during the first week of this summer term. The report confirms our belief that we know our school well and are continuing to take effective action to ensure that all children are well provided for and are well prepared for their next phase in education.

Our approach to teaching and learning encourages everyone to be active participants, collaborating, sharing and learning to disagree well. As well as achieving a good standard in English and maths, children benefit from a wide curriculum and inspiring enrichment activities. There are a range of ways in which children are supported to flourish, including children with SEND, Young Carers and Service Children. The inspector saw that children learn how to be positive advocates for change, saying: “The school does a great deal to support pupil’s broader development effectively.” (Ofsted, April

2025). Many children have independently organised fundraising activities that have greatly benefitted charities in the local area and further afield; many more children have supported them through buying items from their sales. Character development was recognised as just one of our strengths.

Stoke Mandeville Combined School

Jenny Shaw, writing for the governors at Stoke Mandeville Combined School reports: “As we reach the end of the 2024–25 academic year, the governors are delighted to share news of another outstanding year of achievement and close community. Our one-form entry village school remains in high demand with every class full and waiting lists in every year group.

Our pupils have had a fantastic year taking part in a wide range of enriching events and experiences including the VE Day 80 flag-raising ceremony, a visit from a children’s author for an interactive storytelling session, Sustrans Big Walk & Wheel challenge to promote active travel, children from our hearing impairment ARP representing the school at a ‘panathlon’ event at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, and our brand new gymnastics team winning first place at a regional gymnastics competition, earning a place in the County Finals.

In September 2024 we took the decision to make British Sign Language (BSL) our modern foreign language. BSL was already being taught throughout the school to all year groups, and it has been such a positive part of the inclusive school culture that we wanted to dedicate even more time to teaching the children this valuable life skill. The children have warmly welcomed the change and we are excited to see the progress they make towards the BSL Level 1 qualification.

As we prepare to say goodbye to our Year 6 pupils, we send them off with pride and every good wish for their move to secondary school. At the same time, we look forward to welcoming our newest Reception children in September as they begin their own exciting school journey.

To our incredible staff, families and pupils,

thank you for making this year so special. Enjoy your Summer break!”

New team of head students at JCS

The new team of head students at John Colet School is now in post. There are now five members as the work has expanded to need an extra person .

From left to right in the photo below:

• George Grace, studying history, politics and sociology, with an ambition to join the military.

• Ethan Crummack, studying computing, geography and product design, with the ambition to go into architecture or transport design.

• Luke Cooper, studying biology, politics and product design, who would like to take PPE (philosophy, politics and economics) at university, then go into Estate Property Management and ultimately into politics.

• Joely Burton is studying art, biology and Chemistry and hopes to study medicine.

• Ilsa Chard joined John Colet School in year 12 and enjoys being in a smaller school than before. Her subjects are media studies, photography and sociology.

They say their initial focus will be hunting around the Sixth Form Centre and elsewhere in the school for unused space, because although the sixth form is well supplied with working space, students would like some social space. This would be shared between the two sixth years, so that new members of year 12 can more easily integrate into the sixth form with informal mentors on hand.

Photo: Dee Fanchi

Local News

Wendover Community Library’s Community Celebration Event.

Jane Larkham writes: The recently re-opened Wendover Community Library hosted a lively community celebration at the end of May, welcoming residents to explore its newly refurbished space and enjoy a day filled with creativity and connection. Over 200 people

learning, creativity, and social connection.

“The new children’s area is fantastic — so much to keep little ones entertained. We loved the fresh selection of books and vibrant artwork. We could easily spend hours here,” said one Wendover mum.

With enthusiastic participation and a strong sense of community spirit, the event was a reminder of why spaces like Wendover Community Library matter—not just as places for books, but as gathering spots for enrichment, discovery, and shared experiences.

were in attendance, and the day was a great success.

The event showcased the library’s fresh refurbishment while highlighting the many activities and resources available to the community. Families and visitors took part in a variety of engaging experiences, from interactive storytelling with CJ the Library Cat, to colouring sessions featuring designs by illustrator Dr Kremena Dimitrova – her work adorns the library’s walls, both inside and out.

Games were a big hit, with people of all ages trying their hand at oversized classics like Ludo, Giant Four in a Row, and Ring Toss. Meanwhile, young minds were introduced to the basics of coding through interactive BeeBot sessions, sparking curiosity in the world of programming.

Theatrical performances by Dread Falls Theatre transported audiences into imaginative worlds, reinforcing the importance of the arts in community spaces and celebrating the library’s role as a cultural hub. Those at the event may have even seen a dragon or two roaming through the bookshelves.

Buckinghamshire Archives were also in attendance, and spoke to over 50 people about the history of the local area, showing of images and artifacts from their collection and discussing the rich history of Wendover. Beyond the planned activities, the day was a true celebration of the library’s place in Wendover. Residents voiced their appreciation for the refreshed space and its continued importance as a centre for

Trust has been unable to continue restoration since 2023 owing to new regulations emanating from the Canal & River Trust and Environment Agency. It is hoped that outstanding matters will be finalised soon enabling restoration to recommence.

Interrupted progress on the Wendover Canal

Just over a year ago the “Grand Towpath Opening” was celebrated along the Wendover Canal (see Wendover News August 2024, pages 20-21). Many people regularly use this wonderful route to walk to school or between Wendover and Halton. Unfortunately it’s emerged that Wendover Canal Trust (WCT) has continuing difficulties with its main ambition of restoring and re-linking the two sections of Wendover Canal (also known as the Arm) for largely administrative reasons.

Nigel Williams, publicity director, WCT, told Wendover New “The Wendover Canal

“Meanwhile WCT volunteers have been undertaking various improvement jobs, including recent completion of a flight of steps on Herts County Council’s footpath 49, to make it easier for pedestrians to walk up or down the last section of path from Wilstone Reservoir where it goes up a steep embarkment to meet the canal near Bridge 4A. Various grants have been obtained enabling four projects to be completed and the new steps were installed in April.”

Readers may remember that in the April 2025 edition of Wendover News we answered the question, “Why is water being let out of the canal?” which had been on the lips of regular walkers along the towpath. The answer was to relieve Wilstone reservoir (for which the canal is a feeder) during its refurbishment. The job will cost £6 million

and is estimated to take about 15 months. For more details see the Canals & Rivers Trust page at www.bit.ly/4kZmZIg.

Water levels in the nearby Aylesbury Arm are also low at the moment so it is closed to boats, which may also be related to the work at Wilstone Reservoir.

Wendover Canal Trust can be found online at https://wendovercanal.org.uk.

Wendover Heights opens new Cat Clinic

From the beginning of July, feline visitors to Wendover Heights Veterinary Centre are being offered a new Cat Clinic for all their routine veterinary needs. No need to worry

about those pesky mutts sticking their noses in, as the former pet shop is being transformed into a ‘Cats Only’ space, separate from the main building (see photo above for the centre as it was being converted in mid-June. It has its own reception, waiting area, vet and nurse consulting rooms and kennel space for day patients.

Wendover Heights Veterinary Centre has been providing veterinary care in the local area since 1965 and caters to a variety of species, primarily dogs and cats, as well as a range of birds, exotics and small pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs.

Any pet owner will know that a trip to the vet can sometimes be a challenging

experience. Cats especially are likely to experience anxiety at being taken to somewhere unfamiliar where they don’t feel safe and relaxed. Practice administrator Clare Riche says “We empathise with pet owners who sometimes find the anticipation of a vet visit challenging and would never want anyone to feel reluctant to seek veterinary care based on worries about the veterinary experience with an anxious pet.”

WHVC has achieved Silver Accreditation as a Cat Friendly Clinic from the International Society of Feline Medicine. This recognises that it has the knowledge, facilities and equipment so that each cat receives highquality care tailored to their needs.

Photo: Sergey at iam_os and Unsplash

“The team are specifically trained in handling cats sensitively and the welfare of our feline friends is always uppermost, alongside our usual high standards of veterinary care and nursing,” says Clare.

“With the addition of our dedicated Cat Clinic, we can now go that extra mile to provide even better facilities, in a space set aside to optimise the environment for your cat. We hope you and your pet will find it an altogether quieter, calmer and more positive experience away from the hustle and bustle of the main building,” she says. “There will also be some tempting goodies for sale in our cat retail area.

Contact WHVC on 01296 623439 or www. whvc.co.uk

Update from Greg Smith MP

Greg reports back as elected MP for the Mid Bucks constituency. He writes:

“It’s hard to believe a full year has passed since the 2024 General Election campaign began. Through all the political noise, my focus remains exactly where it should be, on protecting Buckinghamshire’s countryside, its farmland, and the rural way of life that defines our communities.

In recent years, we’ve faced a barrage of large-scale development pressures. From the disruption and devastation of HS2 and East West Rail, to speculative housing proposals and energy schemes that rarely

benefit residents, it often feels as though Buckinghamshire is expected to bear the brunt of national infrastructure while receiving few of the rewards.”

He goes on to warn of the strain that will be put onto rural counties if the current national target of 1.3 million new homes continues to be pursued – or increased to an even higher number as the Liberal

P KERNAN

Democrats are currently proposing. These proposals come together with an alarming appetite for ground-mounted solar panels, which risk consuming our best farmland and changing the character of our landscape beyond recognition.

Greg continues: “The Planning and Infrastructure Bill returns to the House of Commons for its Report Stage. I have tabled two key amendments to protect our communities. The first would ban ground-mounted solar installations on all grades of agricultural land, helping to preserve our productive farmland for food and nature. The second seeks to ensure that areas already hit hard by national infrastructure projects – like ours –can push back against further development. Planning authorities should be empowered to consider what we’ve already endured and not be forced to accept even more.

TREE SURGERY LTD

Greg Smith official portrait. © UK Parliament

“At the same time, we must not overlook one of Buckinghamshire’s most precious –and most threatened – natural assets: our chalk streams. These globally rare rivers run through our county, supporting rich ecosystems, and offering clean, flowing water that is a vital part of our environment. Yet all of England’s chalk streams are in poor overall health, and they lack the specific protection they so clearly need.

When a recent amendment to the Bill sought to give chalk streams that protection, it was dismissed by the Minister as “unnecessary.” That could not be further from the truth. Current planning frameworks and local strategies do not provide the comprehensive, catchment-wide protection chalk streams require. Without national recognition in law, these fragile ecosystems will continue to decline under the pressure of pollution, over-abstraction, and development. That is why I am supporting efforts in Parliament to secure stronger legal safeguards for chalk streams and calling on the Government to introduce a proper national strategy to restore and protect them for the future. Buckinghamshire deserves better. I will continue to fight for fair treatment, for common sense in planning, and for the protection of the countryside we all cherish.”

Dame Mary Berry helps celebrate ten years of support and partnership between National Garden Scheme and Horatio’s Garden

Dame Mary Berry, President Emeritus of the National Garden Scheme, and garden designer Joe Swift were among the guests celebrating 10 years of support and partnership between the National Garden Scheme and Horatio’s Garden this summer.

The tea party, held on Wednesday 11 June at Horatio’s Garden Stoke Mandeville, marked

Wendover Evening WI

Sandra Borns writes: 15 members from Wendover Evening WI travelled up to London for a sight-seeing tour and then a visit to the Houses of Parliament.

Greg Smith, our MP, granted us a Democratic Access tour on Friday, 16 May. Our guide was a lady called Usher who was enthusiastic and full of information and funny anecdotes. It was a very enjoyable visit and good to see how our democracy works.

10 years and over £670,000 of support from the National Garden Scheme.

George Plumptree, chief executive of the National Garden Scheme said: “The National Garden Scheme has been supporting Horatio’s Garden since 2015 helping the charity create and care for beautiful, accessible gardens in NHS regional spinal injury centres. In 2018, we committed funding for the completion of gardens at all 11 spinal injury units and are proud to be Horatio’s Garden’s largest single funder.”

Dame Mary added:

“I am delighted that the National Garden Scheme has made such an important contribution, and commitment, to Horatio’s Garden over the last 10 years. That visiting a garden and enjoying tea and cake can lead to such wonderful and continuing donations to

so many good causes is one of the enduring qualities of the National Garden Scheme.”

Thanks to the generosity of garden owners, volunteers and visitors the National Garden Scheme has donated more than £74 million to its beneficiary charities, and in 2024 made donations of over £3.5 million. Founded in 1927 to support district nurses,it is now the most significant charitable funder of nursing in the UK and its beneficiaries include Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK, Parkinson’s UK, Carers Trust and The Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing. 

Photos: Julia Skelton

The FOWL 2025 Charity Golf Day

Once again the Friends of Wendover Library are running a Charity Golf Day at Whiteleaf Golf Club to raise funds. This is a fun event on a superb golf course with lunch, raffles and excellent prizes.

Teams of four are required but individual golfers can be paired up as required. If you are interested, email: fowlmembers@hotmail. com The date of the event is 2 October.

Wendover Society celebrates its 60th anniversary

This year is the 60th anniversary of the Wendover Society. To celebrate this and the re-opening of the refurbished Community Library, the society is holding a summer cocktail party for its members, on 15 August at the library. Tickets are £20 and are available by invitation to members only.

A group of residents headed by Dr Colin Riley formed the society in 1965 because the district council had decided to create a parking area by cutting down the trees and removing the grass verge along Aylesbury Road near the Clock Tower. On-the-spot persuasion convinced the workers to stop, after which the residents set up the Wendover Society to look after village interests, “with the principal aim of protecting the charm and scale of Wendover.”

Over the years the society helped to fund the swimming pool, petitioned for the building of the Wendover Bypass, and it continues to be involved in planning issues. It holds speaker evenings throughout the year.

If you are not a member of the Society and would like to join (and receive an invitation to the cocktail party) see the website at www. wendoversociety.org.uk

Correction: in last month’s story on the Wendover Society’s member survey we mistakenly said that there had been 39 responses.

This was actually the number given at the AGM dinner; the total number including online responses was 86. Apologies.

Happy 100th birthday Olive Nugent!

Corinne Newman writes: “This month, we had a truly special milestone to celebrate with our beloved Olive Nugent turning an incredible 100 years!

Olive was born and raised in Wendover, and then went on to build a beautiful life here with her late husband, Bert, living and working in the village her entire life. Together they raised seven children and the family has continued to blossom with countless grandchildren and great-grandchildren – our family tree is so wonderfully full, and it all started with her.

She is incredibly loved by all who have the privilege of knowing her, and her family is immensely proud of the century of life she has lived and the legacy she has created.

Lindengate opens community education Hub and pop-up café

Lindengate Charity has officially opened its new community education Hub in the heart of its gardens at Worlds End. The purposebuilt facility will provide new opportunities for education, therapeutic horticulture, and wellbeing support to those who need it most.

The charity's patron, Countess Howe, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, cut the purple ribbon to officially open the Hub. She was joined by over 100 friends and many supporters of the charity, including founders Sian Chattle and Charlie Powell, Laura KyrkeSmith (MP Aylesbury and Villages) and Pippa Kirkbride (High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire).

The new Hub came to be thanks to funders The Clare Foundation, HS2, The Ernest Hecht Foundation, The Tree Council and Laxton Properties and others who were involved in the project and helped make the evening such a success.

On the Saturday the gardens were open to host the third hugely popular pop-up café with home baked cakes, gorgeous floral displays and stunningly hot weather. Entertainment was provided by performances from the Berkhamsted Strathspey and Reel

Club with visitors joining in with (above) some Scottish dancing! There are three further pop-up cafés planned for the rest of the summer with different entertainment and activities planned. For more information see www.lindengate.org.uk Jo Durden-Moore.

Have your say on locations for CCTV cameras in Bucks

Buckinghamshire Council has opened a public consultation regarding the installation of cameras in various locations in the county - including Wendover. They usually schedule public consultations for just after we go to print, but appear to have miscalculated with this one.

Richard Byford, speaking for Wendover News says: “It is not for us to influence you either, way: There are both good and bad things about CCTV – It’s up to residents to decide. Before you respond to the consultation, talk to your family, friends and neighbours about the implications. Ideally chat with friends living in areas that have CCTV. Beware of taking advice from people online. Some wise people are online, but not every person online is wise.” Goto: https:// orlo.uk/22tKE

Photos: Jo Durden-Moore

New dining destinations at World’s End and Chiltern View

World’s End Garden Centre is on track with its phased reopening by new owner Blue Diamond. Its restaurant, Gardeners Rest (see photo top right), opened on the previous site in early June, offering a new menu with breakfasts, lunches and afternoon teas.

Blue Diamond took the site over from Dobbies in April and has now refurbished the space of the former restaurant, to be more in keeping with its other 49 centres in the UK. By mid-June it had also started opening an extensive food hall, occupying the areas that former customers will recall as being the Edinburgh Wool store section as well as the area recently vacated by the World’s Best Fruit Store, which has moved into a refurbished cabin area at the front outside the main buildings.

The remaining phased openings of the large central covered space, plus clothing and other indoor concessions will come in the coming months. It is believed that the Pet’s Corner store will be returning once the main space is opened up in September.

Meanwhile Chiltern View, a fast-expanding family-run business on the other side of the main road, closer to Aylesbury, is gearing up to launch a new dining space of its own, with a boutique tearoom called the Ivy Gardens, offering afternoon tea “experiences.”

It was due to open in late June after Wendover News went to press, so we were

only able to photograph the flowery entrance display in advance (lower right).

The established tea room, Chiltern Brew, will close once the new larger restaurant and tearoom opens on 27 June, with the adjoining events marquee remaining open to overlook the garden centre.

The Ivy Gardens will offer a completely different menu, with deluxe afternoon tea and luxury afternoon tea for £19.95 and £29.95 respectively, with Champagne and Prosecco on offer.

Harper’s will be a new restaurant with new chefs, staff and menus for breakfast and lunch including lobster rolls, glutenfree options and a kids’ menu.

Jo Durden-Moore.

Wendover Shed to pitch at Angels’ Den

Wendover Shed is one of the organisations shortlisted to appear at Angels’ Den, a way for charities in Buckinghamshire to bid for funding that is organised by the Clare Foundation. On 10 September, eight Buckinghamshire charities will present a two-minute pitch to six “Angels” for a share of £120,000. Each of the angels has contributed £10,000 to the pot and The Clare Foundation has matched the funding with its own £60,000.

The event will be held at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham, with Nathan Cooper from Bucks Radio acting as MC. After each charity has pitched, and the Angels have deliberated, they will announce how much each organisation will benefit. Every charity involved will be given a grant of some level.

The Clare Foundation is a charity that brings together stakeholders, partners, businesses and charitable organisations “to facilitate and create positive change across society in Buckinghamshire.” See: www. theclarefoundation.org

Bob Duggan, chairman of Wendover Shed, said: “My reaction to the shortlisting

of Wendover Shed for Angels’ Den 2025 was one of excitement and unbridled joy – that Wendover Shed and all involved were being rewarded for the huge amount of effort that they have expended to date.

“My focus now is to look forward, with the community that supports us, to ensure that we improve and are sustainable for the future. There is a huge need and will continue to be a huge need for the services that Wendover Shed provides to the community.”

Wendover Shed opened in 2023 as a co-operative resource shared for many local men (and several women), where they can meet around practical activities, drink tea and coffee, eat cake and biscuits, and importantly, have a chat.

There are now more than 60 members and the shed is open for a couple of hours each on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. There are plans to expand the site with extra working spaces soon.

It’s located on Hogtrough Lane, where there are facilities for wood and metal working, kitchen facilities, and usually biscuits and cake. It’s all off-grid and powered by

solar panels and batteries. There’s even an eco-loo.

It’s a place to make new friends, use tools you may not have, ask questions from people with a wide range of experiences, and maybe learn that skill you have been meaning to get round to. Underpinning that is the largely unspoken but vital social function that aims to provide a focus and a meeting place for people who may not have many points of contact with other people in their everyday life. Details: www.wendovershed.org.uk

Photos: Jo Durden-Moore

Photos: Simon Eccles

Skatepark taking shape

Words and photo by Cllr Mark Standen

Exciting developments are taking shape in Wendover as construction has officially begun on our new skatepark in Ashbrook Park. This project, led by Wendover Parish Council, is set to bring a range of benefits to local residents, especially our young people, by providing a long-awaited dedicated facility.

For nearly five years, the need for improved youth facilities in Wendover has been a consistent topic of discussion. The Parish Council has actively engaged with the community, and this skatepark is a direct result of extensive consultation, careful planning, and dedicated fundraising efforts. We're particularly grateful for the generous contributions from HS2, the Lionel Able Smith fund, and the Bucks Community Board, alongside vital support from crowdfunding. It's more than just ramps and rails; it's a dedicated space designed to encourage physical activity, creativity, and positive social interaction for people of all ages and abilities. One of the key advantages for residents is the promotion of active lifestyles. In an era where screen time often dominates, offering freely accessible outdoor facilities is increasingly important. The new skatepark isn't limited to skateboards; it's designed to accommodate scooters, bikes, and rollerblades, making it appealing to a wide range of wheeled sports enthusiasts. This facility

aims to be part of a hub for healthy activity being alongside the existing outdoor gym to help enhance overall well-being within our community. Beyond physical benefits, the skatepark is expected to foster positive social development and community connections. While older perceptions of skateparks sometimes associated them with anti-social behaviour, modern, well-designed facilities like ours are proving to be quite the opposite. With skateboarding now an Olympic sport, its appeal and public perception have evolved. We anticipate the new skatepark will naturally become a supportive environment, where experienced users can guide newer ones, and where parents often join their children, creating a friendly atmosphere.

For residents curious about the specific location within Ashbrook Park, this decision was made with local considerations in mind. The chosen site adheres to recreation ground best practice guidelines, which advise placing skateparks over 30 meters away from residential properties. This distance helps to reduce potential noise, reflecting our commitment to minimising disturbance for our neighbours. It's also worth noting that the existing site on London Road had significant safety drawbacks, including the absence of a dedicated crossing and being largely hidden from view – issues that are

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addressed by the Ashbrook Park location. This project also highlights genuine community involvement. The Parish Council conducted thorough consultations with young people to ensure the design meets their needs. This sense of ownership among users is crucial for encouraging positive behaviour and contributing to a reduction in anti-social behaviour across the village. Providing a dedicated, well-designed outlet for youthful energy can channel it into constructive and enjoyable activities, benefiting both the users and the wider community.

The design itself incorporates features to mitigate concerns. A treated concrete surface will provide a low-noise environment, a notable improvement over older, noisier wood and metal structures. The ramps are designed to be relatively low (the highest just over a metre), ensuring they blend into the landscape and are suitable for various skill levels. Minimal excavation was required, and all soil from the site will be reused around the edges of the ramps, reflecting a considered approach to environmental impact. Importantly, the plans include the planting of extra trees, which will actually increase the amount of biodiversity in the park compared to its state before construction began.

To mark the completion of this exciting community asset, save the date! We will be hosting an opening jam with competitions, prizes, demonstrations, and coaching on Sunday, 17th August. It's set to be an enjoyable day for everyone, whether you're participating or simply coming along to experience the excitement.

We invite everyone to welcome this new addition and look forward to seeing our park become a lively centre for wheeled activities for years to come.

Artist’s impression.

FRANK FENNELL

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small plumbing maintenance / repair jobs gladly undertaken 07967 638527 francoffennell@gmail.com www.frankfennellplumbingservices.co.uk

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For personal, helpful service, please call Tel: 01844 261769 Mob: 07801 182400 gblakefurn@gmail.com www.grahamblake.com

Alcoholics Anonymous

Worried about your drinking?

Call our local AA helpline, open 24/7 01628 530055

www.aachilternthames.org.uk

National helpline 0800 917 7650 www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk

Your local Aerial and Satellite Specialist Old Aerial & Satellite removal service including old cables and clips. Call Rob: 01296 330621 / 07816 659644 rob@justaerials.co.uk

CHILTERN FOOT HEALTH SERVICES

Ian Phipps MCFHP MAFHP

Foot Health Practitioner (Wendover - based)

Home visits - 01296 623851

Surgery at the Belmore Centre 01296 612361

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Band in a Van performs for children at the Library

By Frances Tipper

The brass players of the Alina Orchestra’s travelling ‘Band in a Van’ set up at Wendover Community Library on Saturday 31 May, to play a free mini-concert for local children gathered in the new community space. The gathered audience of children and adults were treated to a fabulous medley of popular music from films, musicals, folk and Disney theme tunes.

The brass quintet included two players on trumpets, together with a tuba, French horn, trombone players and a percussionist. The children were encouraged to help themselves from a huge box of percussion instruments, so that they could join in. They were also invited to conduct the group and sing along.

Between each tune, a member of the band would explain how they played each of their very different instruments.

Tim Hawes, one of the trumpet players, showed the audience a bugle from WW1, a baroque (natural) trumpet, a piccolo trumpet and a herald trumpet. He gave a demonstration of each of them, played to perfection.

Their playlist included ‘The Bare Necessities’ from ‘The Jungle Book,’ ‘You've got a friend in me,’ from ‘Toy Story,’ Duke Ellington's ‘Come Sunday,’ ‘Let it go’ from ‘Frozen,’ Pascual Narro's Spanish ‘Gypsy Pasodoble’ (España Cañi) and the ‘Cossack Dance’ from Tchaikovsky's ‘Nutcracker Suite.’ This was a rousing, joyful and spectacular hour of wonderful music. The noise from the band (and the audience) could be heard all the way along the High Street!

OnScreen Wendover at the Community Library

By Jane Larkham

Are you interested in films? All films, current releases and classic films or cult films you missed at the time?

Did you know that Friends of Wendover Library has a Film Club? It offers a brilliant range of films for all ages including relaxed showings, too. It’s called On Screen.

Why haven’t you heard of it before? Friends of Wendover Library has offered films for many years, and have invested in a 120 inch screen and a mini-cinema experience. Films are shown in the Library Room, to the left on approach to the building, usually in the afternoon and/or evening.

Where is the publicity? If you are a member of Friends of Wendover Library you will receive a regular email about events and other useful information about Wendover Community Library. In addition, there are posters within the library.

Why not more widely? Due to the nature of the licence it is not permitted to advertise outside the library, however posters and fliers

for each month’s films will be at the library. For enquiries just talk to a member of staff. How much does it cost? There is no charge, however a donation will always be appreciated as it helps the Library to continue providing this service to the community. You get a free cup of tea or coffee! You are welcome to take your own snacks, too.

Can I book a seat? Yes, go to the central desk in the library and ask for your name to be added to the list. Maximum seating capacity is 40. No deposit is required but you will need to give a telephone contact in case the showing is changed.

Can you give examples of films which have been shown over the years? Yes, the films we show come in several categories:

OnScreen Films, shown on a Friday, always at 2pm and 7pm. These films range from Oscar winners to small independent movies and to the best of British. Classics from the 1950s to 1990s. Again, these are shown on Fridays, 2pm and 7pm.

WestEnd Wednesdays, once a month

Alina is a charity orchestra, making classical music accessible and inclusive for everyone. Founded by Nick Cutts in 2017, it creates concerts that introduce audiences to classical music by presenting them in a friendly and approachable way. The Band in a Van is an outreach project where small groups of orchestra members travel to communities to perform interactive events that encourage audience participation.

More information: www.alinaorchestra.com

on a Wednesday, 2pm and 7pm, a National Theatre or West End Musical depending on availability. Previous shows included Miss Saigon, Billy Elliot, War Horse, Anything Goes, Love Never Dies and more.

Closed Caption Screenings, one Thursday every month there is a closed caption screening for the deaf and hard of hearing. These tend to be big Hollywood Blockbusters and always start at 6pm.

OnScreenKids, normally only shown during school holidays. They tend to be the latest Disney or Hollywood family movies. Either 11am or 2pm.

Can the public make suggestions of films they would like to see? Requests are welcome. If you require subtitles this can often be accommodated. Please leave a message with library staff or volunteers.

Where is Wendover Community Library? The building is at the end of Library Approach, off the High Street, HP22 6DU. The Buckinghamshire Council controlled car park is adjacent.

What to do this summer or #WDYJSOYTSAGADSLBI

It’s time to grab the sunglasses, sun cream and flip flops and put the drinks in the fridge. Summer has started, and our attention turns to having fun and taking life a little less seriously! Here’s a round-up of some of the things you can do in and around Wendover – from the team at Wendover News... and let us know if you get the hashtag!

Yard Fest – Wendover’s grooviest summer beer and music festival

Leigh Porter sought out details of Yard Fest, a one-day family fun festival being run by Craftyard’s owners , to run in Hampden Meadow on Saturday 19 July. It will be supported by events along the High Street. There will be live music, kids’ entertainment, craft beers, plenty of dazzling gins, tasty food that’ll fuel your funky moves and of course, no English summer event would be complete without a Pimms or two.

High Street shoppers will already know Craftyard, with its prominent position at 13 High Street, on the library car park corner. It’s a popular gin and craft beer tap bar in the heart of Wendover which also offers coffee and brunch dishes. It is one of those businesses we are fortunate to have in the town: an independent, family-run business with a love of Wendover and its customers. It’s no surprise that Craftyard is one of the seven pubs on the popular Wendover Pub Trails at Easter and the August Bank Holiday. There are also Craftyard bars in Aylesbury and Tring.

Owners Sarah Cook, together with partner Darren, son Jamie and daughter Keeley, are organising the Yard Fest to bring both residents and visitors together to celebrate all that we love about summer and our community, with the ultimate summer disco and live music “to get your bell bottoms bouncing and groovin’ and movin’ from 1pm till 11pm, for a full day of glitter, good vibes and non-stop funky fun!”

The line-up for the disco and live music should be fun for all ages, so whether you’re a dancing queen or a funky soul brother, its time to disco dress to impress and party like it’s 1979.

Wendover Parish Council supports the event as Sarah is keen to involve all Wendover

businesses in this fabulous opportunity! It’s hoped the High Street will be buzzing with an extra 5,000 visitors venturing out to see what Wendover has to offer, and with the Make Wendover Smile sunflowers everywhere plus festival bunting, it should make a great impression.

There is a set number of tickets, so don’t wait to book. Let’s support Sarah and The Craftyard family with this great initiative and thank them for their dedication and hard work to bring us more entertainment and lets help get this party off to a great start and put Wendover on the festival map!

For further details and tickets see www. weareyardfest.co.uk

Picnic in the Park

Picnic in the Park 2025 in the Hampden Meadow is back again this year on 30 August. There’s already loads of activities and attractions arranged, and the team at the Clock Tower are still adding more – see the back page for details.

Cricket summer camps for kids!

Wendover Cricket Club are running two summer camps will take place at the Witchell ground during the summer holidays, providing fun cricket activities for children aged 6-12. Dates are Tuesday 29 July – Friday 1 August, and Tuesday 26 to Friday 29 August. See page 37 (Club Corner) for details.

At the Discover Bucks museum

The Discover Bucks museum in Aylesbury is hosting two summer exhibitions, along with their regular displays. The museum is open every day 23 July – 3 September. For opening times and to book visit www. discoverbucksmuseum.org.

fun, it’s the perfect way to keep young minds entertained all summer long! See ad p3.

Aston Hill Climb 100 Exhibition

The exhibition created for Aston Hill Climb 100 has been transferred to Discover Bucks Museum for three months. If you missed it during the celebrations in May, catch up now with this amazing piece of local motoring history. It features artefacts from the museum’s archives, several private loan items, work by children from Aston Clinton School, and a wonderful Triumph motorcycle loaned by Bryan Marsh.

Stoke Mandeville Party in the Park

Stoke Mandeville Parish Council is holding their third PITP event at the Queen Elizabeth II Playing Fields on Saturday 19 July from noon to 9pm.

Go along and enjoy the live music, children’s rides, craft tent and a BMX stunt team. A variety of food and drink stalls will be there along with DJ Dan Blaze to keep the sounds pumping. Free to attend (children’s rides will be chargeable).

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock – The Musical

Cosmic Adventures

Enjoy themed family crafts, explore the Beyond the Stars sci fi props exhibition and discover the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery. Relax in the space-themed sensory room, enjoy games and outdoor toys in the Victorian garden and refuel with light snacks from the Garden Café. With hands-on activities and cosmic

The high-energy, laugh-out-loud spectacular, School of Rock – The Musical, will be brought to the big stage by Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity for two performances on Saturday 9 August at 2:30 and 7pm. Based on the hit film, this hilarious musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping rock band. While teaching these pint-sized prodigies what it means to truly rock, Dewey falls for the school’s beautiful, but uptight headmistress, helping her rediscover the wild child within.

This marks the charity’s fourth production at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, following a string of sell-out successes that have raised funds for specialist palliative and end-of-life care across Buckinghamshire and its borders. FNHC launched its in-house On Stage productions in 2022, and since then it has raised over £200,000 for the hospice. More than just fundraising, these shows bring the community together, uniting performers, volunteers, and audiences and creating something truly special.

The adult cast is now in place with professional performers, Joe Payne, Jill Neenan,

Paul Hamm and Charlie Harper signed up to star alongside 110 young performers who will light up the stage for one day only. More information and tickets can be found at www.fnhospice.org.uk/schoolofrock.

Aston Clinton Beer Festival

The annual festival takes place in the grounds of Aston Clinton School from 1 to 3 August. The festival is known for offering a wide variety of excellent food and drink, with food concessions and the Craftyard gin bar, Pimm’s on tap, ice-cold Prosecco by the bottle alongside a small selection of still wine. The beer offerings include premium quality cask ale, craft keg beer and a choice of British lagers. Over 100 different beers will be available and more than 30 different ciders. It is a family event with plenty of activities to keep kids occupied, such as face painting, poetry, storytelling and giant inflatables. Information and tickets: www.astonclintonbeerfestival. com

Astonbury Music Festival – postponed this year

As we go to press, we heard that the hugely popular Astonbury Festival in Aston Clinton, will not be running this year, because of a shortfall in funding.

The festival has been the highlight of the year for music lovers for many years, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that they can’t find sponsors, but then it has always been an expensive event to put on for free, and we can’t expect the promoters to keep making up the shortfall themselves. If you want to give them some encouragement, or even better, contribute to the crowdfunder, search for ‘Astonbury’ on Facebook.

Church Farm offers its barn for exhibition events

Jane Larkham reports that Church Farm in Weston Turville is opening up its barn for exhibitions and other activities appropriate for a location in a barn in an active farm. The farm has been owned by four generations of the Walton family (with the fifth about to be born). Like many farmers in these economic times the family is diversifying to take advantage of their locations and facilities.

An early event will be an exhibition of textiles by family member Nicola Hughes, who has been producing textile art since the 1980s, specialising in felting embellished with stitching and pictorial appliqué, to produce scenes inspired by the countryside, coast and international travel. These will be on show from Saturday 26 July to Friday 1 August. .

Local residents will know that the barn is already used for the farm shop, which opens from 10am-4pm on the last full weekend of every month. It sells the farm’s own produce: beef, lamb, eggs, honey and jams, apple juice, flour, squashes from the pumpkin patch, plus local crafts and fresh flowers.

Fleeces from the sheep are also on sale in season. The café in the shop offers cakes baked in the farmhouse.

The farm and its barn are easy to find, being located next to the Church as the name suggests. It is reached from a turning near the end of Church Walk in Weston Turville, postcode HP22 5SH. Signage points visitors to car parking space available on the day, which varies according to other farm activities. However, one other joy of this exhibition space is that it can be reached by footpaths from the directions of Aston Clinton, Halton and Wendover as well as Weston Turville itself.

For more details contact Tom Walton on 07391 133395.

Open Garden at Russell Farm

Nestled in the Chiltern Hills, Russell Farm spans 130 acres and features a beautifully maintained garden designed by Lady Tessa Hobbs. It will be open to the public on Sunday 6 July from 2-4pm.

The walled pool garden includes herbaceous perennials, mature shrubs, ornamental fruit trees, and climbing roses, blooming from spring to autumn. Lavender-lined pergolas, topiary buxus, olive trees, and a terraced water feature enhance the charm.

Beyond is a fruit and vegetable garden with a greenhouse and orchard, alongside pollinator-friendly mixed borders and a vibrant English cottage garden, adding to the property’s year-round appeal. Afternoon musical entertainment will be courtesy of The BlueInGreen Jazz Band. https://scannappeal. org.uk/event/russell-farm-open-garden/

The ones that got away…

There are probably other wonderful events going on that we forgot to tell you about. Some of them might be elsewhere in this very publication, including in adverts! Be sure to scour the Events pages for some that might have slipped through and watch out for updates online at wendovernews.co.uk

Entertain yourself

The Friends of Wendover Library (FOWL) has set two competitions for this summer which anyone can enter. Entries must include name, address, age if appropriate, and contact telephone number.

The 2025 Photography Competition

The 10th photography competition features Wendover and the surrounding countryside and villages. The photographs must be in landscape orientation, jpeg format, and high resolution, minimum 300dpi, because they will form part of the pool from which are chosen the photos for the Library Calendar 2026. This is an annual fundraiser for the Friends of Wendover Library. Please demonstrate seasonal change: older archive photos are welcome, too. Cutoff for entries is 31 July, because they will be shown in an exhibition in the library in August where the public will choose their favourite. The judging criteria are composition, technical ability, originality, public appeal. They can be submitted on memory stick, DVD or CD, directly to the library, or email fowlmembers@hotmail.com.

The 2025 Short Story Competition

Do you dream of being a novelist? Are you passionate about writing short stories? Would you like to experience the thrill of creating your own fictional world and characters? Whatever your ambitions or experience, the Friends of Wendover Library want to encourage you to tap in to your inner imagination.

The free to enter Short Story Competition was launched in 2024 and proved an enormous success, with the winners being announced at an evening reception in Real Magic Books. You can help make 2025 even bigger and better!

This year stories can be on any theme, but the first words must be, ‘He/She never thought it would happen….’ The maximum number of words is 1,000.

Hopefully you will be inspired to write stories about courage, leadership, romance, making a difference and perhaps even making a better world. Whatever your genre and style, you’re encouraged to create an entertaining and engaging story. There will be three winning categories, 11-15 years, 16-18 years, 18 and over, according to your age on 30 September 2025. Entries must be submitted to fowlmembers@hotmail.com or drop into the library to arrive no later than 30 September 2025.

Scarecrow Competition

From Beryl Hunter: In aid of Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity. Theme: Children’s Books. Display your scarecrow from 30 August. Purchase entry forms from The Florence Nightingale shop. See ad p3.

Culture, Performing and Visual Arts

Written & compiled by Jo Durden-Moore

Magic Mini-Festival around Wendover

The third Magic Festival weekend, hosted by Real Magic Books, rolled out over three incredibly packed days of music, talks, workshops, walks, drinking and dancing, from Friday 30 May to Sunday 1 June. It was the biggest magic mini-festival yet and was sold out all over the weekend.

A huge variety of performers, speakers, writers, interviewers, publishers, musicians, walkers, screen printers, venues, stall holders, drinkers, dancers, listeners and helpers all came together to celebrate all things arts, literary, culture, music, perspectives, food, ideas and drinks, to experience all that Wendover has to offer.

The Real Magic Bookshop itself hosted talks by BBC News presenter Ros Atkins, Lias Saoudi, Joe Dunthorne, Rowe Irvin and Tom Bolton. Dean Chalkley talked about his amazing Back To Ibiza photobook. Jen Calleja, Katharina Volckmer and Marni Appleton all provided fascinating insight into their writings. A walk-in screen-printing workshop proved a popular draw.

Musician Avice Caro’s performance at St Mary’s church on Saturday was one of the highlights. Avice is a poetic fairytale-folk artist, inspired by literature, philosophy, folktales and dream sequences. She supported the headliner, songwriter Gwenno, who sings in Welsh, Cornish and English. She has released three acclaimed solo albums and is a Mercury Music Prize nominated artist.

She performed songs from her upcoming album and a rare solo piano set.

Wendover’s Royal British Legion club hosted Wendover’s very own duo The Boy Least Likely To, and Sean Rowley’s Records Roadshow went down a storm at the King & Queen pub with a disco on Saturday night. There were family art and craft workshops with Jaany Ravenscroft-Hull and Shanie Noakes. A food market presented by Grandma’s Hot Sauce and delicious food from Block and Butcher. A group walk up to Coombe Hill, special beers and cocktails all day and night and a huge party on Sunday evening closed the events.

If you are an artist who would like to run a workshop or talk at Real Magic Books, co-owner Carl Gosling would love to hear from you. Plans for next years’ mini festival are already under way.

Soprano workshop with Siân Dicker

Wendover Choral Society hosted a threeweek singing workshop programme on 5, 12 and 19 June. Those who participated had a fantastic time and Barbara McGillivray writes “the three sessions were conducted by the young dynamic soprano Siân Dicker, who was the choir’s soloist at their concert last December and wowed the audience with her fabulous voice and warm personality.

“Siân led the group of about 20 singers through some operatic choruses with energy and enthusiasm which was very infectious. There was a lot of laughter and some seriously impressive sounds. This was the third time that WCS has offered a series of singing workshops to bridge the long gap between the May concert and the start of the new term in September and it has proved very popular and is open to all singers of all capabilities.”

Wendover Arts Club at Gusto Café

Art Club with local artist Jaany RavenscroftHull is a friendly and relaxed sketching session with watercolours and great tea and coffee. Jaany brings a different idea each time, from watercolour fishes, Morris wallpaper sketching, flower pencil-sketching and drawings. All levels are welcome, from absolute beginners to more experienced who want an hour of something different. Participants just need to bring themselves, an open mind, a sketchbook, pencil and pen. Brushes and watercolours are provided for those who don’t have them. Term starts again in September on the first and third Fridays of every month at 2-3pm. £10 per session at Gusto Cafe, Castle Park Road, Wendover.

Mikron Theatre’s “Hush, Hush” at Lindengate

The weather held up for a fantastic evening in the gardens of Lindengate charity, where the popular Mikron theatre troupe took their spot on the lawns to entertain 100+ visitors with their show ‘Hush, Hush’. Written by Lucie Raine, it is a homage to the heroes of Hut 3 at Bletchley Park during the Second World War.

This brilliantly written four-person show gave a unique insight into wartime life and living in secrecy. The actors all played a number of roles, while playing an array of musical instruments (sometimes three in one song!). They acted, sung, danced and switched costumes/hats/props at a moment’s notice. It was a stunningly choreographed marvel to watch, whilst also poignant, moving and at times difficult given the

subject matter, but sensitively handled.

All profits raised on the evening went to the charity, and while the audience brought their own picnics, there was the usual selection of home-baked cakes on offer with warm drinks later. Mikron is performing in the local area throughout the summer, details from www.mikron.org.uk.

‘A celebration of French Music’ at St Mary’s Church Wendover Choral Society held its Faure’s Messe de Requiem and Pulenc’s Gloria concert on 17 May with organist Colin Spinks and Soprano Alison Langer. A large and appreciative audience was treated to a wonderful concert, conducted by Kenton Brigden. Their programme was entitled ‘A celebration of French Music’ with French cakes for the audience and performers to enjoy with their drinks during the interval, a really lovely touch.

Audience member Anna Le Hair writes” “the concert opened with Poulenc’s uplifting ‘Gloria,’ a six-movement work completed as recently as 1960 and originally written for chorus and orchestra but ably accompanied by Colin Spinks at the organ. The choir sang with great focus and found plenty of colours and moods in their performance. The soprano solos were beautifully sung by Alison Langer, with Tim Crapper taking a brief tenor solo. Alison sang Faure’s haunting ‘Après un Reve,’ with Kenton Brigden at the keyboard and this was followed by Faure’s familiar and tuneful ‘Cantique de Jean Racine,’ sung by the choir with organ accompaniment. The first half concluded with Colin playing an organ solo, ‘Hymne d’Action de Grace ‘Te Deum.’ He pointed out that it was the first time that a work by Langlais had been played on that organ, and I think that indeed probably it was the first time that many of the audience had heard anything by Langlais. It was very striking and expertly played.

“The second half opened with another

solo organ piece, this time Frank’s Choral No. 3 in A minor. Colin found colour and depth, artfully depicting the chromaticism’s and dissonances in this music. The next work was Faure’s timeless and beautiful Requiem. Sung by the choir, with Colin again at the organ, this featured Alison Langer singing Pia Jesu and more choir members taking solos; Rod Ainsworth masterfully sang the baritone solo in Libera Me and David Montagu, David Stephenson and Thomas Harrington sang the solo section in Offertoire as a trio, their voices blending musically. Alison then sang her final solo of the evening, once more with Kenton at the piano. From Bizet’s opera Carmen, this was Micaela’s moving aria ‘Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante.’ Alison sang this very movingly, and the audience was rapt throughout. It really was a heartfelt performance, and we were lucky to hear it. The choir finished off the evening by singing Duruflé’s short motet ‘Ubi Caritas’ unaccompanied, a gentle end to a memorable evening. Wendover Choral Society is going from strength to strength under Kenton’s leadership, and overall the members performed with conviction and obvious enjoyment, which very much communicated itself to the audience.”

Bucks Art Weeks

This county-wide festival marks its 40th anniversary this year, with the organiser Visual Images Group meeting the challenge of balancing events across all areas of Bucks, from Olney in the north to Burnham in the south. The group is a network of artists and makers based across Buckinghamshire, who come together to mutually inspire, exhibit and grow businesses. In the 1980s there were 60 members of Visual Images Group, but now there are more than 400 in four regions in the county today.

In June every year, everyone gathers to host the largest visual arts event in the county. This year events took place between 7 and 22 June. At the time of going to press the festival

was ending. Wendover’s Little Bird Gallery and Stoke Mandeville’s Obsidian Art and The Buckinghamshire Craft Guild at The Goat Centre showed the calibre of what this festival had to offer across the central region.

Wendover Arts Festival at St Mary’s Church

Over 1,700 visitors including young people, children and many dogs visited Wendover’s historic church over the bank holiday weekend, which had been transformed for the inaugural Wendover Arts Festival. Previously held in Mentmore, after 15 successful years the festival relocated to Wendover with the same organiser and many repeat artists.

The festival showcased a diverse range of talent with works from more than 80 skilled artists, crafters, sculpturers, makers and creators across multiple styles and forms. The festival included paintings, textiles, sculptures, pottery, ceramics, cards, glass, and jewellery. The works were previewed on the Friday evening and then opened to the

Green tunnel cutting under the

public on Saturday through to Monday.

Drawings, photographs, paintings, sculptures, greetings cards, textiles and ceramics were flying out of the door as people wandered through the church in awe of how the space accommodated such a striking array of creativity, with natural light flooding through the ceiling showcasing

drove the success of the weekend. She was supported by a group of local volunteers and together they achieved a great turnover for local artists, with a healthy profit for St Mary’s Church of just under £19,000. This will go towards restoring the Grade 1 listed building which hosts so many community events throughout the year.

Deborah commented “The committee started planning the festival back in November 2025 and all worked extremely hard. There are so many people to thank, our advertisers and especially Christopher Pallet Estate Agents who sponsored the festival. We are thrilled with the feedback from so many visitors, supporters, artists and collaborators.” atmosphere and energy, it’s great to see such

Some visitors returned multiple times, they ensure new pieces throughout the weekend.

HS2 Green Tunnel

Where it's at, where it's going, and what happens after the cranes pack up? Wendover News investigates.

By Richard Byford

This summer will see EKFB – HS2’s main civil engineering contractor in our area – at its peak of activity, building structures, tunnels, bridges and roads. Once that work is complete, the railway systems contractors will deploy and, away from the actual line, work should start on restoring the land alongside. The Wendover Green Tunnel is



All photos: Simon Eccles

a pivotal step in the construction of the whole of HS2, and critical to the overall programme.

If you have ventured west of the Wendover bypass recently, you will almost certainly have noticed the huge amount of spoil that has been excavated to construct the tunnel. For people who like walking through that area or view it as part of the vista from Coombe Hill, it must be a devastating sight. We can only hope that when, eventually, the line comes into use, it will heal over and once more become part of our cherished landscape.

The Wendover Green Tunnel will be an 1,185m long cut-and-cover tunnel with 120m long porous portals (for noise reduction) at each end. The work area starts at the Wendover end of the Small Dean viaduct (which we’ve written about in the past), across Bacombe Lane and under the two temporary “Bailey” girder bridges at Ellesborough Road. From there it passes the area where the cricket club once played its matches, and then past Folly Bridge in the direction of Nash Lee Road.

In the early 2011 public consultation document, a 300m long cut-and-cover tunnel was proposed. After that consultation, it was extended by 800m, which “…would ensure effective visual and noise screening alongside the main residential area of Wendover.” In 2013 it was further extended by the addition of porous acoustic portals and a further extension to its full length in 2016, before the design was formally finalised in 2017.

Work in progress

The first structural segments of the green tunnel were erected in early April. Since then, additional 2.5m long segments have been added at an impressive rate, and just before we went to press on 19 June, 350 of the 520 were already in place.

The principles employed for the design of tunnel elements were previously used

for similar tunnels on the TGV railway in France. Each segment is made up of five parts which fit together in a weight-bearing pair of arches, without any need for mortar or additional concrete to hold them in place during construction. They arrive by road, as and when they are needed, from the manufacturing plant in Derbyshire. The Ellesborough Road diversion’s Bailey bridge is a useful vantage point to watch them being put together using a 1,200-tonne crane.

In preparation for the pre-cast segments, the 65m-wide trench was first excavated down to the natural chalk which extends beyond the escarpment of the Chiltern Hills at that point. To dissipate the load and provide stability, the ground was then covered by a 500mm bed of aggregate. The process of creating the foundation continues

with 120 truck loads being placed in the trench every day. A 125mm steel-reinforced concrete slab was then poured over a plastic waterproof membrane. These slabs form the temporary working area that you can see in front of the erected segments. Once enough segments have been erected, a second 500mm steel-reinforced concrete slab will be poured to fix the separate tunnel segments in place and make up the final foundation for the track.

And then it starts to disappear…

At the north end of the tunnel a gantry is already in place to start the process of covering the tunnel with the top waterproof membrane. The next stage will be the carefully controlled backfill, initially along the side, then over the top. This is an incremental process, to ensure that equal pressure goes on each segment of the arch. The covering layers will be made up of material removed during the excavation, where possible. The final layer will be subsoil and topsoil thick enough to sustain the eventual grass/ wildflower meadow with shrubs and trees.

Fitted with silencers?

When you create air pressure at one end of a tube, sound comes out of the other end. In the case of a trumpet or trombone, the vibrations created by the lips of the musician are melodic, can be modified in pitch by controls and are harmonically improved by the shape of the tube. In the case of a gun, the sound pressure is explosive and makes a loud bang which comes out of the muzzle.

A fast passenger train, entering a tunnel falls between the two. Not as alarming as a gun, but not as tuneful as a musical instrument. Silencers for guns are commonplace in action films, but less so for brass instruments.

Southern end of green tunnel showing waterproofing gantry

There is a relatively simple way of stopping a train generating annoying or damaging sound waves. In Japan, the latest of the Shinkansen ‘bullet’ trains are built with highly extended sloping noses, to dissipate air pressure when the train is entering a tunnel. These extra-long aerodynamic sloped fronts work very well, but take up so much of the length of the train that they would be impractical for HS2 with its constrained platform lengths.

Instead, HS2 is relying on building ‘porous portals.’ As the train enters the portal, pressure waves that would otherwise cause a ‘boom’ on exit, are dissipated through a series of openings along the side. A similar structure completes the silencing as the train leaves the tunnel. Unlike the main tunnel, these cannot be covered with soil. There will be additional vertical sound barriers on the southern end, nearest St Mary’s church and the Chiltern Way Academy.

Why did they start where they did?

It is not just the Green Tunnel that is being built. For the past few months, continuous convoys of fully laden trucks have been taking spoil along the haul road that passes through the huge cutting that’s been made between Bacombe Lane and Ellesborough Road. Hard chalk is being trucked north to form the embankments near Stoke Mandeville and beyond. The brown clay spoil comes from the area up to Chiltern Tunnel near Great Missenden, over the conveyor line crossing the A414 around Small Dean, then piled up into the clay and chalk mountains visible from the road and high points around the area.

This gives clues as to why EKFB might have started erecting segments at the point that they did – neither in the middle, nor at one of the ends. The only place that dumper trucks can squeeze past the Ellesborough Road chicane, is in exactly the place where part of the green tunnel will be going.

Meanwhile, excavation is also proceeding for the southern section through Bacombe Lane and the link beyond Ellesborough Road.

The depth of the excavation in the extensive green tunnel work area should go a long

way towards mitigating the dust nuisance. EKFB seems to be constantly damping down the road to stop dust from blowing away from the site. We must hope that there is not a water shortage over the summer…

Another reason for starting in the middle is that work on 400m of the northern end (towards Nash Lee Road) was on hold at the time being.

Murray Cooke, from the Wendover HS2 Mitigation Action Group explained why: “[It was] awaiting agreement by the Environment Agency about the impact on the aquifer groundwater flows from Coombe Hill. North of the tunnel there is a significant excavation planned for the ‘Wendover North Cutting,’ with the HS2 track-level being below the normal groundwater levels.

“To stop the aquifer discharging into the cutting, a massive ‘tanking’ (low porosity, ie waterproofing) wall is being created. This goes 30 metres down from ground level, through the porous chalk layer into the underlying clay, and extending 300m on each side of the cutting, up to Nash Lee Road. Work started on the wall in June last year and is expected to continue to September. An extension of the wall as far north as Nash Lee Lane is also being installed which will involve a full closure of Nash Lee Road for three weeks and 24 hour working, currently planned for 23rd July to 18th August. Traffic will be diverted through Stoke Mandeville.”

The water has to go somewhere...

EKFB needs to build an underground “Spring Chamber” to monitor and to some extent regulate ground water flows from the aquifer that may be displaced, by the railway cutting and the tanking wall, into the fields close to Kings Farm and Nash Lee End.

As it is outside HS2 land, EKFB requires planning permission from Bucks Council.

This was turned down in April (Wendover News May 2025), because councillors were officially not satisfied with EKFB’s proposals to mitigate its impact on the landscape (and in reality they were unhappy with EKFB’s insistence on building a permanent road at the end of Dobbins Lane). EKFB is expected to appeal, but had not as we went to press.

for construction to commence in this area but will still require EKFB to provide proof of mitigation from the working Spring Chamber before the end of 2026. If this is true, then it avoids the additional alleged “tens of millions of pounds” that HS2 claimed that the rejection of the planning permission for the Spring Chamber would cause.”

Other structures you might not notice

On the Ellesborough side of the wide trench, contractors are working underground on an additional 2.4m diameter tunnel. This is designed to take water run-off from a very large area to the south and is calculated to be large enough to cope with flash floods that might only happen once in 100 years. This tunnelling will be concurrent and parallel with construction of the green tunnel and will finally emerge at a point about half-way between Folly bridge and the current exit to the concrete plant at the northern end of Wendover Bypass.

Murray says: “The Environment Agency (EA) need the Spring Chamber to demonstrate that the groundwater mitigation for the North Cutting is effective.

We now understand that they have given permission

At each end of the green tunnel, there will be a portal building to house mechanical, electrical and emergency facilities. These will be low in the ground, so should not be visually intrusive and will have ‘green’ roofs, planted with vegetation, as part of the design.

Now put it back how it was…

Once the top layer of soil is in place, the land will be reinstated. In most areas alongside HS2, the land will be ‘restored to its former use.’ Exceptions will be alongside and on top of the green tunnel, where new ‘natural’ habitat will be created.

Roughly a third of the land either side of the Ellesborough Road – including the fields furthest from Wendover – will be put back

Dumper trucks heading in the direction of Nash Lee

to agriculture. The rest will be given back to nature in the form of grass meadow, with sections planted with bushes and shrubs and native wildflowers.

Areas all along the green tunnel will be planted with specimen trees, including a few where the houses were demolished on Ellesborough Road.

The area immediately above the tunnel has been set aside for the construction of a greenway for walkers and cyclists. This will probably connect with a similar path going south to Great Missenden beside the A413, and north to Aylesbury and beyond to Waddesdon.

When the railway is completed and the constructors have gone, the shape of the land will be changed, but probably less than most people would imagine and fear. From what we can discern from the documents

presented to Buckinghamshire County Council in 2023, the soil covering the tunnel will raise the level of the land in a few places but it won’t stick out like a conspicuous ‘hump’. It will rise at some point to a level of 10m over the tunnel, but this seems to be around Ellesborough Road and the Bailey bridge where the original ground level rises too.

On the Wendover (east) side of the tunnel beside the bypass, the land will be made into a slope of between 1-in-6 to 1-in-7. To the west, it will be levelled off until it meets land at the existing elevation.

Footpaths will be reinstated very close to their original routes. It seems likely that the recreated open ‘natural’ area will be freely accessible from previously existing footpaths, including the much-missed route over Folly Bridge and the footbridge at Wendover

Station that forms part of the Aylesbury Ring.

Between the northern end of the main green tunnel and Nash Lee Road, the railway will run through a cutting and will be crossed by a new overbridge in Nash Lee Road. West of that, and parallel to the cutting, there will be further grass meadow land with shrubs and a string of inter-connected ponds to balance the flow of redirected water into the Stoke Brook going towards Stoke Mandeville. The ponds will be surrounded by vegetation and will not be accessible – unless you are a frog, duck, hedgehog or similar.

Something to celebrate?

First, we don’t know when this is likely to be finished. Before the green tunnel arches can be installed at the Ellesborough Road cutting end, HS2 and EKFB will need to be very confident that all the earth moving work for the cuttings and embankments to the north of Aylesbury towards Stoke Mandeville has been completed.

This is because the green tunnel arches will fill the width of the cutting so it can’t be used as a haul road for dump trucks any more.

We don’t know when that will be, because on 15 June, there was a government declaration that it no longer knows when HS2 would be finished, but it certainly won’t be the former (delayed) date in 2033.

In the meantime, at a national level the pressure is on to re-purpose the former green-belt land that has been disturbed. The government may want to re-designate some of the HS2 land around Wendover as ‘grey-belt’ for potential housing.

Added to that, everything that we have been told to expect from HS2 – much of it well-meaning – could move from the ‘must do’ to the ‘nice to have’ pile if the HS2 budget heads any closer to the financial cliff.

Nash Lee Road Overbridge

Abnormal lorry loads have also been making overnight deliveries of the massive steel girders for the Nash Lee Road overbridge, and the dramatic scale of the 148m long structure is now starting to become apparent.

Small Dean Lane and the Cycleway

Wendover Parish Council responded to a detailed HS2 planning application for the bridge over Small Dean Lane, which now

includes a 4m wide bridleway. Regrettably there was no indication of when a safe cycling route between Wendover and Dunsmore will be restored in line with the legal undertaking that was made in the HS2 Act.

While originally suggested that the bridleway would be closed for a year from last September, the reopening date seems to have slipped repeatedly and Bucks Council has agreed to take this up with EKFB.

Dobbins Lane/Spring Chamber

As we go to press there is still no indication from HS2 about what it is going to do following Bucks Council’s decision to reject

HS2 in Wendover

The EKFB Geology team has been shortlisted for a community outreach award at a construction industry event. The team is involved in geological mapping and engineering record-keeping to identify geological ground hazards that could impact the design, construction, and operation of the railway. Areas being constructed by EKFB span geological strata ranging from the

Triassic limestones of the Penarth Group to the Cretaceous Chalk found at Wendover, covering the entire British Jurassic geological system. This construction has generated significant interest within the geoscience community.

Since mid-2023, the EKFB Geology team has led site visits for various visiting academics, resulting in notable discoveries such as a partially complete ichthyosaur skeleton. The team has also developed a programme of outreach activities for local schoolchildren. They have delivered school visits to over 700 children, covering topics like geoscience careers and the geology under HS2. Their efforts aim to inspire the next generation of geoscientists through engaging and educational activities.

Moving through to current works, at the Wendover north cutting we have been constructing a low permeability wall. This structure is intended to control groundwater and potential flooding of local brooks, ensuring both environmental protection and infrastructure integrity in the area. The wall is being built in sections and acts as a barrier for groundwater, preventing flooding at Wendover north cutting.

We are now approaching the next phase of construction where the wall will be installed over the temporary diversion of Nash Lee Road. The road will be closed for just under four weeks between July and August 2025.

the “Spring Chamber” Planning Application (Wendover News May issue).

We understand that it has made a commitment to the Environment Agency to have it functioning by the end of 2026, but this will be still subject to approval by the Council.

Issues with HS2?

If you’re affected by the construction activity, please contact the HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 (which is available 24 hours a day) or email hs2enquiries@hs2.org.uk to get your issues resolved.

It helps if you have photographic evidence and please get a complaint reference number so that we can follow up issues as needed.

Need our help?

If you need further help, want to join us, or have ideas and suggestions that would mitigate the community impact, then get in touch at enquiries@whs2.org

We are always keen to have new members. If any readers are interested in joining us see www.whs2.org for details.

We are looking for volunteers to help us further with our public communications, challenging HS2 over noise issues and making sure we build up a decent case for returning land to its natural state and not being developed.

The works will include removing the vehicle restraint system (VRS) and kerbing, excavating for the wall, and installing slabs over the road, followed by tarmacking.

During the closure, there will be a fully signposted diversion route through Stoke Mandeville.

Dates of Nash Lee Road closure:

An advance works notice with more details will be shared at least two weeks prior to the works so please sign up on the HS2 website to receive further details. Please note that these dates may be subject to change but works will be completed in or around the set timeframes.

If you would like to read more about the works and view the advance works notices and maps, then please go to HS2 website www.hs2.org.uk and click the ‘in your area section’ to view the interactive map. (HS2 in your area - HS2)

Alternatively, if you have a question about HS2 please contact our HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 or email hs2enquiries@ hs2.org.uk

Information provided by EKFB, main contractor for HS2 at Wendover and Stoke Mandeville.

Photo: Simon Eccles

Photo: Simon Eccles

continued from front page... but there is no evidence that there was any collective agreement within the village. People representing both sides may well have continued to co-exist with others in the village throughout the whole of the civil war years.

Some men of fighting age might have chosen or been coerced into joining one or the other armies, simply to feed their families and it is said that members of families sometimes ended up fighting on different sides. Aylesbury soon became a Royalist garrison and from historical records that appeared to be very unpopular with the native population.

The Battle of Aylesbury allegedly took place in January 1643. We use the term ‘allegedly’, because in preparation for the construction of Buckingham Park, near where the battle was said to have taken place, the developers commissioned further research into the site of the battle. This concluded that the battle was probably a propaganda invention of the parliamentarians, but that there may have been a minor skirmish near the site. Whatever happened, the royalists moved camp to Thame and Haddenham and the parliamentarians took their place, setting up a garrison which was manned with varying strength for the duration of the civil war.

Throughout this time, it is reasonable to assume that Weston Turville would have been a place of interest for both the royalists initially, and then the parliamentarians. Being within easy access of Aylesbury, it might have been used as a source of food and other supplies. It might even have thrived during the war, with some individuals becoming quite wealthy.

Generally, the garrisons will have sought to maintain good relationships with the ‘locals’ – buying, rather than seizing what they needed. In the years after their evacuation from Aylesbury, royalists were known to have sent out small detachments from Thame and Haddenham to harass local villages around Aylesbury. Those would have been a lot less friendly. One of their practices, when

identifying anybody who was aligned with their enemies to ‘slight’ their home – burn it down.

What’s the real story about the hoard?

I sat down with Oliver and had long conversations about how the hoard came to be buried in Weston Turville. In times of conflict, like today in Ukraine and Gaza, people are unable or unwilling to put their money into banks or to carry items of wealth with them. That was certainly the case at the time we think the hoard was established.

At any time during the civil war, even when there were no local threats, it might just have been practical to store your money under the ground for safety and convenience. Oliver though it was unlikely to have been buried in a panic, but that may not be the case.

He thought the original owner might have been a horse trader or similar. He has discovered many artifacts near the site relating to horses, but they could have been from draught horses (though usually ploughs in that era were drawn by cattle) or amongst muck carried from local stables. If it wasn’t horses, why the presence of so many high denomination coins? A half-crown was a lot of money in those days. Whoever the owner was, he was probably doing good trade in something.

Did he live in the house? Can we even be sure it was a ‘he’? It would make sense that if he or she were planting all their wealth somewhere, it would be very close to home. Was the hoard left behind because they were chased away from their home? Were they in the house when it burned? Was the destruction of the house even contemporary with the abandonment of the hoard? The owner could have been arrested, taken away by one of the armies, died in jail being suspected of being a regicide? Maybe they just went on holiday and didn’t come back…?

In the end, Oliver reminded me everything we had discussed was speculation. A lot of the facts we have about the war were written by the victors. What we think is truth can

sometimes be a fabrication unconsciously built from our own beliefs. All we really know was that Oliver found some coins in an old pot, buried in a field in Weston Turville, some time after about 1645.

Oliver’s passion for metal detecting is driven by his love of history. He has an enviable knowledge of coins dating from pre-roman Celtic coins, right through to the early decades of the seventeenth century.

As a responsible detectorist, he presented his find to the Portable Finds Scheme and he has shown us evidence that the coins have been sent to the county coroner for assessment and further instructions.

The coroner has the power to offer historic items to a museum at an agreed sale value. If that is not deemed to be appropriate, or the museum declines, the finder has the option of disposing of them, for example, at a specialist auction.

The whole process usually takes around 18 months, so Oliver is expecting notification, or the return of the coins from the Local Finds Officer, imminently.

His detecting activities are always carried out with the permission (and usually collaboration) of the land owner, who, in addition to any access payment, benefits from half of any sale income from the findings. For more information, go to https://heritageportal. buckinghamshire.gov.uk/theme/tbc578.

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Will your front garden Make Wendover Smile?

By Leigh Porter

The judging for The Best Kept Village will be concluding during the course of this issue of Wendover News. No doubt some eagle-eyed residents will have spotted small groups of people, surreptitiously hiding clipboards or notebooks and spending an inordinate amount of time checking dustbins, weeds, floral displays, playparks and the War Memorial. Wendover has done very well in the past but competition is intense and standards very high. It’s hard not to look around our village and see areas that could have been improved and we can only hope the judges didn’t notice as they were too busy admiring the verges and parks, so well maintained by our hard-working Parish Council Estates Team.

We all seem so busy and with so many distractions coming at us on a daily basis it is hard to keep up so it’s often only when we have good reason that our attention is turned towards how our village is seen by others. I myself got quite flustered and defensive when trying to encourage a friend to move to Wendover and she pointed out some of our less attractive features.

First impressions happen only once, so you need to make sure they count! We aren’t just talking about the Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village Judges, but neighbours and visitors. We have some stunning gardens in Wendover, with Acer Corner in Manor Road (see photo above) and Cedar House in Bacombe Lane making it into the prestigious

National Garden Scheme Yellow Book. The Wendover U3A is also organising its own open gardens for members, who will have the privilege of exploring some of Wendover’s hidden back gardens. I hope some will be “Back Garden Allotments” (see Wendover News Winter 2024/25).

We are very fortunate in Wendover to have so much green space, with many homes having their own front gardens, which can impression to visitors and passers-by. If that thought makes you smile, I’m guessing you have put some care and a bit of work into creating an impression you are proud of. If, however, you have just cringed at that thought, then maybe its time for a bit of a tidy-up and perhaps a trip to one of the garden centres or to the monthly Local Produce Market to pick up a plant, a hanging basket or tub. When we look our best, it makes us feel better and so it applies to our own homes. It’s uplifting, not just for ourselves but neighbours and passers-by. By making ourselves smile we in turn Make Wendover Smile.

To that end Wendover Parish Council encouraging us all to do our bit to help

improve our village for our mutual benefit and wellbeing. To stir our enthusiasm, it is running a Make Wendover Smile front garden competition.

If you don’t have a front garden don’t worry, there is also the Make Wendover Smile front door competition. Details can be found at www.wendover-pc.gov.uk/smilecompetitions. Entrants will be given a Make Wendover Smile marker for their garden or front door, while a map in the Community Library will show the locations, so you can check out the competition. It’s hoped many residents will join in and encourage their neighbours to do the same. Naturally we hope you will include some of your homegrown sunflowers! You will not be judged on your horticultural expertise, but on whether you Make Wendover Smile.

THE PRACTICAL GARDENING COMPANY

Jo and Eli open Acer Corner for charity again

Turcked away behind the fences of one of the houses in Manor Road is a miniature paradise. Acer Corner is a Japanese-inspired garden that makes amazing and inspiring use of quite limited space to transport you to another world, or at least, another continent.

Jo Naiman and Eli Kling have been opening their garden for charity weekends for many years. Most recently they have participated as one of about 3,500 gardens in the National Garden Scheme, which raises money for nursing and health charities. They also make and sell cakes to visitors, with proceeds going to their personal charities, including South Bucks Jewish Community, as well as selling honey with proceeds going to Lindengate. Eli is also a volunteer deliverer for Wendover News.

Jo is the gardener and she started creating her little world soon after the pair moved into the house in 2003. At the time the house had quite a standard English garden with grass, bushes and a few conifers. Jo originally worked in IT, but after she designed the new gardens, front and back, she decided to retrain formally as a garden designer at Capel Manor. She and Eli set to work replacing the old gardens front and back with an intricate pattern of winding paths and beds of plants, sheltered sitting areas and a greenhouse.

Acer Corner is mostly planted with acer palmatums, also called Japanese maples, as well as roses. Acers are a large family of plants with about 132 varieties, including maples. All have distinctive "maple shaped" leaves, in all sorts of shapes and colours.

Alongside the plants are sculptures and ornaments the couple have collected on their travels all over the world.

If you have missed this little jewel of Wendover, look out for next year's open weekend at: www. acercorner.com

Words and photographs by Simon Eccles

Community boards five years on…

By Jo Durden-Moore

Community Boards have been a success story for Bucks Council, yet how many have heard of them? Since it was set up in 2020 our local Board has supported a huge variety of projects, from wilding initiatives, formation of a village choir, Coronation parties, park benches, a skatepark, climate action activities, floor replacements in community halls, family festival events, a war memorial, historical talks, a tree nursery, sound equipment for community singers, helping set up the Wendover Shed, other charity initiatives, creating a community bus service, smoke-free playpark initiatives, lunch-clubs tackling social isolation, electric charging points, wellbeing days for over 60s, and many more.

The list of projects is impressive in its variety and breadth, as well as in its level of investment – over the past five years well over £500,000 has been found for community-led, grass-roots projects, benefitting thousands of people. Our particular board has been highly successful in achieving its aims and making a real difference to many.

Unitary authority activity

So, where did it come from? As the world was heading into lockdown in early 2020, the unitary authority for Buckinghamshire was being born. Buckinghamshire Council was set up to perform both county and district-level functions from 1 April. It replaced the previous Buckinghamshire County Council and the four abolished districts of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks, and Wycombe. While this brought with it unification of processes, staff, and budgets, it left a gap between grass-roots Parish and Town Councils and the unitary council.

Hence the formation of ‘Community Boards,’ aiming to bring the council, groups, organisations and local people, to look at local issues and find ways to improve them.

Community Boards were set up to listen and respond to local needs. To represent the voice of people, capture thoughts, ideas and suggestions, bring together key community partners and residents, identify needs and produce creative solutions.

They have uccessfully collaborated with local partners, and delivered “solutions” through communication, engagement, networking, sharing knowledge and producing specific projects.

The boards use local data, intelligence and community views to identify key areas of focus and priorities. Each board has a dedicated chairman, vice-chairman and manager. They make links with people in the local community to make sure information

is shared, views and ideas are heard and to develop working relationships with local people, groups and organisations.

There were 16 community boards at first, and ours was ‘Wendover & Villages,’ serving Wendover and eight nearby villages. Originally it was mostly local councils that used it, but thanks to the tireless work of community board manager Michelle Parker, more community groups accessed the board to bring much-needed projects to life.

Fewer boards, wider areas

As Buckinghamshire Council continues to streamline its activities, it has restructured the community boards so there now only eight, covering wider areas.

Ours is now much larger and has been re-named the East Bucks Community Board (EBCB). It covers Wendover along with 21 villages, reaching as far as Wing and across to Ivinghoe (see the map above).

From April 2025, the new boards’ focus has been on community engagement and development, helping develop projects or undertaking work to deliver priorities of the boards as a whole as well as local residents.

They are working with organisations with similar objectives and helping find routes to grant funding outside the council.

Emphasis is being placed on working with council services to ensure they are working and engaging with local communities, bringing services closer to residents and accessing service grant funding (where available) to ensure funding is targeted to residents and areas as appropriate.

Chris Poll, from Ivinghoe ward, is chair of EBCB and Julie Ward is vice chair from Bierton, Kingsbrook and Wing ward. Now they are in position, they will be setting priorities for 2025/26, importantly where the budget will be spent. The public are welcome to attend any meetings, while minutes of meetings are on public record.

Michelle Parker says “In order for the boards to function, involvement in setting the priorities for the local area you live, work and play in, is vital.”

“I urge anyone with new initiatives or ideas for improvement, or indeed if they wish to join the board, to get in touch with me at eastbuckscb@buckinghamshire.gov.uk for an informal conversation.”

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Club Corner

Aylesbury Cycling UK is looking for a new Leisure/Easy Pace Co-ordinator – could it be you?

At the end of July 2025 Jeremy Scothern is standing down as Leisure/Easy Pace co-ordinator after four years, so the club is looking for a replacement.

It says this role is important to the continuation of these rides. It can be done by one or two people and can be broken down into simple tasks to maintain the programme of rides.

There is a library of rides to choose from and an established format for listing rides on a two monthly basis. Without a co-ordinator there won’t be Leisure and Easy Pace rides.

Can you help? The club says it can be a very rewarding role and has the support of the committee to help you.

If you think you might be able to help, please contact Jeremy at aylesburycuk@gmail. com, who can explain the role further.

Wendover Cricket Club

Jonathan Seabrook writes: The new cricket ground is taking shape as you can see in the photo, top right. This shows where topsoil is being spread to raise the levels.

The ground/ pitch works are on schedule to finish in August, although some works will be undertaken during the autumn and next spring. The pavilion contract is due to start mid-July, with completion in March 2026.

A store shed was scheduled to be installed on 18 June at Witchell, which will enable the club to maintain the ground. Although it is an adapted shipping container, when finished it will be timber-clad and decorated green.

The other major development at Witchell this summer will be the replacement of the existing nets with a fully-enclosed two-lane facility. The existing nets will be removed and the land returned to grass. The new nets will provide a safe environment and a first-rate surface for cricket practice. The club will use the new nets for organised training, usually on evenings and weekends during the cricket season. Outside of this, they will be available for members and the Wendover community. Cricket is in full swing and for the first time in three years there has been good weather. The senior teams in the Mid Bucks League currently lie second in Division 1 and 4th

in Division 2, while there are matches most Sundays. Notable performances include maiden senior 50s by youngsters Harry Godden and Ahmad Ibrahimi (87) and Charlie McGrail with a personal best 48; more seasoned players scoring 50s include Anshuman Pandit, Rob Cooke and Calum Grainge. Thomas Duff has had four and five wicket hauls, whilst four wickets have been taken by Jonathan Seabrook (twice) and Faisal Ibrahimi.

Much cricket has already been played across seven junior age groups and the girls’ section is growing. Lauren Gatley took four wickets in a recent match and Eira Lloyd took four catches and a stumping.

Two summer camps will take place at the Witchell ground during the summer holidays, providing fun cricket activities for children aged 6-12. Dates are Tuesday 29 July–Friday 1 August, and Tuesday 26–Friday 29 August (individual days can be booked, or whole weeks for a discount). The camps are run by

Elevate Cricket Academy and you can register here: https://tinyurl.com/2pdxkz94.

Send any enquiries about the club, playing or other, to Jonathan Seabrook on 07767-148 119 or jseabrook@wendoveremail.co.uk

Cracklewick Morris Dancers

Emma Gurney writes: Cracklewick Morris Dancers continue to go from strength to strength. Since their dance out on Manor Waste, Wendover in April they were fully booked for the whole of June and are already practising hard for the summer gigs!

They have also welcomed some new recruits who are already performing

magnificently! Cracklewick Morris crew recently danced out at St Leonard’s fete, and the gods of Morris were kind, as the rain held off until the very last dance.

Cracklewick is a mixed fusion Morris crew. They meet every Tuesday 8:15- 10:15 at Halton Village Hall. They are always on the lookout for new recruits, musicians, and dancers alike, so if you are tempted, contact the crew at cracklewickmorris@gmail.com

Wendover Bowls Club

Don Knight writes: What elevated circles our club moves in!! The Royal Household Bowls Club made the journey from Windsor last month to play us here in Wendover.

Unfortunately a domestic crisis, involving a slippery tray and a saucepanful of gravy, prevented me from attending. However, after a couple of more washes the hall carpet will look better

Evidently it was a day to remember, blessed as it was, by lovely weather. As befits their “Royal"

title the visitors were immaculately turned out in club blazers and ties with the ladies, also in blazers over pretty dresses, with a blue sash over the shoulder.

Four of our splendid ladies slaved away in the kitchen to produce a superb meal that rounded off a really successful day… especially as we won.

We continue with inter club matches and I get the impression that we are doing better than previous seasons with some good wins but it is a little early to say. Draws have been made for our internal competitions.

As I write none have been played yet. Because it is up to the teams to arrange times to play among themselves it will all be left to the last minute so they can enjoy a really good panic as they run out of time.

The green is looking better than it has looked for some years which shows that all the hard work has paid off and so far, keep fingers crossed, the rooks and the fox have left us alone.

Another exciting piece of news is that we have managed to arrange a match against The Chelsea Pensioners on the 27th of August. They have said they will park their coach nearby and march into the club behind a piper. More detail to follow when we get them.

As I said Bowls Club only moves in the very best circles.

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I am a Wendover based Wills & Estate Planning Consultant, having previously spent over 20 years as a private

solicitor. My FREE Wills & Estate Planning Surgeries are now being held again at Wendover Library and are running on

Tuesday 8th July from 12 – 2pm and Tuesday 5th August from 12 – 2pm

To book a slot, please call me directly on 01296 4157001or email me at iain@wanstallconsulting.co.uk

There are also plenty of client reviews on my website at www.wanstallconsulting.co.uk

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not necessarily the views of the editor. If you have a complaint or concern about content in Wendover News, please visit www.wendovernews.co.uk/complaints

Postal address only – no visitors: 11 Manor Road, Wendover, HP22 6HL

When you have finished reading this edition of Wendover News, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it responsibly.

Summertime!

Wendover Parish CouncilView from the Clock Tower

This is your bumper summer edition of Parish Council news for you to read as you sip a summer Chianti or lemonade. In support of our Make Wendover Smile sunflower campaign I have hidden a number of different types of sunflower in this article – there are 14 to spot – see if you can guess them all, it’s a bit like going on a teddy bear hunt.

Councillors

We are pleased that all vacancies on the Council are now filled and a full Council is ready to progress significant projects to improve Wendover, as well as ensuring we apply as much pressure to HS2 and Buckinghamshire Council to do the same. Whilst we don’t have access to a gold rush for funding, we can make a difference and the website will have details of future plans after our July meeting.

Make Wendover Smile

We are asking residents to use the sunflower and other flora and fauna to make people smile in their home-based sunspots. We are awarding prizes for the best front garden, the best front door and the best shop window. To enter, send your application into the office before the 29th July and we will be judging between 11th and 22nd August, before we move from shiny sun to autumn beauty. Get creative but a cheeky little sunflower will always help.

We are also making the kids smile in conjunction with Wendover Community Library. We have art sessions for 4 to 11year olds on Saturday 12 July, Saturday 26 July and Sat 9 August 10am-2pm with prizes for the best works from the Sundance kids. See www. wendover-pc.gov.uk/smile-competitions for more info

If you are fed up hearing about the American Giant pandering to the Russian Mammoth in the news then have a look at an exciting new event that is happening on the Hampden Field being run by the Craftyard. Yardfest summer festival is on 19 July running from 12:30 to 11pm. It is a mix of live music, food and craft beer. The Parish Council is hoping events like this will be a regular feature in our open spaces, This one also supports a local high street business. See www. weareyardfest.co.uk for more information and tickets.

We finish the summer fun with our Picnic in the Park 2025 – also taking place in the Hampden Meadow. Starting at 12pm and running until 5pm (although many people stay much later with their picnic).

This is a family and community day so bring your sunny smiles – with community organisations showcasing their work, food and drinks, fairground rides and the return of the dog show. This year we will be having demonstrations from local dance groups, theatres and choirs, with music all day and a brass band as part of the picnic in the park

Wendover Parish Council, The Clock Tower, High Street,

Wendover Local Produce Market Sat. 19 July & 16 August, 10am - 2pm Manor Waste

01296 623056 clerk@wendover-pc-gov.uk www.facebook.com/wendoverparish

atmosphere there will be plenty to keep little Becka entertained, the mums and dads as well!

Our local shops, pubs and restaurants all have some special offers and events coming up that will make the school holidays double dandy. If you fancy a bit of Shakespeare in the garden then Bel and the Dragon at the Red Lion has the open bar theatre performing Midsummer Night’s Dream on the 29th July.

The Shoulder of Mutton normally has a summer event too. Please use our high street and businesses where you can; with difficult trading conditions it means a lot to them.

Library Car Park

If you are frustrated by the Wendover Library car park, the Parish Councillors are too. We provide a completely free car park at the Witchell Cricket Ground off South Street. If you cut through the Witchell and come out by the library it is not that much further to walk.

The Parish Council is in discussions about the issues of parking, but it is a titan of a problem and then implementing any solutions is likely to be costly. The website projects page will be updated when we have anything to share.

Wendover HP22 6DU

We're looking for new traders! Contact estates@wendover-pc.gov.uk Next Parish Council meeting: 5 August, 7:4 0pm Main Meeting room,Wendover Library Information about upcoming meetings: www.wendover-pc.gov.uk

Sunday Church Services in Wendover

• St Anne’s: 9am Mass

• St Mary’s: 9am and 10.45am

• Wendover Free Church: 10.45am

St Anne’s Roman Catholic Church – 07753 633713 stanneswendover.uk

St Mary’s Church of England – 01296 696136 / 623123 stmaryswendover.org Wendover Free Church – 01296 622354 wendoverfreechurch.org.uk

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Your sunflower varieties are: Chianti, Lemonade, Teddy Bear, Gold Rush, Sunspot,

Shiny Sun, Autumn Beauty, Sundance, American

Giant, Russian Mammoth, Sunny Smile, Little

Becka, Double Dandy, Titan