On behalf of the Trust I thank those who came along to the Burton Pynsent monument on Friday 3rd to climb the spiral stairs to the top. From opening at 1300 until the rain came at 1715 there was a queue of people waiting to ascend the tower. We recorded almost 200 people-including all ages - and four dogs. One young person found it too much and didn’t get to the top,a dog put his paw down at the very idea, another dog was carried up after at a third of the way when it down-pawed and was also carried down. One lucky animal! I got to have many interesting chats with the waiting visitors, I learnt a lot about the new British aircraft carriers and the very advanced planes that fly from them, apparently the weakest links in the planes are the pilots who cannot stand the g force the planes can generate when flying at full capability. Also the heart wrenching but inspiring tale of a person who had to undergo such radical surgery that she was left paralysed but had taught herself to walk again and successfully climbed the tower. There were many other tales from good natured friends waiting their turn. Nearly £700 was raised for the Trust after gift aid was included. The picture shows the queue. This ,money will be very useful; the Trustees have several plans afoot, the first of which is for high quality information boards alongside the official footpath which has been clearly marked and mown through the field, The traditional path most of you used follows the edge of the field and then goes through the wood to the east. This is not the official footpath; this goes from the gate north to the wood and down to the Levels. Land owners beyond the Trust land do not seem keen on the traditional path, apparently for reasons to do with public liability, but have not stopped the path up so far, although they have put up warning notices. The Trust has no view on how other landowners allow or deny access and will maintain the official path in collaboration with Somerset County Council’s footpath wardens.The money will also be used to protect and enhance the wild-flowers as mentioned in previous articles, the picture shows a pyramidal orchid of which we have a lot again this year - this is remarkable as the land was regularly ploughed until 2018. By leaving the field uncut at this time of year and cutting late in the summer the orchids get to set seed and this mature seed is then spread when we cut late in the summer. June is the best time for orchid flowers. Finally engineer Alan has been busy building a barrier at the entrance to the field. He has set in two large posts, one of which has the name of the Trust set vertically on the post and has constructed a bespoke barrier to fit the gap. An entrance has been left for walkers to the north east corner. The main aim is to prevent unauthorised vehicle access. Many thanks to Alan for his continuing skilled efforts.
