Friends of Eaton Park

Our Tree Walk this year took place in early autumn - a chance to see trees in a different light from our usual May walk. The walk was led by Dr Gerry Barnes who has lived in Eaton for 40 years and worked in Norfolk for over fifty years.

Gerry is Honorary Research Fellow at UEA and has written books on trees, ancient woodlands, orchards, ancient trees and hedgerows.

Readers will know Eaton Park has the most wonderful range of trees. Gerry introduced us to hornbeams, oaks, ash, several types of oaks and limes and many more. Drawing on a life in trees he took us from pre-historic times to traditional uses, weaving in the names of towns and pubs that reveal local trees and their history.

It was fascinating. We were lucky to enjoy a warm and at times golden evening.

Our next walk is a Bat Walk with Norfolk Bat Group on Thursday 17 September. Meet at the Bandstand at 7.15pm. Events are free and all are welcome. Check out details of all coming events on our website https://friendsofeatonpark.co.uk/events-activities/

Eaton Park Volunteer Gardeners
Thursday September 3rd

Another enjoyable and productive gardening session this morning. Thank you to the 15 volunteers for being such a great team and getting such a lot done!

We weeded and tidied the bandstand beds. We used a border fork to open up holes in the paths at the back of the quadrant beds. Hopefully, this will help drainage when the winter rains come.

Two volunteers tended the planters down at the Community Centre. They replaced a dead Alchemilla, tidied and watered the containers ….and discovered a crop of mushrooms, to boot!

Another volunteer tackled the lily pond beds which are looking very dried out and sad at the moment. A passer-by asked for the lavender cuttings and went away, happily, with a bagful!

We also tackled the lavender in the boating lake, and café garden, beds, while our specialist compost team (aka Team Louise) sorted out the bins so that there was room for today’s debris. They also watered the existing compost which was very dry. There was a lovely aroma of lavender and coffee drifting over the compost bins!

We had a big gathering afterwards in the café garden for some well-earned refreshments and chat.

Our next session will be on October 1st. Hopefully, we’ll have some bulbs to plant then. If you'd like to get involved, email us at [email protected]

Message from the railway...
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Summer is drawing to a close and the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness approaches.
This bank holiday weekend we are running regular trains on Sunday and on Monday we host
the Lord Mayor for the annual Civic Charity Day. This year the charity is "Mind The Gap"
You can find more about them at https://mindthegapmusic.org/. and they will have a stall at the station.
Come along and see the Lord Mayor open the proceedings at 1100 on Monday.
Regular fares £2/£1 and Day Passes available £6/|£4 and we are pleased to announce that
our accessible car, No7, is back in service too, so now everybody can get a ride, including your four-legged best friends.

Looking ahead, we are planning something special for All Hallows' Eve. Look out for this.

Come along to The Great Get Together at Eaton Park Community Centre!

Friday 11 September, 3.15–5pm — drop in for free refreshments, coffee and cake, a chance to chat and enjoy some live music from The Tree Fellas and Lady Byrds.

Everyone welcome — and it’s all completely FREE.

Part of The Great Get Together, inspired by Jo Cox and celebrating the power of bringing people together.

Message from the railway...

Thursday sees the last of our three Summer Specials and temperatures look to be a lot more reasonable than for our last attempt on the 13th!
Usual fares and No7 is back in service too. 1pm to 4pm.
Don't forget that on Monday 31st we will be visited by the Lord Mayor for the Annual Civic Charity Day, starts at 11am

Message from the railway...
The accessible carriage is out of action...

This August bank holiday, takings from train trips on Eaton park miniature railway will go to the Lord Mayor's charity 'Mind the Gap'. The charity provides musical activities for people in Norwich who have mental and physical health issues. Enjoy a lovely train train trip while at the same time supporting this super local charity!

The Women’s Cycling Safety Audit wants to hear from women and gender-diverse people about what would make cycling feel safer in Norwich — whether you cycle all the time, occasionally, haven’t cycled in years or have never cycled but want to.

Your experience and views can help shape what needs to change. And there are four £50 Pedal Revolution vouchers up for grabs!

https://tally.so/r/RG5Gaj