This is the 7th social event organised by the NW London Cachers (mbtkz, Trikonasana and LinseyG).
This summer's event is a CITO (working party) at Eastcote House Gardens. Under the friendly supervision of the Chair of the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens, Lesley Crowcroft, we will be working in the lovely historic walled garden to help keep it looking good. For those of you who wish to get really stuck in there will be some heavy digging to remove the roots of some acanthus plants. For others there will be weeding duties, to tidy the herb garden and flower beds. Please note that you do NOT need to have any gardening or plant knowledge to take part in this event - all tools, and instructions about which plants to weed and which to keep, will be given by Lesley. She will also provide refreshments of tea/coffee and biscuits as a "thank you" for our efforts.
Start time: 10.30am at the published co-ordinates, which is the car park for Eastcote House Gardens (entrance off High Road Eastcote). The work itself will take place in the walled garden just around the corner from the car park.
There is a car park on site for those coming by road. For public transport users the Piccadilly line tube trains will be running to Eastcote station (from there it is about a 15 minute walk) though alas the Metropolitan line will only be running to stations north of Northwood: there will be a bus rail replacement service instead but if you choose to use this, please give yourself plenty of time for the longer journey. Buses 282 (Northwood/Eastcote) and H13 (Ruislip/Pinner) stop on the nearby roads. There are toilet facilities on site. Well behaved dogs and children are welcome.
There was a dwelling on the Eastcote House grounds since 1507, which initially was a cottage named Hopkyttes, though over time the building changed to become a grander living space called Eastcote House, which until the 20th century was surrounded by extensive parkland. The house itself was demolished on safety grounds in 1964 after years of neglect by the local authorities, and now only the lovely grounds, the stables, the dovecot and the walled garden remain. In conjunction with Hillingdon Council, the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens have spent years helping to tidy and restore the gardens and grounds, and they recently submitted a bid to the Heritage Lottery fund for much needed money to restore the buildings, which are currently on the English Hertiage "Buildings at Risk" register. If the bid is successful all structures will be able to be conserved, and a new building will be added to house a tea room with modern toilet facilities, which will be a great asset during the many events that are held in the grounds. The Friends work very hard to look after this attractive historic site, so we are delighted to be able to have the opportunity to support them in their work.
This is a CITO (Cache in, Trash Out) Event and counts as a 'find' (and different icon) for your log of caches - though please remember to sign the Event log book on the day.
Cache In Trash Out is an ongoing environmental initiative supported by the worldwide geocaching community. Since 2002, geocachers have been dedicated to cleaning up parks and other cache-friendly places around the world. Through these volunteer efforts, we help preserve the natural beauty of our outdoor resources.