AEG Trail #7: Marchup Ghyll Nature Reserve
The cache, a camo-taped pre-form tube, is hidden near the gate accessing this lovely small reserve - a great example of restoration and rehabilitation - from its western side.
Note: the D/T figures are for access from the adjacent road otherwise [following the series from the start with AEG Trail #1] they would be 1.5/2.5.
This is the 7th of a series of 9 caches in an enjoyable 2.6 km circuit taking in some varied scenery and environments to the south of the village. See the Trail Map in the Gallery for the route and points of interest - including cache locations.
The trail originally had 6 caches marking key points of interest as per the guided tour at the annual Environment Day held in May 2017.
The cache was adopted as AEG Trail6 from Pippy P Poopypants on 31/5/19 with 46 finds and subsequently renumbered to allow for the insertion of a new #4 into the series.
From #6 continue west up the trail from the stepping stones and along the northern side of the beck into the upper part of the reserve and the cache location, passing a small wild flower meadow along the way.
Original text [+ added notes]:The 1.5 acre [Danny Palmer] Nature Reserve at Marchup Ghyll was created on the site of a former Victorian rubbish tip - an area once littered with ash, broken crockery and glass. The project started in 2001 when a keen bottle collector was given permission to rake over the site with a mechanical digger. The land was restored after Bradford Environmental Action Trust applied to the Onyx Environmental Trust for funding to reclaim the land and create a local nature reserve.
The resulting £7,315 grant was used to seal the debris with 2,400 tones of clay and sub-soil. This was then graded to the same contour as the existing ground, and a path was constructed to join an existing pathway. enabling visitors to walk around the site.
[The Reserve was formally opened in 2004 and has information boards for visitors.]
Many volunteers from the village, including members of Addingham Garden Friends, have been hard at work 
[since] to create an area which could be enjoyed by visitors and residents - while also providing a haven for wildlife.
Grass and flower seeds were sown in spring in 2006 and more than 1,000 trees were planted there by the Forest of Bradford project in November, with help from villagers and schoolchildren. The finishing touches have included nesting boxes and wildlife havens.
[The Reserve was very much the idea and work of the late local Councillor Danny Palmer after whom it was renamed in his memory and honour. See here for more information on the Reserve including its history and a complete list of plant species recorded there]
