In our April newsletter we hope you enjoy highlights of our year so far alongside news of upcoming activities and ideas for enjoying the Bathscape. Huge thanks to everyone who continues to support Bathscape activities, and to everyone who has joined us for a walk, community event, training session, listened to a podcast episode or joined us at our thank you event!
Thank you celebrations
A huge thank you to all the wonderful volunteers, supporters, local community groups, and brilliant colleagues and partner organisations who joined us for our thank you and celebration event on Tuesday 24th February!
It was such a special way to share appreciation of how they have contributed to, and made, the amazing Bathscape Landscape Partnership project. Thanks also go to all those who couldn’t join us but have shared their enthusiasm, time, energy and expertise with Bathscape over the last 8 years.
Our thanks go to BRLSI for the lovely venue, Bath City Farm for providing us with beautiful handmade tokens of gratitude, and to Bath Community Kitchen for the delicious canapes!
Thank you to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and players of the National Lottery, for their incredible support throughout this special partnership.
Photo credit: Ric Rawlins
Growing together in Foxhill
In February and March Bathscape teamed up with our fantastic friends at Dorothy House, Grow for Life and The Urban Garden to give the Community Garden in Foxhill a bit of care and attention.
The community garden, near Parson’s bakery, had been untended for several years. A group of local residents, with some support, have now cleared it back and have started growing again! Their work has included serious weeding, moving of compost and beautiful planting, all to make this a welcoming space for contemplation and therapeutic gardening.
Thank you to everyone who has joined in so far and for all of the lovely support and encouragement from those who have stopped to say hello. The group will meet regularly and there is a WhatsApp group you can join to hear more about upcoming group activities. If you’re interested in getting involved please email info@bathscape.co.uk for more information.
Funding opportunities
Caring for the Cotswolds is a grant scheme designed to keep the Cotswolds a special place to live, work, and visit. Cotswold National Landscape would like to support small, grassroots organisations, where the grant will make a big difference. £500-5,000 worth of funding is available for climate, nature and community projects.
For 2025-2028, this grant scheme is made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, they are offering more community grants to support the Cotswolds National Landscape.
You can find out more here about criteria and how to apply – https://www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk/our-work/grants-and-funding/caring-for-the-cotswolds/how-to-apply-for-caring-for-the-cotswolds/ .
Conservation group at Bath City Farm
In partnership with The National Trust, Bath City Farm have set up a conservation volunteer group led by a National Trust Ranger. They meet fortnightly and work in the far reaches of the farm ensuring the hedgerows thrive, wildflowers flourish and the farm animals are safe to graze. The Ranger has a wealth of knowledge and skills to share.
Volunteers will need to be prepared to work in all weathers and gradients, as the farm is on a hill. They’ll need to wear sturdy boots and be prepared for outdoor conditions. The sessions run from 10am to 3pm and people will need to bring their own lunch or can get a volunteer discount in the cafe.
The next sessions are taking place on 14th and 28th April, then 12th and 26th May. If you would like to find out more or get involved please get in touch with Amy – amy@bathcityfarm.org.uk who can share more details and an application form.
Brilliant Bench
Huge thanks go to to the hard-working Cotswold Voluntary Wardens team who installed this bench which is designed so people can wheel up to the table as well as walk up, to enjoy the view.
Bathscape partners at Cotswolds National Landscape utilised funding from a DEFRA Access to Nature grant and worked with Charlcombe Parish Council and B&NES Parks department to bring us this brilliant resting point.
You can check out the Lansdown route and views using our Lansdown on the Level trail Try out this accessible bench for yourself – we’d love to hear what you think!
Photo credit: Keith Weller
Upcoming events
Good Friends Group Guide to Leading Volunteer Tasks
We’re working with marvellous Mali, from Bath and North East Somerset Council Parks team, and the fabulous Carol Stone to run this half-day workshop on the afternoon of Tuesday 28th April.
The session is aimed at volunteers already involved in a local park or greenspace, as part of their local Friend’s Group, or anyone wanting to take on more of a leadership role developing and organising activities. This is specifically aimed at volunteers in parks in Bath and North East Somerset.
You can find out more about what you’ll learn and book your place via Eventbrite – Tuesday 28th April Training
Bath Urban Treescape walks
Bath Urban Treescape walks are offering five more of their popular guided walks this Spring and Summer.
The series starts with a guided urban tree walk ‘Leafy Legacies’ on Friday 17th April. This walk follows the route of one of Bath Urban Treescape’s Urban Tree Trails, and explores the variety of native and exotic trees which are literally ‘hiding in plain sight’ amongst the magnificent architecture of central Bath.
You’ll be led by Robin Barnes, Westonbirt Guide and tree enthusiast as the walk meanders through the city centre, finishing near Pulteney Weir. The terrain is mainly on pavements, gently downhill and covers about a mile.
You can find out more and book your place on any of the upcoming walks using the links below:
Leafy Legacies Tree Walk – Friday 17th April – More details here
Riverside Ramble Tree Walk – Friday 26th June – More details here
Locksbrook Labyrinth Tree Walk – Friday 30th June – More details here
London Road Loops Tree Walk – Friday 10th July – More details here
Newton Park Tree Walk – Friday 24th July – More details here
Places cost £5, plus a booking fee, per walk with all proceeds going to printing further tree trail maps to share. You can access all of the tree trails from the Bath Urban Treescape website.
Festival of Nature programme of events coming soon!
Festival of Nature will return from 6th to 14th June 2026. Trees & Forests will be at the heart of the festival which will be shining a spotlight on everything trees do for us, and how they link to our waterways, food, and communities in ways you might not expect.
Save the date in your diary and keep an eye on the website – www.bnhc.org.uk/festival-of-nature/
Corsham Walking Festival
Corsham Walking Festival 2026 will take place over the weekend of the 12th to 14th June and tickets are now on sale!
The team are planning a programme of nineteen walks of varying length and difficulty that will promote all that is interesting to see both in the Town and the surrounding countryside promoting 60 years of the Cotswolds National Landscape.
Included this year: a walk for the Blind and Partially Sighted and one for Non-Walkers at Hartham Park, one to discover the Upper Tributaries of the By Brook, a visit to Jamie’s Farm, one to Neston Park (the new home for the WOMAD Festival) a walk with a visit to an Ice Cream Makers and one Connecting with the Suffragettes. Just to name but a few.
They will also be offering a Basics of Navigation and Map Reading Walk for anyone interested in getting to understand maps or improve their map reading skills. Whilst at the Springfield Campus they will be holding two FREE First Aid Confidence Courses provided by St John Ambulance, providing hands on demonstrations to help you deal with a first aid emergency.
They have again decided to partner with the local primary schools to have their Yr5 pupils create an illustrated map of their My Walk to School. There will be a display of the children’s maps at the Springfield Community Campus leading up to the festival.
Throughout the Festival Weekend, they have family friendly walk and a free Walk of Discovery around Corsham. Maps, clues, and answer sheets will be available from the Springfield Community Campus. Find your own route and walk when it suits you. Badges and certificates for all who take part and return their answers.
Tickets are available online via the website or directly at The Pound. More information about the Corsham Walking Festival Programme along with descriptions can be found at: corshamwalkingfestival.org.uk/
Avon Wildlife Trust Community Gathering
This summer, Avon Wildlife Trust is hosting The Community Gathering on Saturday 11th July from 10am until 3pm.
It’s a free, welcoming event that brings together local people, community leaders, grassroots groups, changemakers, and organisations working towards nature’s recovery across the West of England.
Expect:
- Inspiring project showcases
- Interactive discussions and open conversations
- Space to connect, share ideas and collaborate
Who should attend
- Inspirational individuals, of all ages, interested in taking action for nature
- Youth and volunteers championing nature
- Community-led groups from all backgrounds
- Local and regional organisations
- Councillors and partners working on nature recovery
For more details, and to sign up to attend – please visit the webpage: Community Gathering | Avon Wildlife Trust
You can also complete a 5-minute survey to share ideas and help shape the day (by 17th April)
Listening opportunity
We were both excited and sad making the final episode of Footprints at the end of last year. If you missed it – this episode brings you clips from our favourite podcast episodes over 5 years and helps to show the breadth and the depth of the work of the Bathscape partnership.
As we step into Spring, you can join us in enjoying moments from previous Spring episodes where we have heard from wonderful people, who are caring for Bathscape, sharing enthusiasm and expertise about the Bathscape and its nature, and reflecting on its heritage and history….over the 5 series!
Huge thanks to our talented and enthusiastic presenter Pommy Harmar for producing all of our podcast episodes. Thank you to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and players of the lottery for making the podcast possible.
Find all our episodes at: https://footprints.captivate.fm/ or search “Bathscape Footprints” wherever you normally get your podcasts.
Impact Reports
If you are interested in reading more about the Bathscape Scheme and the impact and achievements of the Bathscape Partnership, you can read our four Journey to Impact documents. These independently produced reports include:
- The Landscape Around Us which focuses on land and conservation work through the Bathscape partnership.
- Stories of the Hills which shares more about how we’ve increased understanding of the landscape.
- Journeys to Wellbeing which outlines our contribution to people’s health and wellbeing.
- Unlocking the landscape which considers our impact on increasing access to the landscape.
All reports can be viewed or downloaded from www.bathscape.co.uk/bathscape-impact-reports
