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Recreation Field & Nymph Hay Wood

Kington St Michael Parish Council bought the 7 acre Recreation Field in the early 1980s. The field was initially levelled and play equipment provided. This has been maintained since, with a large effort by the village to renew most of the play equipment in 2002. The official opening was held at noon on Wednesday 14th May 2003 and attended by the Parish Council, sponsors, local donors, GWR and the Gazette & Herald.

In 2008 the playing field was levelled again in order to provide a suitable football pitch. During the works parishioner Tim Storer carried out metal detection on the site. Please click here to view his reports and photographs taken.

In October 2011 the Parish Council approved a Deed of Dedication for the recreation field to become a QEII Field. This means that the field will be forever protected as a recreation facility. The title number for the Recreation Field is WT273760 and can be viewed by visiting www.landregistry.gov.uk. Please scroll down for all the latest news and events.

In 2015 a new QE2 Field Group was formed with the purpose of fundraising to improve and enhance the recreation field's facilities.  Please find out more by clicking on the "KSM QE2 Field Group" tab on the left-hand side of this page.

KSM QE2 Field Now Has A Facebook Page

NYMPH HAY WOOD
(Owned by The Woodland Trust)

The field which is just across the stream from the Recreation Field, (OS Map reference ST896779, 14.23 acres/5.76 ha) was acquired by The Woodland Trust in 1997 as part of their “Woods on your Doorstep” scheme to mark the Millennium. The Scheme was funded by the Millennium Commission, the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, the Forestry Commission, and another large charitable donation as well as by many small donations and by fund raising activities within the village.

The wood was designed by people in the Village and the Woodland Trust, and planted – assisted by children from the school and local people – in 1997-98. The trees have already attained a good size and provide a wilder area with seasonal changes of interest for the public to enjoy, as well as plenty of shelter, berries and nuts for the wildlife.

The field was once part of the Priory (a Nunnery), which stood to the west. (Some remains of the buildings are incorporated in to Priory Farm). The name, “The Nymph Hay”, is as recorded by the famous 17th Century antiquarian John Aubrey, who lived at nearby Easton Piercy. He describes it as the field in which the Nuns would exercise and do their spinning.

The main tree species are oak, ash, and field maple, together with cherry, silver birch, hazel and many other native trees and shrubs. We made a particular point of planting Barberry – now rare in the wild - which was once common in this part on North Wiltshire, and can still be found in some local hedgerows. It is hoped to plant some more wildflowers, particularly in a sunny glade at the top of the hill. The grass is rather strong growing, but cutting and the planting of yellow rattle should reduce its vigour. A sunny flowery glade should attract more butterflies. The thistles that have appeared already attract some butterflies, as well as providing seeds for birds particularly goldfinches. You are welcome to walk here at any time.

The Woodland Trust envisages the wood becoming a "wild wood", developing through the natural ecological process with minimum intervention, with coppicing to the sides of the rides and annual mowing of the meadow. The WT representative for Wiltshire visits twice a year, with approximately five further visits from estate management.

To keep the wood safe for walkers and their families please note that there is a no horse riding policy in place in the Nymph Hay Wood.

Recreation Field Group

The Rec Field Working Group consisted of a group of villagers who got together to improve the facilities at the Recreation Field, as a working group on behalf of the Parish Council. They raised (from grants, fund raising events and donations) well over £40,000. The village now has a playground surrounded by a picket fence, with a kick wall, maypole spinner, zipwire and shading.

In 2011 the group decided to disband in the main, but to continue to arrange the popular annual Bonfire Night & Fireworks.  However in 2015 the new KSM QE2 Field Group was formed and has taken over the helm.

Any enquiries about the Recreation Field should be directed to the parish council.

Events

QE2 Field News - February 2022

 
With many thanks to Kington St Michael Parish Council, there is now a brand new noticeboard, new bin and dog poo bag dispenser at the KSM QE2 Field.

QE2 Field News - September 2020

 

Play Area Now Open &  New Play Equipment Coming Soon!

Thanks to the efforts of the Parish Council and KSM QE2 Field Group, all equipment in the play area has now been repaired or made safe until replaced, so the playground is now open and safe to use.

In other news, during the lockdown, volunteers from KSM QE2 Field Group and representatives from the Parish Council have been working hard behind the scenes to consider further improvements at the field and are pleased to announce that an outdoor table tennis table plus a new Cone Climber will be installed soon. This is all thanks to hard earned funds raised from events such as Bonfire Night, combined with grants and support from the Parish Council.

The new installations will mean that parts of the play area will be cordoned off overnight and for weekends and the play area will be off limits whilst heavy machinery is in use. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this temporary disruption may cause but we hope that these enhancements to the play area will be enjoyed by many in our village community.

Bonfire Night 2018

On behalf of KSM QE2 Field Group, a massive thank you to all the amazing volunteers who helped in the lead up to and on the day/evening on Saturday 3rd November, to make our annual bonfire and fireworks event a success!

Special thanks go to Kington St Michael Village Shop for selling advance tickets, the members of Kington St Michael Club, who were amazing, including the guys from Amberon, to Simon Jones and Bruce Low for the spectacular firework display and Scouts from 3rd Chippenham Scout Group for helping to build the bonfire (and the Guy!). Too many other kind volunteers to mention but your help was invaluable – thank you so much. Great teamwork and community spirit to make this event happen. We hope everyone who came had a great night!

Bonfire Night 2017

The new community BBQ area, now complete with permanent water supply, was put to good use when village bonfire night celebrations went off with a bang on 4th November at KSM QE2 Field, for our annual fireworks event.
A big thanks go to all those who helped, supported and volunteered on the day and in the months leading up to the event.  This popular village event is supported by the Parish Council, but organised solely by villagers and volunteers who give up their time to make this happen and simply would not be able to take place otherwise, so thank you.
Of course, thanks go to all those who supported the event by buying tickets and attending - we had an amazing turnout and hope everyone enjoyed the spectacular firework display! We are pleased to report we managed to raise a whopping £1,800 in aid of future improvements at the QE2 Field.

Play Equipment Update
Following a safety inspection at the QE2 Field, the junior swings in the children’s play area have been identified as needing replacement parts and are therefore currently out of action for safety reasons.

The Parish Council has ordered the necessary replacement to ensure the swings can be used again as soon as possible.

As many of you know, the zip wire is also out of action (and has been for a long time) due to safety concerns regarding the foundations. The new QE2 Field Group will be looking at a new zip wire as part of the QE2 Field Project as it is recognised as being very popular. A replacement and relocation is likely to be incorporated as part of a future plan for the QE2 Field and its facilities.

2015

December

Recreation Field: Attention KSM QE2 Field Users

On December 29th the QE2 Field Group was made aware of a significant amount of broken glass located up at the QE2 Field in KSM, which was scattered across the entire hard standing area underneath the basketball hoop and also down by the kick wall area on the other side of the field. It is extremely disheartening and disappointing that a very small minority of people choose to spoil our recreation area for others, by displaying anti-social behaviour and carrying out such mindless acts.

Bonfire Night 
Thanks go to everyone who was organised or involved with the bonfire night and firework display, and also to everyone who supported this event - £830 has been raised, which will be spent on new facilities as the recreation field.

New Sign
The new Nymph Hay Wood sign is up at the entrance to the wood (recreation field side).

2014

Outdoor Workshop

(Photo courtesy of Niki Willows)

In July our community shelter was used by attendees to a workshop focusing on outdoor play - they then headed to the Nymph Hay Wood for a nature session and a muddy kitchen.

Niki Willows lived in the village for 24 years and set up her own business Rounded and Grounded offering outdoor workshops and Forest School sessions for all ages as well as staff CPD training. On Saturday the village hall was the venue for a joint session with Hilary Tucker who is a Special Educational Needs Consultant. The workshop was to show attendees how they could differentiate activities for a wide variety of abilities and behaviours.

The session began with a chat in the hall followed by a wander along the village footpaths looking at how the environment could be used in either a playful or educational way. The group stopped at the community shelter to discuss the activities that they had completed before heading off across the stream into the Nymph Hay Wood where the activities took place under the shelter of some hazel trees as it was pouring!

The session finished with coffee and cake back at the village hall, the participants said that they had been inspired and ignited! Niki's free booklet of outside ideas is downloadable here.

Community Shelter opening

Vicky Welsh (Chippenham Community Area Manager), Mary Hardwidge (Grants Officer, Community First),Maureen Hall (Chairman, Kington St Michael Parish Council)
& Mike Pyne (Resident/Inspector, Green Square).

Kington St Michael Parish Council celebrated the opening of its community shelter on March 10th, after a funding boost from Hills Group, of £15,000, helped to make this possible. The grant was made available through the Landfill Communities Fund which is administered for Hills by Community First, the Rural Community Council for Wiltshire. The parish council also received grants from Wiltshire Council’s Chippenham Area Board, Green Square’s Community investment Fund and the village’s book & DVD recycling scheme.

The community shelter lives up to its title by providing shelter from the elements at the village’s recreation field. It provides somewhere where people of all ages can meet, chat and access the environment and nearby wood and is proving especially popular with young people and teens, who are keen to use its Bluetooth Playa©. There is disabled access to the shelter, via a concrete path, also making it accessible for mums with children in buggies, and its semi-circular layout makes it suitable for use by community groups. 

2013

November: The bonfire night made a profit of £875.The bonfire night working group would like to thank all those that helped during the day and the evening.

April: The Parish Council has been awarded a £1,086 grant from Fields in Trust towards repairs of play equipment at the recreation field, which the Parish Council registered as a QEII Field in Trust in 2011, making it eligible for such grant applications. Thanks also go to the Bonfire Night group, which has also kindly donated £1,000 towards the cost of repairs.

2012

November: Thanks to everyone who came along to the new "Jubilee Glade" at the Nymph Hay wood. The Jubilee oak tree plus the English bluebells and two picnic benches now installed in the wood, will provide a long term reminder of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year, creating a beautiful spring sight in our wood and a wonderful legacy for everyone in the village to enjoy for many years to come. (Liz Allen & Sarah Harriman from the Diamond Jubilee Committee and Will Lawton, who donated the oak tree)  

2011

KSM Recreation Field becomes a QEII Field

The Parish Council has approved a Deed of Dedication for the recreation field to become a QEII Field. The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, headed by its Patron The Duke of Cambridge and operated by Fields in Trust, is a programme to protect 2012 outdoor recreational spaces in communities all across the country as a permanent living legacy of landmark occasions such as The Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. This means that the field will be forever protected as a recreation facility. The benefits are that it will:

• Make a recognizable commitment to local people to safeguard land, facilities and opportunities for sport, play and outdoor recreation both now and forever.
• Protect public access to outdoor space, provide reassurance to potential investors [grant giving bodies] regarding viability and sustainability.
• Ensure that, in the case of sale, proceeds are reapplied to replacement facilities, with a priority on new outdoor facilities.

For further information please see http://www.qe2fields.com/.

2008

In April the Recreation Field was levelled and reseeded. Click here to view photos of the work in progress.