John Stidworthy was elected as Chair at the 2013 AGM in April. After university John worked at the London Zoo for 10 years giving talks and tours to parties from schools and colleges.

Subsequently he worked at the Natural History Museum first as a lecturer, then becoming involved in designing museum exhibits. After 10 years at the museum, his wife went back to work and he became a househusband. Both his young sons survived his cooking.

Over the years he has written more than thirty books on natural history, most aimed at children. In Buckinghamshire he was chair of governors at three primary schools.  He and his wife Sue moved to Ilkley in 2010 to be near their grandchildren and enjoy the countryside.

Roger Gook (Secretary of the Friends) gave a vote of thanks to Owen Wells. On behalf of the members and committee he said “ Owen’s passion for the moor was one of the main factors in setting up the Friends five years ago. From those early days his enthusiasm and energy have played a large part in getting us where we are today.

From the start he recognised the conflicting principles that needed to be followed – the conservation of the moor and its flora and fauna, and the need for access and education for visitors. He also recognised the need to work with all the different bodies who had an interest in the moor. He has been particularly effective in working with the landowners – Bradford Council, and has built up a strong relationship with Richard Perham and Danny Jackson – the two council officers responsible for the moor.”

Said Richard Perham “ I had already worked with Owen for several years as a volunteer. When he became Chair, apart from planning projects, it did not stop him joining work parties most weeks – digging ditches and renovating footpaths. He has been of great support to me, as has the whole committee, which I think is populated by a group of fantastic and capable people.”

Tracy Gray FOIM Project Officer said “It has been a great privilege for me to have known and worked with Owen – to be inspired by his love and passion for Ilkley Moor and to work along side him in improving the moors heritage”.

Over 500 tonnes of stone flags have been airlifted into place by helicopter on Ilkley Moor. They have been for part two of thefootpath improvement/erosion restoration work on the Moor.

Danny Jackson, Countryside & Rights of Way Manager for Bradford Council, said “Following on from last year’s work when some 300 tonnes of flag stones were airlifted onto Ilkley Moor, and again part of the Watershed Landscape Heritage Lottery Funded project (overseen by Pennine Prospects) and supported by The Friends of Ilkley Moor. The aim is to lay the flags on strategic routes on Ilkley Moor and prevent further damage to sensitive habitats.

The stone flags have been weighed, banded into pallets, transported onto the edge of the moor and airlifted into place by helicopter. About 500 tonnes have been lifted – one load going to the trig point and eastwards to the Dick Hudsons path near the Twelve Apostles, the other west to Crawshaw Moss near Rivock Edge conifer plantation. We plan to get the flags laid by the end of October. We may also fly in some of the stones to one or two areas identified by The Friends of Ilkley Moor and for the construction of a seat at the ruined lodge at the top of Backstone Beck.”

From Barry Wilkinson, Press Officer, The Friends of Ilkley Moor – Mobile 07831-505051.

For more information contact Danny Jackson Mobile 07582-102103.

The following sketch illustrates in red the approximate extents of the recently flagged paths:-

The 18^th  Event organised by The friends of Ilkley Moor took place on Saturday, 15 September. Learning to navigate around the moor using map and compass, the walk was lead by Phil Jones of Bradford Council Adventure Development Unit.  The participants spent over two hours using special orienteering maps to find their way to designated points over the lower and upper slopes of the moor.

  ]]> http://www.ilkleymoor.org/the-friends-of-ilkley-moor-map-and-compass-event/feed/ 0 http://www.ilkleymoor.org/agm-2012/ http://www.ilkleymoor.org/agm-2012/#comments Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:25:20 +0000 FoIM http://www.ilkleymoor.org/?p=1452 The Friends of Ilkley Moor had an outstandingly successful AGM at the Clarke Foley Centre last Friday. Approximately 100 members attended out of a total membership of 475. Owen Wells, Chair of FoIM said “For a small voluntary organisation to be able to attract over 20% of its total membership to an AGM is an astonishing success.” At the meeting in his Chair’s Report, Owen Wells drew attention to the extraordinary amount of money that FoIM has raised in it’s first five years – in round figures £180,000. This year FoIM has obtained a number of grants, the largest being £50,000 WREN funding. Owen Wells told the meeting about the projects for path improvements, bracken spraying and the educational programme on which the money will be spent this year. The meeting was held enthralled by a talk on the Rocks and Landscapes of Ilkley Moor delivered by Alison Tymon from the Yorkshire Geological Trust. The existing committee was voted in for a further twelve months. During the meeting members were able to question the committee on the work of FoIM and raised such diverse issues as rhododendron control, the shoot, mountain biking, fire damage to the Moor and bracken control. Afterwards members enjoyed wine and cheese and socialised with the committee. From Barry Wilkinson FOIM Press Officer Mobile 07831-505051 For further information contact Owen Wells (Chair) 01943-602270

The finished path from the top of the rocks quarry to Backstone Beck

After damage done during filming of Emmerdale TV soap, restoration work has begun to re-surface the track from opposite the Cow & Calf Hotel and the footpath route leading towards Backstone Beck, a total length of approximately 500 metres. The total cost of the work is estimated at £26,000 which will be funded by Emmerdale Productions.

Said Owen Wells (Chair of The Friends of Ilkley) “After the filming the Friends had many disagreements with Emmerdale as to the funding of the work to repair the damage done by the filming equipment, but I am pleased to say the apart from a £2,000 donation to the Friends, and funding of the damage, we are most grateful for a further grant, a substantial part of the £26,000, has been set aside to re-surface the path from Cow & Calf Rocks to Backstone Beck. (The state of this part of the path was not caused by filming.)”

Dinsdale Moorland Services, a specialist moorland contactor have been commissioned to undertake the work and consents have been obtained from Natural England and English Heritage.

From Barry Wilkinson FOIM Press Officer Mobile 07831-505051
For further information please contact Danny Jackson Countryside and Rights of Way Manager 01274-431230

The second Event in the afternoon, Footsteps in the Stone Age for (7-11 years) led by Pippa Rochford (Kidz Archaeology), started from the Cow & Calf Rocks Car Park.  The group climbed the steep hill to the top path before continuing on to the Haystacks Stone, where they sat for a while to hear the story how primitive hunter-gatherers went about their lives 8,000 years ago.  They also got to handle replica stone tools and artifacts. 

Later they paused to sketch the Idle Stone – a fine example of Neolithic Rock Art, and evidence of ancient civilisation on the moor.   The last call was at the Backstone Beck Bronze Age enclosure, which was restored in 1982-87 by Ilkley Archaeology Group. 

The tired, but happy party returned back to the Cow & Calf almost three hours later having followed in the footsteps of Stone Age hunters. 

Other Events which continue through May to September can be downloaded from the friends Events & Learning Programme on this website or collected from Ilkley Information Centre and shops in the Town.

 
The walk was funded by Pennine Prospects as part of the Watershed Landscapes Project.
From Barry Wilkinson Press Officer FOIM
For more information please contact Tracy Gray 07854-447947

Tracy Gray, the Friends Project Officer said “This is wonderful news. The grant will fund the control of bracken on the lower slopes of the moor adjacent to footpaths and areas popular with the general public – Cow & Calf Rocks, and other sites of interest. Money will also be spent on work re-surfacing footpaths.  I hope to organise and supervise volunteer parties to help Bradford Council undertake the works.  This will increase the work already completed on over 1,500 metres of paths on the moor”.

Work for the project will be carried out in 2012 and 2013. The Friends of Ilkley Moor would like to thank all those groups and organisations who supported the application for the funding of this project.

From Barry Wilkinson Press Officer FOIM  Mobile 07831-505051

For more information contact Tracy Gray FOIM Project Officer 0785 444 7947

For information about WREN please contact Ben Walker 01274-833262

The friends have encouraged over 1,000 people to be involved in discovering the Geology,Archaeology and beauty of the Flora and the Fauna of Ilkley Moor

Said Owen Wells Chair of the Friends”We have organised working parties when the Friends and members of the public have helped to clear bracken, chopped down intrusive Rhododendrons and cleared brambles. Our volunteers have helped in clearing some of the Equisitales (Horsetails) gradually infilling the Upper Tarn . We are exploring ways in which the water level might be raised to prevent this Tarn from gradually being completely filled in.

Owen Wells

We have enrolled nearly 500 members (a prize is waiting for our 500th) and we have raised £180,000. That is fairly impressive for a small local voluntary organisation.

Our first major project was the surfacing of the path to the Swastika Stone. The path along the wall from Spicey Gill had already been surfaced, but where that path left the wall to go up onto the Moor it was not surfaced at all and, although it is now difficult to remember, much of it was extremely boggy and unpleasant to walk (especially in winter). We paid for the hard core etc, and the work was undertaken by the Countryside Service assisted by volunteers. One of the most cheering sights, as we were finishing off the path, was to see an elderly couple coming up the path, one using a walking frame, who told us that this was the first time they had been able to get so high up on the Moor for very many years.

We also paid for the path to be surfaced from Willy Hall’s Spout to Spicey Gill. This now means that there is a good, graded path all the way from Rocky Valley through to the Swastika Stone.

The Friends have helped to fund over 1,500 metres of restoration and resurfacing of pathways on the Moor carried out by Bradford Council Countryside Service. Surfacing a path has a dramatic effect in reducing erosion and allowing the Moor to regenerate, whilst allowing even more people to enjoy the healthy outdoor exercise.

Our other, major capital project has been the improvement of the paddling pool. The pool has been plagued with a very slippery and dangerous surface caused by the build up of algae on the bottom. Despite cleaning and pressure washing every few weeks, the algae very quickly returns. We have therefore paid to have the stream re-routed through the pool in the hope that the increased water flow will lower the temperature and inhibit the algae. We have paid for the very attractive series of silt traps above the paddling pool which themselves provide a very nice play area for children. There have been teething problems with the new pool overflow, but plans are in hand to remedy that.

We have received a donation of £2,000 from Emmerdale,in compensation for the damage they did on the Moor during their recent filming. The donation is in addition to payment for making good the damage done at the time. They have also agreed to surface the path from Cow & Calf Rocks to Backstone Beck. When that has been done, there will be a good, firm dry path all the way from the Cow & Calf car park to the Swastika Stone.

And for the future …We shall continue our work of path restoration, and hopefully raise funds to carry out other major projects, publish our annual Events and Learning Programme, and look forward to the next five years to be as rewarding as the last.”

From Barry Wilkinson FOIM Press Officer

Mobile 07831-505051

For further information please contact Owen Wells 01943-602270