stuck in the middle with you

This swan and her cygnets find it hard going making their way through the Waterworks top pond 

Support return of children's festival

I've been informed that Young At Art, who helped to bring this year's hugely successful Children's Festival back to the Waterworks need encouragement letters from all you punters out there.

For me this is a no-brainer and it should absolutely return. 

Everyone I have spoken to about the event which ran for two days at the end of May said they thought it was a brilliant event, which provided tons of family fun events, never before seen in the park. Over 11,000 people turned up and they came from miles around to see the viking boat glide through the waters, shop, eat or watch movies in the open air.

So get on the computer or write a letter to Young At Art, and address it to Ali FitzGibbon, 15 Church Street, Belfast BT1 1PG or email her at ali@youngatart.co.uk

You'll be helping a fabulous event return to our shores so get to it!

Top pond needs deflowered

The amount of weed in the top pond is incredible at the moment and for those fishing it's proving to be incredibly difficult to fish as well as reel in.

At a Friends of the Waterworks meeting in Belfast Castle the group was informed that in July action would be taken.

Apparently the best time to kill the plants is when they are in bloom and thats just about now.

In recent weeks I've noticed more and more experienced fishermen out in their waders trying to catch some fish.

Casting their lines I'm told is much too problematic close to the pathways. 

So lets see if Belfast City Council take the action they've promised. At the moment it looks like almost 50 per cent of the water is now covered with this plant life. As much as it may look pretty to the passerby, it needs cut back drastically in order to preserve the eco-system that thrives beneath its ever-increasing stretch.

New signs

My earlier post suggested that new signs with park rules for the Waterworks could be on their way, have to point out that in fact the new signs which I spotted yesterday at the Cavehill/Westland Fire Service entrance are in fact a map of the park. I would say this signage will be extremely useful for wheelchair users, indicating where the steep slopes run.
I'm pretty sure ties into health and safety legislation and new laws that require public spaces and businesses have appropriate disabled access points and information.
I'm still wondering if those signs designed by local school children will indeed be erected, they too would be another asset to the park.

Kids rule

A story in the North Belfast News recently with Claire Kelly indicated that a list of park rules designed by kids from local primary schools could be erected permanently if council officials agree, and it looks like they have.

Shiny new posts have been put up at several entrances ready for some sign or another, so we'll just have to wait and see what goes on them.

Diggers ahoy

I spotted a digger doing its stuff opposite the Cavehill Road entrance to the park last week, sitting in the small stream and pulling out truckloads of muck. There must be some scientific reason for it I'm sure, but all I do know is that it's got the water moving again.

The stream which starts from the Westland Fire Brigade boundary had been pretty stagnant for several months and now it's running down the weir again and looking much healthier!

Cygnet joy not spotted

As far as I know the baby swan that everyone's been waiting on has hatched. Probably about 2 weeks ago I'm thinking, but I haven't seen the cygnet yet.

I have seen the other family of swans however that are hanging around in the top pond beside the spit, they're so cute!

But back to the best beside the Cliftonville Road entrance. I know that there were four eggs in the nest originally, but in the end fishermen tell me only one survived.

This is the same batch of eggs which were tampered with earlier in the year and quite clearly this must have had an effect. 

Both humans and mother nature haven't been kind to this beleaguered swan. Fingers crossed next time round she'll build a nest and incubate her eggs  far from the madding crowd.