Holly Spring Hostel overgrown ornamental pond

Image: © Iain Farquhar Taken: Unknown

The ornamental pond and its surroundings had been overwhelmed by nature. Long grasses mixed with the tulips, weeds grew in the water, but the wild oasis provided a haven for am astonishing variety of wildlife. Large ornamental goldfish survived despite the regular attentions of a heron. Hundreds of froglets swarmed from the pond onto the lawn in front of the big house. A kestrel raised young in an adjacent tree and even a kingfisher frequented the pond. A grass snake lived under a tree stump and I once caught it out basking in the sun. All within a few minutes walk of the hubbub that was the Met Office roundabout, even in 1965. Sad these places have to be bulldozed and built upon.

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