IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Honorwood Close, GREAT MISSENDEN, HP16 9HH

This juvenile (I think) Kite was almost unceasingly calling for his mother to feed him. There was another Kite nearby. I captured him or her looking a little aggrieved and hungry here I feel, in a rare moment of silence.

Quite a floaty call, when you first hear it, but quite annoying when it rarely or never ceases. This very hungry bird was insisting on being brought food I assume, and another, seemingly attendant Kite was nearby. Poor little thing. I hope it got fed.

Yet another informative and engaging board.

This photo shows the information board by the sheepwash pond in Honor End Lane. It was recently erected by Prestwood Nature, the local environment group.

A little haven for nature; newts, frogs, insects etc.

This neat looking chapel, which dates from 1950, is situated in Kiln Road, Prestwood, HP16 9DH. The cemetery is across the road from the chapel. Update: this chapel has since closed, its final service being held on Tuesday 4th September 2012. It is now a Chapel of Rest having been sold to local funeral directors.

This photo shows a close-up view of the information board by the sheepwash pond in Honor End Lane. It has the following wording: Welcome to Sheepwash Left Column Sheepwash is an ancient pond; at one time the largest of several on the old Prestwood Common. It sits alongside an old drovers road and was used as a watering place for sheep on the way to market. Ponds like this were also used for washing sheep before shearing or selling at market. The sheep were immersed in the water to remove dirt and oils in the wool. Clean sheep commanded higher prices and the fleeces had to be washed before they could be combed and spun by home weavers. Early in the twentieth century the pond fell out of use and became sadly neglected. In 2007, Prestwood Nature volunteers restored the pond and installed the dipping platform and picnic table. The photos in the left column show: i) Sheepwash before restoration ii) Replanting the banks after digging out and removing overhanging vegetation. Right Column Today, Sheepwash is maintained by volunteers from Prestwood Nature as a wildlife habitat which can be enjoyed by people of all ages. These are some of the things you may see here. i) Common Blue Damselfly ii) Red Kite iii) Common Reed iv) Purple Loosestrife v) Marsh Marigold vi) Gorse vii) Peacock Butterfly viii) Palmate Newt ix) Common Frog At the right hand side of the board, there is a photo and description of a Nuthatch, the wording as below: A small. plump bird about the size of a great tit. It has blue-grey wings, a black stripe on its head, a long black pointed bill and short legs. The nuthatch breeds in this area and can often be seen clinging to the sides of trees. They eat small insects and various nuts and seeds.

Situated in Honor End Lane, this sheepwash pond is an ancient pond on the old Prestwood Commons that was used as a watering place for animals on their way to market. During 2008, it was restored by a local nature group and officially opened on Saturday 24th January 2009. The photo shows the dipping platform leading into the pond with the houses in Honor End Lane in the distance.

Taken from Honor End Lane HP16 9HQ, this photo shows the sheepwash pond with the dipping platform in the distance. During 2008, it was restored involving the planting of a native mixed hedge, construction of a dipping platform and the laying of a wood chip path to provide better access to the water edge. The pond holds water all the year round providing an aquatic habitats for newts, frogs, invertebrates and birds. It has even attracted harmless grass snakes during the summer months, since they are strong swimmers and will eat amphibians, https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/reptiles/grass-snake refers.

Built 1950.