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Do you enjoy gardening?
Cheam & Cuddington Horticultural Society (CCHS) was founded in 1893 and has maintained close ties with the local community during its long and prestigious history. The object of the Society is the promotion, advancement and enjoyment of horticulture and gardening.
The Society holds two shows a year, three informal evening meetings and an annual quiz as well as producing four annual newsletters and a schedule that defines the classes of entries for the summer and autumn shows.
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April Evening Meeting:
Pencil in the the 10th April 2019, when Martin Boiling from the Woodland Trust will be speaking on the Langley Vale Centenary Wood Project. This event will take place from 8 -10pm at St Christopher’s Church Hall, Dallas Road, Cheam, SM3 8RU. Evening Meetings are free to members, but you can join on the night for £3.50. Coffee, tea and biscuits will be on sale and there is ample parking.
Langley Vale Wood is just south of the village of Langley Vale in Surrey, and 3.2km (two miles) south of Epsom. Langley Vale’s First World War Centenary Wood has pockets of ancient woodland, diverse and fascinating wildlife and flora, and stunning views over the rolling hills of the North Downs. In the coming years, the Woodland Trust’s ambitious woodland creation scheme will transform the existing arable land into both a natural haven and a living memorial to those who sacrificed so much in the Great War.
During the conflict it was used as a base for military exercises and a gas training school was located in the section known as Round Wood. At 260ha (640 acres), Langley Vale is the largest of the Woodland Trust’s four Centenary Woods. Parts of the site are already designated Sites of Nature Conservation Importance and the Woodland Trust will be planting new woodland to buffer these vital habitats. Work has already begun and, with the help of the local community, 160,000 native broadleaved saplings will be taking root. Over the years, it will develop into a mosaic of established woodland, grassy clearings, poppy-filled meadows a memorial area for quiet reflection.
Langley Vale is brimming with birdlife – 59 species have been recorded on the site. It’s the perfect place to listen out for the first cuckoo of the year, watch the dramatic aerial display of strikingly crested lapwing, and appreciate the melodic song flight of the skylark.
In spring, you can wander among the ash, oak, beech and sweet chestnut of the ancient woodlands and enjoy a glorious display of vivid bluebells. And in summer, the site is a wildflower enthusiast’s paradise where you can hunt the chalk grassland for orchids and discover rare gems such as the red hemp-nettle along the field margins.
The woodland is part of the North Downs National Character Area (NCA), a chain of chalk hills across the south east. Chalk grassland is a notable feature of this landscape and is of ecological importance due to its ability to support rare species. To learn more about Langley Vale, come along on the evening.
