Prince of Wales Arrives In County at Nettleham

The Prince meets local school children
Photograph by Dominic Clark for 

The Lincolnite

HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, together with HRH the Duchess of Cornwall arrived yesterday in the county by helicopter, landing in the Police Field, Nettleham.

The prince met participants on the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment who have spent time in the Cathedral works department during a tour of Lincoln Cathedral at which the prince accepted the Cathedral’s invitation to become Patron of the Cathedral Fabric Fund.

Charles and Camilla with Dilys Simpson
Photograph by The Lincolnshire Echo

Cathedral officials also showed the heir to the throne some recent acquisitions, including a new set of Chapter copes made by the needlework guild. He was shown a full size image of the proposed statue of St Mary by sculptor Aidan Hart which is being considered for the re-ordered east end of the Cathedral.

The Prince turned his hand to stonemasonary watched by the Duchess, Charles wore plastic safety goggles as he used a chisel and mallet to chip away at a piece of stone in Lincoln Cathedral's stonemasonry workshop. He laughed when he was told the limestone was a softer version than that used by stonemasons working on the restoration and preservation of the cathedral and joked: 

Nettleham Woodland Trust Plan Record Attempt

Nettleham Woodland Trust is making hoping a record-breaking attempt will soon be sprouting in a local wood as the they try to plant their name in the record books.

Local residents will attempt to break a record by taking part in 'Tree O'Clock' – a nationally organised event that will attempt to break the record for the most trees planted in an hour.

The current figure stands at 18,124 trees planted in one location and the Nettleham Woodland Trust is hoping it can help smash the record and help the environment at the same time. Monks Wood, which is part of the Ashing Lane Nature Reserve near Dunholme has been selected as the site for the tree planting, which takes place on Saturday, 5th December 2009 from 11:00am until 12:00noon.

Left: Giles McNeill with local volunteers planting trees at 'PC Wood, Nettleham', February 2008.

The event is being organised through BBC Breathing Places and the number of trees people have pledged to plant around the world currently stands at 209,953 across 66 counties.

Nettleham Woodland Trust is asking any willing volunteers to arrive by 10.15am at Monks Wood and bring their own spade to ensure there is enough equipment to make the bid possible. Giles McNeill said:

"I wish everyone the best of luck with this record breaking effort and hope to be able to participate."

Rachel Shaw, spokesman for Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, said:

"Hot food will be provided by Nettleham Scouts on the day. There will be a toilet on site and people should remember to wear warm clothing, gloves and boots, as the site is very muddy.

"There will be a bit of a walk from the car parking areas to the tree planting site. This will be about half a mile."