Stratford sub Castle Village Website
Salisbury, Wiltshire UK

The Environment Agency has published its latest Newsletter, reporting on progress to date. More pathways and play areas alongside the river have recently been opened, happily coinciding with the school summer holidays. Screenshot of page one of the 4-page newsletter. Download the complete document below. In February 2023, the Stratford sub Castle Guild arranged a talk by the Environment Agency's Project Manager Andy Wallis, to inform local residents of the plans. You can r

The Salisbury Wildlife Spotters' Group arrange regular sessions to observe and record wildlife in the Avon Valley Nature Reserve. Dates and details are in the poster below.

Probably not a butterfly hidden in this image, but a dead leaf.. Over the past few days, several butterfly enthusiasts have visited Stratford sub Castle hoping to obtain a clear sighting of a Hairstreak butterfly thought to be resting in a tree near Parsonage Farm, Stratford Road. You may have seen the visitors standing patiently at the roadside with binoculars focused at the upper branches of the tree. Meanwhile, a beautiful Jersey Tiger moth came willingly into our house ye

One of our readers has sent these five images with the comment - "I took these photos to capture the impact of the dry summer and heat waves of 2026. Feel free to use them if you think it would serve as a good record on the website." The images above were taken on 21 July 2026. I have stopped counting how many days there have been since there was any significant rainfall in Stratford sub Castle. The photo below - taken from Mill Lane bridge today - demonstrates the low water

We had a lovely sunny day for our July café, which meant we had a lively, busy time, with proceeds amounting to £514 being donated to the Mothers' Union – Virtual Baby Project. With the usual choice of outdoor or indoor seating, these visitors chose the indoor option. More images are in the 2026 Cafés photo album - see link below. We are hoping our luck holds for our August café on Sunday 2 August, open from 2.30 - 4.30 pm, so that you can continue to enjoy our delicious

After a summer break, our 2026-27 season will begin on Wednesday 9 September. Full details of our new programme will be published in the September edition of the Parish magazine and here on the village website. The Guild is a friendly group that meets on the 2nd Wednesday** of each month from September to June for a varied programme of talks and social events. Recent topics have included ‘The Woman who saved the Nation’, ‘Responding to Disasters’, ‘Artificial Intelligence –

The AGM of the club was held on 25 June in Judy & Charles Villiers garden, in a welcome shady part! The meeting was attended by 19 people. The Programme Secretary's report given by Jeff Long showed that attendance at meetings remained 25 – 35. The programme for the year had been well received and enjoyed. The Open Gardens had been a success as previously reported. Jeff is standing down from the role of Programme Secretary and as a committee member, but has booked all speak

In a shady willow carr at the River Park end of the Avon Valley Nature Reserve boardwalk hides this unwelcome plant, Fallopia japonica. Over twenty five years Salisbury City council have tried to eradicate it but have only managed to contain it. Let’s hope it never crosses the river. This is Japanese Knotweed. If you spot it do NOT try to poison it or cut it back or dig it up or dispose of it yourself. See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading

The main purpose of our cafés is to provide the opportunity to get together for a chat and, especially for new residents, to get to know their neighbours, so we do hope that you will join us at our July café, which will be open from 2.30pm until 4.30pm, in the Reading Room, Stratford Road SP1 3LL (opposite St Lawrence Church). Also, we are always happy for new volunteers (male & female) to join us and help at the cafés, therefore, if you would like more information about wha

Left by the bin in Mill Lane. Reported. https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/mywilts-online-reporting Newspost from 2 June 2026 This flytipped material on Gradidge Lane has been reported to Wiltshire Council. https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/mywilts-online-reporting

22 June 2026 Latest photo and report from the stables (KMOC) - The last five nestlings of the first brood of Swallows at Parsonage Farm have fledged and want to know, “ Is Africa far?” Newspost from 18 June This is a first brood but a couple of weeks behind two other nests in adjacent stables, whose broods have already fledged. KMOC Newspost from 5 June There are three nest sites in the stables and this brood ventured out onto the telephone lines on Stratford Road early this

If you missed the Guild talk in March 2025 about Fanny Nisbet, whose second husband was Admiral Lord Nelson, you may be interested to know that the speaker on that occasion, Christine Mason, will be giving a talk 'Fanny Nelson- the Forgotten Wife' on Monday 13 July at 10.00 at the Memorial Hall, Harnham SP2 8JH The talk has been organised by Spire U3A and is open and free to members of any U3A group spire.u3asite.uk Viscountess Frances Nelson’s first husband was Dr Josiah

The latest Newsletter from the Riverpark team includes details of two free guided walks to discover the inspiration behind the artworks and explore the River Park from a fresh perspective. For more details and to book your place for 'The Art of Salisbury River Park' on either Friday 19 June or Tuesday 30 June, see The Art of Salisbury River Park: Guided Walk | Wiltshire Creative The June River Park Newsletter (3 pages) is shown below, or you can download the PDF version at t

The footbridge over the Avon near Five Rivers Leisure was closed today whilst landscaping and other works were being completed by the Salisbury River Park contractors. A marked pedestrian diversion along Hulse Road lead to the interesting discovery of work in progress, a wooden sculpture of a bull. Recycled disused fence panels form most of its structure, to which small sections of milled Douglas Fir have been added. The artist working on it will paint it black before seeki

A dry, sunny day brought many visitors to Stratford sub Castle to view the 8 gardens that were open for the event organised by the Garden Club. These images have been included in a new photo album https://www.stratfordsubcastle.org.uk/open-gardens-2026ima If you have any images that could be included, please send to sscvillagewebsite@gmail.com Original Newspost 4 June Eight gardens in Stratford sub Castle will be open on Sunday 14 June between 2pm and 5pm for this Open Garde

Fencing has been erected alongside some of the River Park pathways. A sign explains that this is a temporary measure to allow the planted areas to become established. Wild flowers are flourishing in other areas - see image below taken on 3 June. Earlier newspost 6 May 2026 The April Newsletter is now available, isee screenshot images below. Note that the Newsletter includes a comment that the pedestrian/cyclists' bridge over the Avon near Five RIvers will need to be closed

Our meeting in June will be different! This year it will take the form of a Social and AGM and will be held at the home of Judy & Charles, 9 Castle Keep at 7.30 pm on Thursday 26 June. This will be an evening for you all to talk together - how does the Garden Club get more Committee Members? We will definitely need a new Programme Secretary - a Chairman, and Secretary would also make life easier for all. The programme for 2026-2027 is all booked. Could you join the Committe

Over the past few days there have been reports of the Painted Lady butterfly Vanessa cardui appearing in parts of Wiltshire. This morning several were seen on the sunny side of a hedge on Stratford Road. The species originates from North Africa and is unable to survive UK winters. It is probable that the ones we are seeing now have crossed the channel from France. The image below from https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=cardui is a better indication of what

What a great start to our summer season with a fantastic turnout for our May café and record-breaking proceeds of £635 being donated to Wilton Riding for the Disabled. Thank you so much to everyone who came along to support us. We do hope that you will join us again between 2.30pm and 4.30pm for our Sunday 7 June café at the Reading Room (opposite St Lawrence Church) where there is ample car and bicycle parking. If the weather is kind to us, you can take advantage of sittin