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Stratford sub Castle Village Website
Salisbury, Wiltshire UK
Stratford Road (part) due to be closed today
One Network advises that Stratford Road between Waters Road and Castle Road is scheduled to be closed today with a diversion in operation.
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Aug 20
Missed bin collections in Stratford - Monday 17 August
Having reported that our household waste bin hasn't been emptied as scheduled today, this was the message received: Please leave bins at the kerbside until they have been emptied.
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Aug 17
Hose pipe ban in Wessex Water area effective 18 August
17 August 2026 Dear Customer Hosepipe ban introduced throughout our region Following months of unprecedented hot and dry weather, demand for water has never been higher and we need to protect our water resources, both for you and the environment. Demand is, currently 30% higher than average, and with more hot weather to come and no significant rain forecast, we’ve made the difficult decision to introduce a hosepipe ban. It has been 50 years since water restrictions were las
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Aug 17
Stratford Summer Sunday Café - 6 September
Our 6 September Café to be held in the Reading Room, Stratford Road SP1 3LL will be the last café of the summer season, so make sure you don’t miss out. The Café will be open from 2.30pm until 4.30pm. We will be stocking up on our famous cream teas, savoury alternative and delicious homemade cakes and there will be more bargains on our seasonal garden & kitchen produce table, and our pre-loved books table. (Cash payments only please.) Proceeds from our September Cafe wi
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Aug 15
A36 and Castle Roundabout - TAKE CARE!
Read an update from the Highways Agency in a later newspost giving details of the work scheduled to take place in October 2026 to complete the road markings. Newspost 14 August 2026 The scheduled night-time closures at Castle Roundabout have now finished. However, this is a warning that the road has been resurfaced around Castle Roundabout but the lane markings haven't been completed. With heavier traffic driving through Salisbury than normal as a result of the A31 closure
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Aug 14
Village Noticeboard back in use
The Village Noticeboard is now back in use. It is used by our local Groups to advertise their events and also - subject to space being available - for posters published by local charities and not for profit organisations. Printed posters can be left in the folder kept in the porch at School House, Stratford Road. Original Newspost dated 26 July 2026 As announced in the latest Parish Magazine, the Village Noticeboard is to be refurbished. It was built and donated to Stratfo
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Aug 14
Partial Solar Eclipse - Wednesday 12 August
According to Royal Museums Greenwich, This will be the most 'coverage' seen from the UK and Ireland since the 1999 solar eclipse, The Royal Observatory Greenwich will be live-streaming this event, "we will be live streaming the eclipse using one of our modern telescopes, giving you a chance to watch this big event safely. Coverage will start live on YouTube and Facebook from 6.10pm." Here is a link to the YouTube stream: https://www.youtube.com/live/X_lWDBTZdrY Do you have a
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Aug 10
Unsociable behaviour at EH Old Sarum
Screenshot of Facebook post 9 August 2026 I read the above post on Facebook this morning and contacted the EH Old Sarum duty manager to ask if there is anything helpful that local residents could do if ever any out-of-hours anti-social behaviour is heard or seen at the site. The advice given was - "Please alert the Police who have the contact details for the English Heritage out-of hours manager. " Or from a google/AI search Emergency Situations If you are witnessing an
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Aug 9
2026 Summary of Nature Reports
2026 Reported sighting in or near Stratford sub Castle 22 August Tentatively suggested as a WTE See Newspost 6 August Another sighting of a Jersey Tiger moth Details added to the Fauna 2 photo album 23 July Jersey Tiger moth see the second part of this newspost 14 July Queen red-tailed bumblebee Image added to Fauna 2 photo album 3 July Japanese knotweed - not good news.. Details in the newspost 22 June Another brood of swallows fledged today https://www.stratfordsubcastle.or
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Aug 6
Riverpark Project - July Newsletter
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
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Aug 4
Salisbury Wildlife Spotters' Group
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.
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Aug 1
Hairstreak butterfly?
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
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Jul 24
It's dry, dry, very very dry.......
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
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Jul 22
Lost & Found in Stratford sub Castle
The 'Lost & Found' page has been updated again, this time with details of a shopping bag found in the Reading Room carpark. https://www.stratfordsubcastle.org.uk/lost-found An earlier post: Have you lost a key? Details on the website's Lost & Found page https://www.stratfordsubcastle.org.uk/lost-found
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Jul 20
Stratford Summer Cafe - Sunday 2 August 2.30 - 4.30 pm
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
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Jul 15
Stratford sub Castle Guild
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 –
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Jul 13
Colourful scenes
Image KMOC Keepers Cottage is too far away to have taken part in the recent Open Gardens event but is within easy walking or cycling distance of Stratford sub Castle. This colourful image was sent to the website today. In April 2024 a sink hole appeared in the triangular field on Old Sarum slopes. Salisbury City Council put barriers around it and the hole was subsequently filled. However, it is still visible and hollyhocks and other wild flowers are now flourishing in it,
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Jul 11
Stratford sub Castle Garden Club
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
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Jul 6
NGS Open Gardens - Little Durnford Manor - Sunday 12 July
Image - NGS Little Durnford Manor SP4 6AH will be opening the gardens (but not the house) to visitors on Sunday 12 July between 2 pm and 5pm. Owned by the Earl and Countess of Chichester, the grounds offer a family-friendly opportunity to explore wildflower meadows, walled gardens, river gardens - and to see the ever popular camels, alpacas, llamas, pigs, pygmy goats, horses, ponies and sheep that graze next to the gardens. Admission to the gardens is £5 per adult, accompan
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Jul 5
Japanese Knotweed alert!
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
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Jul 3
Stratford sub Castle Summer Cafe - Sunday 5 July
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
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Jun 26
Reported to MyWiltshire
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
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Jun 26
Parsonage Farm Swallows
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
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Jun 22
Fanny Nelson - the forgotten wife
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
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Jun 19
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