Track Laying in the Snow!

Not to be deterred by the snow falls of last week, dedicated Mountsorrel Railway volunteers were hard at work track laying!

Whilst most of us were struggling to get out of our own front doors, we were fortunate to have a volunteer travel all the way from Paris just to help restore the Mountsorrel Railway!

Kevin Williams, who is British born but has lived just outside Paris for the past 20 years, travelled by Eurostar on Friday afternoon arriving at the Mountsorrel guest house where he was staying, only 15 minutes later than planned. He then spent the day volunteering at the railway on the Saturday before travelling home from Loughborough station later on Saturday afternoon.

Kevin Williams from Paris (on the left), helps to attach fish plates to join the rails.

Kevin commented "I had read about how community volunteers had been working to restore the Mountsorrel Railway line and felt compelled by their hard work and dedication to come over and help out myself. I wasn't disappointed either! It is an amazing project and it was so good to see people of all ages coming together, even in snowy weather, to work on something that has become valued by so many. I'll be coming back as well, in about 4 or 5 weeks time to help again!"

We are very grateful for Kevin's help and honoured that he was prepared to travel all the way from Paris just to help Mountsorrel restore its railway.

The Bond Lane bridge in the distance marks the end of the line.

With the end of the line now only 250m away there really isn't long left if you would like to get involved and volunteer yourself. Track laying requires a large number of volunteers so we need your help! If Kevin has inspired you to get involved please email project leader Steve Cramp for further details. 

Loughborough Round Table Donate £260 to the Project

Loughborough Round Table have very kindly donated a further £260 to the Mountsorrel Railway Project! The donation was made as part of their 260 Give Away scheme which aims to donate £260 every month to a different local worthy charity.

Loughborough Round Table Chairman Ian Walker (right), presents the donation cheque to project leader Steve Cramp (left) at the January 2013 Mountsorrel Railway Wildlife Warriors event.

This is the second time that the project has benefited from Loughborough Round Table's generosity after we were recipients of the 260 Give Away in January 2012. We are very grateful for LRT's support which will be put to good use completing the railway. Track laying is almost at Bond Lane and only £1,500 is still remaining to be raised to complete the line.

If you would like to make a donation to help our work then please send your donation cheque made out to DCRT, with “Mountsorrel Railway” written on the back, to 112 Balmoral Road, Mountsorrel, Loughborough LE12 7EW.

If you are a UK tax payer please download a gift aid form, fill it out and send with your donation.

Many thanks!

Wildlife Warriors Brave the Snow

Despite the heavy snow that came to the Mountsorrel Railway last week, our latest Wildlife Warriors session was one of the few local events which still took place as planned.

The snow turned the Nunckley Trail into a Winter Wonderland and the children had great fun following the bird hunt and then making bird feeders. By the end of the session a great number of our feathered friends were waiting in the branches of the trees to tuck into the treats the children had created for them.

Thanks goes to the News Agents on Leicester Road, Mountsorrel (next to the post office) who very kindly sponsored the event by providing juice, biscuits and cake for the children to enjoy.

Many thanks to Caroline Bowler for leading another successful Wildlife Warriors session! The next Warriors session will be on Saturday February 23rd. Excitingly the children will be able to undertake a mini archaeological dig of the old Dob Hall ruins, which stand alongside the Nunckley Trail. Don't forget to bring your brush and trowel!

The Nunckley Trail Pushes on

Mountsorrel Railway Ecology Group volunteers are hard at work creating the Nunckley Trail. When complete this will be a free to use nature and history trail open to the public on the days that the railway is open.

The Ecology Group meet on Saturday mornings and undertake a wide range of tasks aimed at promoting and encouraging the wildlife alongside the Mountsorrel Railway. If you would like to volunteer and get involved then please email Project Leader Steve Cramp.

The End is in Sight!

Track laying has started again after the Christmas break and laid track now extends almost all the way around the Wood Lane curve.

It is now possible to see the end of the line at Bond Lane just over 400m away! We hope that track laying will reach the location of the proposed Mountsorrel halt in early February.

This will only be possible with your help though. If you fancy putting your hand to a bit of track laying and be part of a project that is making local history, then don't delay! To volunteer contact project leader Steve Cramp by email.

Next Wildlife Warrior Event - January 19th

The first Wildlife Warrior session of 2013 is on Saturday January 19th from 2:00pm until 3:30.

The sessions are FREE to attend and are aimed at children aged 3 to 11 accompanied by their parents/carers.

Each session focuses on learning about a different aspect of ecology along the Mountsorrel Railway, through fun activities and games. The main focus of the January session is to help our Mountsorrel Railway bird population through the winter months.

It's a great way for younger children to get involved with the project and to learn about the wildlife around us. Hope you can make it!

For further details please contact our volunteer Wildlife Warriors leader, Caroline Bowler at wildlifewarriors@hotmail.co.uk