Welcome to the Barriedale Blog

This is the home of the Barriedale Allotment Society's magnificant web presence. We hope to get some more people adding content soon but contact details, rules etc have been posted. In the meantime have a look at some pics taken over the last couple of years.
If you have an article or pic for the site mail it to nick.beagin.images@blogger.com

Email Contacts

Olivier Busin - Lettings Secretary
Nick Beagin - Committee Secretary

Monday, 30 December 2013

The Waiting List is Closed

The Waiting List is now closed for the year.

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

WELL ROTTED MANURE FOR ALLOTMENTS

Hi, 
I have a mountain of very old well rotted horse manure Free to your fellow allotmenteers if they would like it?
They can hire a lorry to collect it or come with their cars and fill up their bags.
It's an on going offer and we are open 7 days a week, 9am to 6pm and there is no need to make an appointment.
There are no herbicides used, so the manure is organic.
Many thanks
Leigh :)
Shannon Leigh Stables,
Far end of Stable Lane (take left track at Mount Mascal when lane splits in two)
Off Vicarage Road,
Bexley,
Kent.
DA5 2AW

Saturday, 11 May 2013


Site Day

Due to a decent turnout of hard working folk and a last minute grab of scaffold it was a good site day to start the year.  Despite some early rain there were people on site at 10 am this morning working hard and having a laugh.  As everyone mucked in we got through most of the jobs on the list but there is still some work to.

We have some plexi glass for the notice board if anyone fancies trying to rebuild that. 
The treated boards need stowing for next site day (there is more shoring up to do)
Rear steps need some attention and there is always strimming and weeding of steps and paths to get on with.

So thanks to everyone who turned out - it was a good days work, shout to Clare for the chips and Geoff for getting the strimmer fixed.
Site Day Jobs

 This is a list of jobs for today.  Any members unable to attend today can attend the next site day in Sept/Oct or if any of these jobs don't get done today they can have a crack at them.  Ill post later what remains to be done..

Boards
To be moved and treated

Shoring up
Sean, Brendan’s old plot and Nicks

Fence
Maureen plot has a hole which needs fixing – I have some fencing.

Hut
Paint and any general repairs – north side needs attention

Water tanks
Check all plumbing – and report back

Wood Store
Check out possibility of using the scaffold we have –
Move wood out of the roof space

Pond
Mark to get materials – sand, liners etc

Notice board on site hut
I have some Perspex – need someone a bit handy – maybe a job for later

Safety Check on poles 
Tennis balls to be cut and placed on top

Dead tree on top path to be taken out – Mehmet’s plot – some sort of post reinstated

Strimming and weeding – geoff to run strimmer to test

Rear steps – to be weeded and checked – repaired if needed

Check site boundaries - report back

Dandelion dead head - they are everywhere this year

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Waiting List is Closed

The waiting list is full again so we have closed it for the year and are not accepting anymore applications. 

Thursday, 25 April 2013

Site Day

Site Day is Saturday 11th May - weather permitting.  If there are any jobs that you think need doing please let me know. 

Monday, 17 December 2012

Waiting List

The waiting list is now closed

Friday, 4 May 2012

Site Day Saturday May 12th is the first stite day of the year - weather permitting. Please come along, bring a bit of food and drink as well as any tools or materials. We always need scaffold planks, poles and paving stones to get the work done.

Thursday, 16 February 2012




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Friday, 20 May 2011

MATURE MANURE

For anyone familiar with Bexley, we have recently discovered an alternative source of free mature horse manure at Shannon Leigh Stables. The website
has lots of photos of their excellent facilities, and very good maps too, but no photos of the manure, so we have done our best to capture something of the extent of this wonderful pile. As can be seen in our photos the mature manure is five foot deep in places, many years old, its crust  overgrown with nettles and other plants, and has the colour and texture and springiness of peat bog.
On turning into Stable Lane drive on past Bexley Stables and Mount Mascal Stables. The road eventually becomes an uneven dirt track. Shannon Leigh Stables is right at the end (see map) and the mature manure is right at the end of the heap. They clearly want to shift as much as they can so take lots of bags and a big shovel or, preferably, a dump truck. If you feel unsure of the way after Mount Mascal just ask. There are lots of helpful people around. As we left after our second visit we were urged to "Keep up the good work."
Margaret & Nick PLOT 41

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Rules

Association Rules (updated at 2008 A.G.M.)

1. The name of the Association shall be the Barriedale Allotment Association.

2. An initial membership fee of £2, or other such sum as agreed by the Association, shall be charged.

3. Allotment rent will be agreed at the A.G.M. and charged per rod or fraction thereof (0.1 of a rod or less will not be charged for). Rent unpaid from 30 days after this time will be deemed resignation and membership of the Association will be terminated forthwith. Any plot let after October 1st will be rent-free until the A.G.M.

4. Plots must be kept clean and in a good state of cultivation and fertility and must not be sub-let. Each lot must bear its distinctive number.

5. Paths surrounding plots are the responsibility of the adjoining allotment holders and must be kept in a satisfactory condition. Main paths must be three foot wide and dividing paths between plots two foot wide.

6. No member may trespass on another member’s allotment.

7. Sheds may not be erected without the permission of the Committee and must not be situated within three feet of a perimeter fence. Metal stakes within one metre of the path, or within two metres of the path where there is a drop of one foot or more, must bear sturdy protection.

8. Each member must hold his or her key, which is not transferable without the consent of the Committee. A deposit of £5 per key is made which will be refunded when a key is returned on termination of membership.

9. The site is the responsibility of the Association and only members have the right of access. Each member is required to work at least one hour per year on general site work on a Site Day.

10. All children under 14 years must be accompanied by an adult.

11. Pets must be kept under control.

12. Bonfires may be lit during daylight hours up to one hour before sunset. They may not be left unattended. Wind direction is of the utmost importance and fires must not cause disturbance to the residents of Barriedale. No rubbish whatsoever, domestic or else, can be brought onto the allotment site from outside. Burning toxic material, plastic or synthetic material is forbidden. No rubbish may be left on site.

13. Any member who wishes to make an official complaint or appeal within the business of the Association shall do so in writing to the Association Secretary, who is required to bring the matter before the Committee.

14. Vacant plots are to be let to the next person on the waiting list.

15. All members shall observe and perform all the conditions as laid down in the Association’s agreement with Network Rail.

16. Complaints and Evictions.

Any complaint regarding a members conduct (such as a trespass or smoke incident) should be made to the Secretary in writing, who will bring the matter to the attention of the Committee which may authorise the issue of a written warning to the member concerned. If a written report is received that the behaviour is repeated a second written warning may be issued by the Secretary without reference to the Committee. Any further written report to the Secretary of a repetition of the breach of the rules will be reported to the Committee who may expel the member and evict them from their plot.

If the Letting Secretary considers a plot to be in breach of the rules, he will issue a first written warning. The plotholder will then have 4 weeks from the date of the letter to remedy the situation. If the Letting Secretary considers that at the end of the 4 weeks the plot is still deficient, he will issue a second written warning.
If the Letting Secretary considers that at the end of the second 4-week period the plot is still deficient, then 3 committee members consisting of the Letting Secretary and 2 randomly selected members will inspect the plot and report back to the committee. The plotholder will be informed that this is happening but at this point, it will be too late for the plotholder to remedy the situation any further. The committee will convene urgently for a special hearing. The quorum will be 5 committee members. Thus, there will by definition be an officer of the committee present. The majority vote of that committee will be the final decision.

Wednesday, 6 May 2009

Well Rotted

A lot of people stop me and ask. "Where did you get your manure?"
I usually confidently reply "Well it's in Bromley er round the back of... well go past the Glades and follow the road round ... Ithink it's Staplehurst Road... Tell you what I'll post a link on the site.."
So in a complete break with the tradition here is a link maps thing and details

Contact
Mr and Mrs M. K. Jackson (Kate is usually there)

Ask to speak to Kate and be nice! I usually give her a few quid if I take a load.

312A Southborough Lane
Bromley
BR2 8BG
Telephone:
020 8467 5237


View The Stables in a larger map

Site Day - Spring 2009

This year's first site day was on Saturday 25th April and it was a pretty good day. Attendance wasn't bad but I'm afraid that it consisted of the usual faces that turn out time after time. Thanks to all of you who did turn out - we got a lot of work done and a had bit of a laugh. This year we tried a new approach of organising what we were doing beforehand. This mainly consisted of having a meeting in the pub the Thursday before. Everything fell into place after a few pints of Dragons Den and we arrived on site day knowing everything would be ready. Mike had got plentiful supplies of scaffolding poles and planks, Clare was delivering paving slabs (picked up for free on Freecycle) and laid on the food and post work beers, Geoff had the strimmer setup and Tom and I assumed er supervisory roles.
Everyone was given tasks to the work quickly moved ahead. The main thing was shoring up the far steps so Mike cut poles and other cut planks and creosoted them while the chaps got stuck in with spades. It was a big job but everyone stuck at it, norished by the rolls that Jane's girls made up, and did a bang up job.
Meanwhile Lucy and Kirsty strimmed like mad and Jackie was busy with the tennis balls on spiky sticks! Loads of other did more than their fair share and the committee's thanks go out to all who turned up to make it an enjoyable and productive
day.

Here's a slide show of the usual pics

Monday, 20 April 2009

Spring Time for Barriedale - Site Day

Well it seems Spring has sprung after a false start or two and the growing year is now well underway. Everyone is in agreement that the site in general and the plots in particular are looking very good and well cultivated. The recent rain followed by a few days of beautiful sun has really greened the site with onions and potatoes puting out green shoots. Lots of people have been down over the last few weekends and there has been a profusion of planting and digging. The bees in the wood at the end of the site are now very active. Jacqueline (Spelling??) is our resident apiarist and was attending to the hives yesterday complete with smoke pot and other tools of the trade. Please see pics below.

Site day is Saturday 25th April. Mike Faith is compiling a list of jobs but there shouldn't be too much heavy work - we will be concentrating on clearing paths, steps and boarders. Remember that all members are comitted to attending one site day a year so if you can't make this one you will have to attend the Autumn day. However there is the option of taking on some tasks in your own time - Tracy is painting the steps and someone else is creosoting the scaffold planks. Contact Mike or anyone on the committee if you would like a job to do.

Lastly the AGM has come and gone with no major incidents. Tanya has left the committee and we welcome Kieth Chambers as a replacement. Keith has been a plot holder for years so I'm sure he will be a valuble addition. Just a reminder that those who haven't paid their fees for the year have to do so within 30 days of the AGM so if you haven't done so already get your money to Claire as soon as you can.

Monday, 1 December 2008

Autumn down the plot

It's cold and wet and generally fairly unpleasant down Barriedale at the moment but there is still a bit of colour around. If you have a look around (keeping to the paths obviously!) you will see that there are some flowers out atracting the last of the bees and some autumnal veg holding on in there. It's not all doom and gloom and if we get some winter sun there are still things to get on with down there and some company to enjoy so don't let the short days get you down!

Here are some more pic - hope you like them.

Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Waiting List - September 2008

  1. Elisabetta Fumagalli
  2. Anna Napier
  3. Ginny Humphreys
  4. Liz Carter
  5. Mark Wells
  6. John Stevens
  7. Mark Wareham
  8. Ruth Hayward
  9. Ian Ray
  10. Arthur Green
  11. Richard Choat
  12. Guillaume Leveziel
  13. Leila Sweden
  14. Yasmin Patel
  15. Jennifer Mangan
  16. Alexandra Howard
  17. Richard Clare
  18. Nicholas Okhuysen
  19. Terry McGregor
  20. Margaret Nicholls
  21. Justina O’Callaghan
  22. Caroline Wilkinson
  23. Frank Lovell
  24. Jo Ryan

Tuesday, 9 September 2008

A Bountiful Summer!

As we near the end of Summer (What Summer!) we can reflect on a pretty good year even given the dire weather we have had. All the rain was good for something - potatoes. It's been a good year for spuds. Andy (plot 61) produced a monster crop with some monster individuals. In the pic Andy is holding his top spud wieghing in at 1.1kg - can anyone better that?

I've had a good year for tomatoes - I picked over 3kg last night - anyone for tomato sauce?

Of course there have been failures. Sweetcorn seems pretty dire this year and mine failed to ripen - I suppose there is still time but not with the dull dark conditions. Squashes seem to have set fruit but they dont taste as good as they should and the number of slugs seems to ever increasing. Still there is always next year!

Saturday, 26 July 2008

Waiting List for Plots

This is the waiting list as of July 2008 - please note that the list is closed.

  1. Mary Stacey
  2. Bill Dunphy
  3. Gareth Dodd
  4. David Pitman
  5. Elisabetta Fumagalli
  6. Anna Napier
  7. Ginny Humphreys
  8. Liz Carter
  9. Mark Wells
  10. John Stevens
  11. Mark Wareham
  12. Ruth Hayward
  13. Ian Ray
  14. Arthur Green
  15. Richard Choat
  16. Guillaume Leveziel
  17. Leila Sweden
  18. Yasmin Patel
  19. Jennifer Mangan
  20. Alexandra Howard
  21. Richard Clare
  22. Nicholas Okhuysen
  23. Terry McGregor
  24. Margaret Nicholls
  25. Justina O’Callaghan
  26. Caroline Wilkinson
  27. Frank Lovell
  28. Jo Ryan

Monday, 21 July 2008

Association Rules

Barriedale Allotment Association (Formed 1980)
Association Rules (updated at 2008 A.G.M.)

1. The name of the Association shall be the Barriedale Allotment Association.

2. An initial membership fee of £2, or other such sum as agreed by the Association, shall be charged.

3. Allotment rent will be agreed at the A.G.M. and charged per rod or fraction thereof (0.1 of a rod or less will not be charged for). Rent unpaid from 30 days after this time will be deemed resignation and membership of the Association will be terminated forthwith. Any plot let after October 1st will be rent-free until the A.G.M.

4. Plots must be kept clean and in a good state of cultivation and fertility and must not be sub-let. Each lot must bear its distinctive number.

5. Paths surrounding plots are the responsibility of the adjoining allotment holders and must be kept in a satisfactory condition. Main paths must be three foot wide and dividing paths between plots two foot wide.

6. No member may trespass on another member’s allotment.

7. Sheds may not be erected without the permission of the Committee and must not be situated within three feet of a perimeter fence. Metal stakes within one metre of the path, or within two metres of the path where there is a drop of one foot or more, must bear sturdy protection.

8. Each member must hold his or her key, which is not transferable without the consent of the Committee. A deposit of £5 per key is made which will be refunded when a key is returned on termination of membership.

9. The site is the responsibility of the Association and only members have the right of access. Each member is required to work at least one hour per year on general site work on a Site Day.

10. All children under 14 years must be accompanied by an adult.

11. Pets must be kept under control.

12. Bonfires may be lit during daylight hours up to one hour before sunset. They may not be left unattended. Wind direction is of the utmost importance and fires must not cause disturbance to the residents of Barriedale. No rubbish whatsoever, domestic or else, can be brought onto the allotment site from outside. Burning toxic material, plastic or synthetic material is forbidden. No rubbish may be left on site.

13. Any member who wishes to make an official complaint or appeal within the business of the Association shall do so in writing to the Association Secretary, who is required to bring the matter before the Committee.

14. Vacant plots are to be let to the next person on the waiting list.

15. All members shall observe and perform all the conditions as laid down in the Association’s agreement with Network Rail.

16. Complaints and Evictions.

Any complaint regarding a members conduct (such as a trespass or smoke incident) should be made to the Secretary in writing, who will bring the matter to the attention of the Committee which may authorise the issue of a written warning to the member concerned. If a written report is received that the behaviour is repeated a second written warning may be issued by the Secretary without reference to the Committee. Any further written report to the Secretary of a repetition of the breach of the rules will be reported to the Committee who may expel the member and evict them from their plot.

If the Letting Secretary considers a plot to be in breach of the rules, he will issue a first written warning. The plotholder will then have 4 weeks from the date of the letter to remedy the situation. If the Letting Secretary considers that at the end of the 4 weeks the plot is still deficient, he will issue a second written warning.
If the Letting Secretary considers that at the end of the second 4-week period the plot is still deficient, then 3 committee members consisting of the Letting Secretary and 2 randomly selected members will inspect the plot and report back to the committee. The plotholder will be informed that this is happening but at this point, it will be too late for the plotholder to remedy the situation any further. The committee will convene urgently for a special hearing. The quorum will be 5 committee members. Thus, there will by definition be an officer of the committee present. The majority vote of that committee will be the final decision.

Tuesday, 22 April 2008

Contibutions are welcome!

Please feel free to send us anything that you think may be of interest to fellow plot holders. This is a communal site so if there is anything that you would like to see on these pages then send them to me at here
You can send in pics, recipes, ideas for articles, useful links or anything else you would like to see here. It would be great if we could get a history of Barriedale together so if you have been around for a while please contact me.
You can even sign up for our RSS feed so you can get notifications of new posts. If you don't know what an RSS Feed is you can find out here.