Coronation Wood is a small area in Ardentinny which was planted by the children of Ardentinny School to mark the Coronation in 1953. There had been subsequent plantings but over the years the small site has deteriorated and become overgrown.
With the collaboration of Ardentinny Hall Association, Ardentinny Community Council and Ardentinny Community Trust, a group of volunteers have started the process of restoring it. So far we have cleared part of the area and one of the next tasks is to replant the road edge with holly, beech and hawthorn some of which we were awarded from the Woodland Trust. These should be delivered in the first week of March so some work needs to be done to get the site ready.
We have been lucky to find some of the original children who were involved in the first planting and they are keen to be kept informed on the progress of the project. Lots of stories have been relayed from them and others, who were brought up in the village and have many anecdotes of their happy times.
Finding accurate records of the history of Coronation Wood has been difficult but we would like to hear from anyone with any information or stories about the wood. If you would like to help out with this project or just be kept up to date with the progress, please get in touch. 01369 810385.
Eileen Connell.
Good initiative by these folks, but it’s not terribly eco-friendly dumping all the Coronation Wood branch cuttings on the beach, dowsing them in petrol and then leaving the pyer to float into Loch Long over the past months! Bit of green thinking needed here.