The Marsh Location

The Marsh in brief 

In it’s early years the Smawthorne Marsh was used as allotments so locals could grow their own fruits and vegetables and keeep livestocks, since the allotments were moved to a different location, this vast area has been left to grow wild and consequently abused with fly-tipping. The land is privately owned it has never been a concern for the local council to maintain or deal with. The overgrown land has become a great habitat for local wildlife with it’s mass of water and plant life it holds the perfect refuge for all varieties of birds, ducks and other wildlife species.

As a local lad I have always referred to this area as “The swamp”  from being a boy and also having lived right on the edge of the Swamp for a period of my life, this whole area is very close to my heart & roots.

All about the #SmawthorneMarshProject

This project was started by the local residents of the Smawthorne area of Castleford and through their own funding and hard work have begun to regenerate the whole of the swamp area into it’s own wildlife attraction for families, birdwatchers and walkers to visit. This has been done by strimming back a vast amount of area to keep growth under control on the path sides and also erecting a Bird Hut containing foods for birds and other wildlife to consume in a safe area, there are also plans for other features on the site too and I am sure it will be amazing once it is completed, however this will be a slow project due to the sheer size of “The Swamp” and the fact that it is being done by local people in their spare time.

One of the problems faced here is Fly Tipping, this usually happens at the entrance to the marsh just off Pontefract Road, complaints have been passed over to the council with names and addresses which have been found in the rubbish dumped there, hopefully this will stop and the Smawthorne Marsh team can focus on what they need to do and not waste time cleaning up other peoples rubbish.

The main entrance to the Marsh is just off Lisheen Avenue and there is a lovely trail that goes in a circular all around the marsh, if you havent been and are local or passing by the area to check it out, it makes a great stroll for dog walkers and families alike.

I have created a photographic gallery specifically for the #SmawthorneMarshProject and I will be doing regular updates with progress images of the work and also images of the wildlife that I manage to capture.

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