KEMPLEY
DAFFODIL WEEKEND
Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th
March 2014
'Daff & Ride' bus about every 20-30 minutes
Maps of walks are available from the following link: www.kempleytardis.org.uk/walks
Visit our two churches:-
St. Edward’s Church.
St. Mary’s church will be open for visitors to view the ancient frescoes.
Daffodil Weekend is organised by an ‘ad hoc’ working party of local volunteers on behalf of the St Edward’s Church PCC. All funds raised during the weekend are used for the benefit of the church, including the ‘Fabric Fund’. The Friends of Kempley Churches, the Kempley Village Hall Trust, the Second Wednesday Club and the Parish Council support the DW working party but none of these bodies has any moral, fiscal or legal responsibility for the event.
Updated 26 September 2013
The theme this year is:
50 Years Anniversary of the Daffodil Line
In and around the Village of Kempley.
Come and see the wild daffodils and spend the day in our lovely village.
Through
to its closure to passengers in 1959, the GWR Daffodil Line from
Gloucester through Newent, Four Oaks, Dymock and on to Ledbury brought
tourists from across the Midlands to enjoy the spring spectacle of wild
daffodils. Dymock station was a vital access point for this ‘Lent
Lily’ cut-flower trade. The blooms were marketed across the 3 counties,
and proved a valuable fundraising opportunity, supporting hospital
charities in Birmingham and London. Villagers collected daffs in
bunches of 50, and many thousands were despatched by rail to cathedral
cities such as York for Mothering Sunday and Easter celebrations.
In
more recent decades the thriving tradition of Daffodil Weekend Teas,
with produce stalls, events and guided walks has been cause for the
reunion of village families, neighbours and friends, coming back to the
rural villages of the Leadon Vale. The Village Hall offers a warm
welcome to modern day tourists, now arriving by car and cycle, for
guided walks along hedgerow path, fields and woodland to witness the
magnificent Spring display.
Kempley Daffodil Weekend is a fund raising event organised in the tiny Gloucestershire village of Kempley by a team of volunteers from the village. It began over twenty years ago by a local lady who saw the potential of the natural wild daffodils which grow in abundance in the woods surrounding the village. Every spring time the woods are carpeted in yellow with these tiny daffodils. The countryside is unspoiled and famous for links with poets such as John Masefield and Robert Frost.
The small wild daffodils grow freely in many fields and the surrounding woods and can be enjoyed on the circular 'Daffodil way' footpath covering approximately eight miles. The daffodils may be seen from the roads and the many footpaths between Newent and Dymock which pass through the village of Kempley.
The Village Hall will serve home made refreshments from 11.00a.m. until 5.00p.m
Home made produce, maps and DVDs for sale, plants stall and raffle
Organised guided walks through the woods to
find as many daffodils as possible.
Several of the fields around the village are normally carpeted with
daffodils and are designated areas of special interest
Daff’n’Ride Bus every 30 minutes
Linking village Car Park to St.Mary’s, Daffodil Way and Queens Wood Car Park. One-way or Return. Disabled/wheelchair facility. Tours around Golden Triangle & Daffodil hotspots of Dymock/ Newent.