BY JACQUI JONES
Last year with a lot of hard work and elbow grease the Black Ditch had a spring clean. Thanks to Clive Milne Buckley and a few residents it is now looking, and most importantly, performing as it should. This week it is very nearly full of water, which is possibly part of the reason it was dug back in circa 1200. Today it serves as a flood prevention and plays an important part in our Chertsey flood defence system.
We were very careful in our work not to disturb the wildlife and to encourage natural plant life too. In 2018 we had to remove 5 trees as they were becoming a danger. We left behind logs and tree stumps for natural habitat and last week we have planted 6 new trees.
They are Purple Flowering Plums and form an avenue at the far end of the walk, making it look very attractive and another habitat for our large number of birds – a few years ago a Goshawk was spotted in the Ditch. It has also served to enforce the bank of this ancient ditch.
The field and ditch are privately owned by a syndicate of caring local people. It was bought in 2010 together with the adjoining field to prevent and ensure against any development. Now it is a joy to see horses grazing in the field in the care of Peter and Shirley Buck who jointly own and look after the fields.
Recently, as a result of the lock-downs Willow Walk has seen a revival of people and it has become a very popular place to walk, jog, cycle and of course horse riding. The horses have been using the walk for a long time as it is vital for their access to and from exercise areas, avoiding having to go through the main town.
The ditch has a wonderful history. It originally connected to the Abbey river and was possibly used, back in the days of the black plague by wealthy Londoners to ferry bodies down to the burial grounds of the Abbey, hence the name Black Ditch. It surrounds the adjacent field and is a scheduled Ancient Monument. There is much more history which can be found at the Chertsey Museum.
We do hope you enjoy Willow Walk and at the same time help to keep it tidy and a pleasant place to be.