Gardeners entered their plots, wildlife gardens and neighbourhood areas for this year’s competition and judges visited each and every entry this summer before deciding on the winners in each category. There was a category for the best wildlife garden and any balcony gardens were recognised within the best container garden category.

The Gold Winner and Best in Category for Best Neighbourhood Project went to Grace & Flavour whereas the Best Business in Bloom saw The Kings Head and The Drummond in Albury awarded Gold, with The Stoke given the Best in Category.

Other winners included:

Best Garden for Wildlife
Gold: Julia Wake
Gold Winner and Best in Category: Joan Cheesman

Best Vegetable/Kitchen Garden
Gold: David Williams
Gold and Best in Category: Geoffrey Tidy

Best Small Front Garden
Silver Gilt and Best in Category: Lyn Worswick

Best Large Front Garden
Gold Winner and Best in Category: Rosemary Tribe

Best Container Garden
Gold and Best in Category: Jack Thornber

Best Allotment
Gold and Best in Category: Bill and Heather Fordham
Best in Competition Rosemary Tribe

The ‘Best Schools in Bloom’ awards were held earlier in the year and Jigsaw Cabas School was awarded the Best in Competition prize. In the photography competition, the under 18 winner was named as Ellie Dennehy, whilst the adult winner was Dan James.

The Lead Councillor for Transport, Infrastructure and Environment, Cllr Matt Furniss said, “We were really impressed with this year’s great crop of entries. Our green-fingered residents created some beautiful gardens for us to view. We also saw a strong entry from local businesses this year, who help make our town an attractive place for residents and visitors every summer.”

The Guildford in Bloom committee also gave a special thank you to Cllr Jen Powell, who was also recognised recently at the South East in Bloom awards since retiring as Chair after 28 years.

Guildford Borough Council would like to thank their sponsors for this marvellous event, Chapters Financial and Clandon Park Garden Centre, plus their supporters at White Lion Walk. Congratulations to all those that took part this summer, helping contribute to a fantastic summer of Guildford in Bloom!

James Martin

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Cllr Jen Powell, Chairman of the Guildford in Bloom Committee, was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for her hard work as Chairman since 1987 as seen in the picture at the top.

She commented, “Guildford’s award-winning town centre has helped us secure this Silver Gilt Award. We are extremely proud to have such enthusiastic community groups, local businesses and a dedicated team at Guildford Borough working so hard to help us achieve this success”.

The hanging baskets and floral displays around the town, as well as the well-designed and planted castle grounds and war memorial planting (pictured below) were among the highlights that led to the town receiving this award.

The judges were particularly captivated by the ‘impressive castle grounds’ and they made comments regarding Guildford like ‘[it is] a tidy and colourful town with lots of history and interest’ and ‘the link with community groups is very good with special mention to the Glade volunteers; a great initiative within the town’. Finally, they wanted to commend the time and dedication of Cllr Jen Powell by saying, ‘the efforts of Jen Powell must be commended for her time and hard work since 1987’.

The Guildford in Bloom initiative is part of Guildford Borough Council’s commitment to improving residents’ local surroundings, by focusing on issues that matter most to them such as a cleaner, safer and greener environment.

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Now in its second year, ‘DogFest’ celebrates everything to do with dogs and is a fantastic day out for anyone who loves dogs. Fans of man’s furry best friend can get together in the extensive grounds of one of England’s most beautiful country estates to watch and take part in dog related displays and entertainment, as well as receive expert advice on their canine companions and stock up on doggy related accessories.

Visitors can explore acres and acres of stunning parkland in the Great Dog Walk; a 4k fundraising walk for dogs and their friends and family around the estate. Starting at 9.30am, the walk takes around an hour and entry is by donation on the day.

The Festival Village offers a wealth of fun filled family entertainment including dog agility displays from the Metropolitan Police Dogs, doggy dancing and duck herding with the chance for visiting dogs and their owners to have-a-go at dog agility! Experts will be on hand to offer practical advice, talks and demos on every aspect of a dog’s life plus a Dog Café, Dog Chill Out Zone, a caricaturist, shopping plus face painting and a bouncy castle for little ones.

The festival is a great day out for all the family and includes fascinating talks, Q&A sessions and guest appearances from top TV and radio personalities Chris Evans and Michael Ball. There will also be demonstrations from TV ‘SuperVet’ Professor Noel Fitzpatrick; a pioneer of ground-breaking neuro-orthopaedic veterinary surgery and CEO of acclaimed Fitzpatrick Referrals in Eashing.

Noel will also be presenting the heart-warming ‘SuperVet Heroes Dog Show’, starring special dogs that have performed amazing acts of bravery, helped their owners in all sorts of incredible ways or survived trauma and surgery against the odds.

Noel says, “Animals are capable of forming amazingly strong emotional bonds with humans; powerful relationships that will see them go to extraordinary lengths to protect or help their guardians in every way imaginable, both practically and psychologically. This special show will celebrate that incredible bond and their very special bravery.”

Entry to DogFest is just £7 for adults, £5 for concessions, £3 for children (kids under 13 years go free) or a family of four can visit for just £18. Tickets for the day can be bought HERE.

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Compared to some people, who enter canicross events across the UK and Europe, our exposure to this sport is largely through weekly social runs with our fellow North Downs Canicrossers and by competing in a few local races. To be honest, I think our dogs, Red and Sidney, are happy about that. They would much prefer to spend less time travelling and more time running with their pals (well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it) and there is plenty of beautiful countryside in and around the Guildford area that there’s no need to go much further really.

Over the six months since my husband and I have been doing canicross we’ve enjoyed a number of local races, such as the Hard as Snails run that takes in the Pilgrims’ Way and the four trail runs that form the Human Race series.

So on Saturday, after we took our obligatory team photo while we were looking fresh and clean and sporting our new North Downs Canicrossers team t-shirts, we gathered at the start line 10 minutes before the core runners. If you’ve never witnessed or experienced a canicross race start before, you really must; to a bystander it must be one of the noisiest and most entertaining race starts to observe.

First of all, just before a canicross race gets going, one or two dogs tend to start barking and whining with excitement (they know what’s coming and can’t wait to get started!). This then sets off some of the other dogs and the sound levels rise and rise until the anticipation is almost deafening! Many of the owners at this stage are laughing and soaking up the atmosphere, but our expressions soon change to one of tension (and sometimes trepidation) as the race gets started.

The moment at the start is when you need to keep your wits about you and just go with the tsunami of force that is a combination of powerful, determined dogs alongside runners trying desperately not to get dragged through their first 100m in sub 10 seconds! Of course, if you have a less powerful dog or are more evenly matched then you probably have a good laugh at the expense of the rest of us, although it certainly makes for a good photo opportunity as shown at the top. I wouldn’t miss it for the world- it’s really exhilarating and does tend to calm down into a more manageable pace after the initial frenzied start (honest).

The Brutal10 race itself was really good fun, but not for the faint hearted- plenty of hills and water- as stated on their website, it’s called the ‘Alpine Circuit’ for a reason. It’s a 10km course taking in parts of the Army Alpine Driving Training circuit and consists of two laps of track, paths and big water sections, some thigh to waist deep.

After a fast, flat start you go fairly quickly into the first of the steep climbs. Then, just when your lungs start to recover, they hit you with another one. Following that, you run out into an open section before tackling a third hill before descending into a small marsh area. There is a long, but less severe hill that takes you back up again (thanks for that) and after a few more undulating sections, then the delightful water feature section hits…

This was actually more fun than I expected. I wasn’t sure how our dogs would deal with it as they haven’t experienced a Brutal before, but they just got on with it. Yes we got very wet and muddy, but it wasn’t cold and it made a nice break from the hills, until, of course, we had to do it all again that is!

To be honest, as the organisers say on their website, “tough, wet and hilly running is just the way Brutal runners like it!” It’s certainly popular so I guess they have a point! And I would definitely do it all again and recommend it for non canicrossers too.

If you are interested in trying out canicross then check out our local Facebook page. We do social runs (all abilities welcome) most weekends and occasional weekday evenings. It’s a very friendly group and people are always willing to loan out any kit so you can try before you buy!

Gail Walker

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I’ve been given the opportunity to share with you all my Canicross experiences and hopefully also convince some of you to give it a try too.

Two of my favourite things (aside from chocolate and wine :)) are running and dogs. So when I came across the relatively new and exciting sport of Canicross, it was perfect for me and my husband to get into.

So what exactly is Canicross?
If you haven’t heard of Canicross before, it’s basically cross country running with your dog. It developed from the origins of skijoring, where people ski with their dog pulling out in front of them. It is not (as one of my friend’s wittily remarked) a frustrated Scotsman trying to get across a river! I know, my friend definitely should NOT give up his day job!

The Canicross kit is very simple. The dog wears a harness and you wear a belt and a two meter bungee line is attached between the two of you. The line helps prevent any nasty jarring when the dog pulls and so makes the experience much more comfortable. The idea is that you run together with your dog leading the way without the need to worry about your dog running off or chasing anything that moves! Well, that’s the theory anyway. And if you are up for the challenge, you can run with more than one dog; depending on their size (and yours), two dogs are usually about manageable, but I have seen some people running with four. Not something I’ll be trying in a hurry!

Is it a sport I can get into?
The best thing of all about Canicross is that it suits people and dogs of all sizes and levels of fitness. There is no set distance or pace to stick to, so you can gauge it based on how you feel and how much your dog can do comfortably. I’ve seen people running with their little Terriers and Dachshunds through to those attached to Labs, Vizslas and Huskies.

My husband and I run with our two rescue dogs, our Staffy called Sidney and our Rhodesian Ridgeback/Doberman cross called Red. They both love it. Red is pretty strong and is always raring to go when we set off, especially in a race situation where she’s more revved up, so it’s exhilarating at the beginning of a run and can be challenging going downhill! Sid is a fantastic Canicrosser, he’s totally focused and consistent all of the time and pulls really well.

So how do I get started?
I first discovered this wonderful sport when I saw some Canicrossers taking part in a local off-road running race. They suggested I got in touch via the ‘Cannicross Trailrunners’ page on Facebook (click HERE) to find out how I could get involved and at the very least try it out before committing to investing in any of the gear. This is a great page as it’s a national group so there are a lot of experienced and enthusiastic members, so it’s perfect for getting any free advice and questions answered. Through the page, I got in touch with some local Canicrossers in the Guildford area, met up with some people doing a training run at The Chantries, borrowed some kit and before I knew it I was ordering some of my own online later the same day. Ever since then, my husband and I have been Canicrossing regularly with our two dogs, whether it’s as part of a social/organised fun off-road run or in local/official races.

So where can I go Canicrossing?
I particularly love the social runs that we do. There’s a local Canicross page for the Surrey/North Downs area called ‘North Downs Canicrossers’ (click HERE). I joined this and started organising regular social runs. We meet up most weekends and vary the locations and distances. There is no pressure to run fast or even be experienced. It’s all about meeting up with both our two and four legged pals and having an enjoyable run in the beautiful Surrey countryside- sometimes we’ll even have tea and cake at the end! If you like the sound of Canicross and fancy giving it a try, why not join us some time?

If you do also fancy taking part in an official race there are many events across the country that allow Canicrossers to take part. I tend to stick to more local races. My first race was ‘Hard as Snails’, run by aat events (click HERE); I loved this race as it features some of the best parts of Guildford, from The Chantries to Newlands Corner. They also run ‘The Brutal’ series which is very popular with Canicrossers and I’ve also taken part in some of the ‘Human Race’ off-road events (click HERE) which are great fun, yet challenging and really well organised. The ‘Endurance Life CTS’ events are also extremely popular, although some are particularly tough. In fact my husband and I have entered the one coming up in Sussex (here’s to hoping we can walk afterwards, as it takes in the Seven Sisters). For a general overview of Canicross friendly events across the UK, it is worth checking out a dedicated Facebook group that’s been set up called Canicross Events (click HERE).

In summary…
If you have a dog and either enjoy running or just fancy trying this as a new way to get/keep fit, I would urge you to give Canicross a go. Plus you get to enjoy the beautiful Surrey countryside. It’s so much fun, both for you and for your dog. And it’s a great way to meet new friends. Feel free to get in touch with me (and the other members) via the North Downs Canicross page and I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions, including where you can get hold of the right kit. Or why not join us on a run to see it in the flesh? And if you want to read a bit more about Canicross, take a look at my blog by clicking HERE. It’s just a fun account of my experiences with some useful pointers along the way, but I also hope it may give other people the inspiration to give it a try.

I know one thing’s for sure, my dogs love it and that’s all that really matters

Gail Walker (@GailWalker1)

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After speaking with local bee keeper Sally Fletcher we have learnt about the technical and local aspects of bee keeping. It has become evident that there are many things the average person who knows little about bee keeping or even bees can do.

First she spoke to us about why there has been an increasing decline in the number of bees in recent years. Sally informed us that most of the problems today are man-made. Although the harsh winter has affected the number of bees in the short term, it is the things that people do which have the long term effects which can increase numbers for good.

Honeybees are a social type of animal which means that communication between the female worker bees is the key thing that holds their colony together. They have a unique way of communicating symbolically, like humans do with language, or via the internet – they share information, and this is done through a special waggle dance which relates to the angle of the sun and the source of food.  This is one of many fascinating things about honeybees, from whom we can learn a lot about ourselves and our society.

Honeybees will live together in close proximity within their own hives but in apiaries (group of hives) disease can spread more easily between them. In the wild, colonies will be further spread out. The varroa mites are a major cause for concern for bees in recent years as they have killed off whole colonies. The Asian honeybee, from which the mite transferred, evolved to coexist with the mite, but the European honeybee has a longer brood cycle which allows the mite to take a hold, therefore it is important in England, as in the rest of the world, that we look after our bee population.

Another reason for the decline has been the use of pesticides, especially neonicotinoids , which affect the nervous system of the bees and because it is water soluble tiny amounts go into the soil and water and are more lethal. Though banned for the moment, the effects will last for 20 years.

A factor which has been brought about by changes in society is the increase of paving front gardens for cars and patios in back gardens, banning beehives from many allotments, felling trees, ploughing up hedgerows (although many farmers are incorporating wildlife borders now), so that there has been a decrease in forage and habitat.

Sally pointed out that “without bees, there’s no us. We can live without honey, but not without their pollination of our food, and their support of ecosystems and maintenance of biodiversity.”

The question is how we can help change this. There are a number of things which can be done to help, some of them are simple while some require more effort.

In an urban environment, trees are best for bees. This is their natural habitat as they live in the hollows of trees in the forest; the bees will swarm into trees and forage mainly on trees. This means that one of the best things for bees is that we keep the trees. There are particular trees which are very good for them such as Willow, Sycamore, Chestnut, Hawthorn, Poplar, Lime and all fruit trees.

Sally has informed us that planting and keeping trees (so pollarding them rather than felling them) which honeybees will forage on and encouraging the council to do the same will make a major difference. You might persuade local bee keepers to put beehives up in trees which can be suspended or put on a platform; however this should only be done if you live in non built-up areas and preferably near to woodland. This is a great way of keeping bees out of people’s hair and requires very little maintenance, but if you do want to keep bees in trees, in a built-up area you will have to manage the hive carefully; you can find your local beekeepers by looking up your area on the British Beekeeper Association.

If you do happen to come across a swarm of bees then the best thing you can do is not to fear them. When bees are swarming they are trying to make a home and their bellies are full of honey, so they are not likely to sting. Bees only sting when they are under threat because when they do sting you their sting comes out and they die. If you are not a bee keeper then you should contact your local Bee Keeping Associations for advice; they will send a beekeeper to collect a swarm, (‘Swarming bees are healthy bees’) and bee keepers will be delighted to help quickly.

For bees to be healthy they need a varied diet, in recent years people have been paving over their gardens, this has led to a decline of the kind of flowers and shrubs which bees can forage on. A simple thing many people will be able to do is to plant shrubs and flowers such as Wild Rose, Rosemary, Lavender, St John’s Wort, Borage, Veronica, Forget-me-not, Aster and Heather. Herbs are also fantastic plants to grow. Plants which are scented with lots of small open flowers are the best plants for bees and they will look great in gardens and usually need little maintenance. Keeping and encouraging a diversity of plants, shrubs and trees in gardens and surrounding areas can be a little change for you but can make a great change to the health and growth of bees.

Elizabeth Cracknell

Images sourced from: http://tinyurl.com/na692j3, http://tinyurl.com/pvn4lyv, http://tinyurl.com/nbbdcp9, http://tinyurl.com/obo3cty

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Back in June, Lord de Mauley (below) spoke about bee health at the Friends of the Earth conference and announced that the government will be launching a National Pollinators Strategy which will, according Lord de Mauley “bring together all the pollinator-friendly initiatives already underway and provide an umbrella for new action.”

There are great concerns across Europe about the collapse of the bee population. It has been announced that the European commission wants to ban pesticides linked to bee deaths but the UK has opposed the move, saying that science is inconclusive. Although pesticides are one of the major issues and should not be ignored, other things can be done to help save bees. Many charities have been looking into what can be done to help bees and other pollinating insects. The work that charities, businesses and research institutions will do will form the basis of the ‘national pollinator strategy’.

Lord de Mauley Minister of DEFRA said at the conference that “We must develop a better understanding of the factors that can harm these insects and the changes that government, other organisations and individuals can make to help…

“Pollinators play a vital role in the security of our food supply and the quality of our food supply and the quality of our natural environment.”

In the winter of 2009/10 Britain lost a third of its bee colonies. Executive director of Friends of the Earth Andy Atkins said that there needs to be a plan of action in place before bees emerge from hibernation next winter and that measurable targets for reversing the loss of bees and other pollinators need to be put in place.

Researchers at University of Reading who were commissioned by Friends of the Earth’s Bee campaign have showed that dozens of Bee species are in danger, if there is a continuing decline in bees in gardens, farms and orchards it will be hugely damaging as it will effect economy, retailer and food security. There are currently 40,000 beekeepers in the UK who maintain over 200,000 colonies, 300 of these are commercial beekeepers who manage around 40,000 colonies.

Lord de Mauley said at the conference that: “We actively promote beneficial environmental management of the countryside by farmers, including management that helps pollinators. Under Environmental Stewardship, we promote, and pay for, the sowing of nectar flower mixes, which can provide a large quantity of nectar from a small area of farmland, and mimic some of the nectar-bearing crops that were once a feature of more traditional agricultural systems.”

If the 250 species of bees in Britain die out, which is a real possibility, and then farmers, crop growers and producers may have to resort of pollinating crop themselves as they do in China. This would cost at least £1.8 billion, which would mean that the price of food would rise to accommodate this.

Friends of the Earth have reported that Bees in the UK are declining at an alarming rate; two bumblebee species have become extinct, managed honey bee colonies have fallen by 53 per cent between 1985 and 2005, Wild honey bees are nearly extinct in many parts of the UK and Solitary bees have declined in over half (52 per cent) of the areas studied.

Keep an eye out for information on what you can do to help the bees out yourself on our website.

Elizabeth Cracknell

Images sourced from: http://tinyurl.com/9wlevb7 and http://tinyurl.com/o3y5636

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– take a walk in the local woods, or on the heath post school run and you’ll often come across an often mismatched array of dogs of all breeds, sizes and ages , diverse temperaments, each taking delight in their habitat, company of other dogs and naturally, their carer. 

Having worked for seven years as a dog walker, I never fail to be amazed at the sheer anticipatory happiness of dogs before they go out and once out, how dogs revel in not just walking, but have a keenness to keep moving forward.

For the dogs, I imagine it’s something that is inherent in their DNA, harking back to pre-domesticated times when they were always on the move to find food and shelter.  That sense of travelling is now replicated with the walk (or run), taking a journey together as a pack with me, as the pack leader, showing the way – or not, if there is a hound in the group, merrily following a scent trail….!

And it would appear that there is another, more scientific reason why dogs like to exercise. Like many two legged runners, dogs too can become ‘addicted’ to the runner’s high.  Scientists have proven that narcotic-like chemicals are produced when humans undertake intensive aerobic exercise like running and dogs too are unique in this ability – they are ‘wired to run’.

So next time your dog is fretting to go out or you see a dog on a running mission, going for glory, he is probably just being true to his evolutionary roots and is an ‘addict’ – in the nicest sense of the word and just needs his next exercise fix!

Sam Robertson

Image soured from: http://tinyurl.com/lxbsxee

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