St Teilo’s Living Churchyard Project and Riverside Walk

St Teilo’s Churchyard in Llantilio Pertholey has something very special about it, as I recently found out.

There is much beauty in nature – the soothing babble of a river as it trips and rushes over the stones on its bed, the chirrup and songs of birds among the trees. Many of us search for this type of tranquillity deep in the countryside, or take trips to remote locations in search of, and to admire nature. And yet, all of this is right here on our doorstep, encapsulated beautifully in the Churchyard at St Teilo’s where, in recent years, they have created a Riverside Walk.

The Riverside walk

The Riverside Walk is part of the ‘Living Churchyard Project’, encouraged by the Gwent Wildlife Trust, and has been largely funded through Monmouthshire County Council. Over the past few years, members of the church’s wildlife project management group have worked tirelessly to develop the churchyard into a sanctuary for wildlife and, consequently, a wonderful asset for the community.

 
When I went to visit one showery April morning, I was given a personal tour of the churchyard by Church Warden Maurice Rolls, who proved not only to be a fountain of knowledge and information, but also taught me a thing or two about flowers! What intrigued me most, and what I was keen to ask Maurice, was how one sets about encouraging such a wealth of wildlife into an area of just over an acre in size. The answer to this, as Maurice pointed out, was evident all around me.

 
Throughout the churchyard, and dotted amongst the trees are numerous bird nesting boxes and bat roosting boxes as well as bird tables and feeders. On closer inspection I noticed insect boxes nestled into stone walls, between shrubs and among flowers, all providing shelter for ladybirds, bees and other mini beasts. There are even butterfly hibernation boxes, which have been thoughtfully located close to lavender, buddleia and weigela – plants that butterflies are typically attracted to. Grass in some areas of the churchyard is purposefully only cut twice a year to encourage plants to complete their lifecycles, as the flowers and seeds are important in the food chains of many insects, spiders and birds. I was also very interested to see stump bracket fungi, which Maurice pointed out to me, on cleared areas of the riverbank as well as corrugated covers under which bank voles make their runs just below the soil surface.

 
Perhaps the most enchanting part of my visit to St Teilo’s, however, was the Riverside Walk itself, which Maurice also refers to as a Contemplative Walk or Pilgrims Walk, owing to the plants, trees and flowers that have biblical connections such as Jacob’s Ladder and Cornus Siberica (depicting as the burning bush). A path, which is also suitable for those in wheelchairs, leads from the lychgate, along the banks of the River Gavenny, which flows through the churchyard itself. Here there are benches where you can sit, contemplate and enjoy the surrounding alder and hazel trees, and look out for water dippers and kingfishers that dart in and out of the river.

 
During my visit, it was great to learn that the churchyard is proving to be a useful educational tool for the local pupils at Llantilio Pertholey Primary School. Each year the children are provided with meadow plant seeds such as foxgloves, which they cultivate in pots and later bring to plant in the churchyard, marking the location of their plants with markers bearing their names. Not only does this enable children to establish a personal connection with the churchyard, but also allows them to learn about ecology and wildlife through hands on experience.

 
I urge everyone to go and visit the churchyard not simply to enjoy the Riverside Walk, but also to seek out the many other points of interest that the churchyard has to offer. The ancient yew trees, for example, have been resident here for hundreds of years. One has been identified as being around 1200-1500 years old and was probably planted when a Celtic church was built on the site.

 
There is plenty to see and enjoy here – much more than I can mention in one article – with helpful information boards placed around the churchyard offering educational information about resident wildlife and the ecology system. To assist your visit, I have set out a plan of the churchyard and Riverside Walk, along with various points of interest. It is a beautiful place to visit, explore and perhaps spot something new and intriguing while enjoying the idyllic surroundings.

Filed under: Community, Leisure
Monday, May 28th, 2012 at 2:25 pm