I encouraged my daughter and grandson to join me on a walk to see the HS2 works next to 16 Acre Wood. It’s now 2025, and it’s time for an update on my visits to the site. These visits began in 2021, and I’ve kept a diary documenting all the changes that have taken place over the years.
Over the hill and far awayHS2 signsNew bridges on the line.Concrete structures.Heavy machinery.The gate
We’ve had a lot of rain recently, and the walk reflected this as the footpath became quite muddy. When we reached the area, the first thing I noticed was the progress made with two bridges. A lot of concrete had been poured, resulting in two large structures. The special pond had also received some attention. The overgrown foliage had been cut back, and we were now able to see the water and grass more clearly. No trees have been planted around the pond yet, so it will be interesting to see how it fares over the coming summer.
Lots of numbersThe new pond.The pond is still looking on.Nature is always near.The wood is a lot thinner.
Walking around the site on the weekend meant there were no concerns about taking photographs, which was a nice bonus. However, it was a long walk which Noah was not so happy about!
Walking along the footpath.
This is an update on a continuing story on 16 Acre Wood and the intrusion of HS2. Feel free to read the my other entries starting with the one highlighted below.
Sixteen-acre ward has been a project that I started in March 2021, and I have visited the area at regular intervals since. The wood was in the news, when the initial plans for the HS2 line revealed that it would cut into the wood. Therefore, trees were felled, and an old ancient pond was duplicated in a new location nearby. This new pond has signage and chains to protect this nature venture. Over the years, the landscape around the wood has changed drastically. This is my fourth visit to the wood. As with the previous ones, I was interested to see if anything had changed since my visit last year.
The new pond is covered with vegetation. No entry to the pond.A crane rears its headOvergrown
Fortunately, my drive to Berkswell village was not difficult as the HS2 works will close access to various roads around the area at a moment’s notice. I parked my car near to St Mary’s Church, Berkswell, and walked along the boardwalk. There is a footpath that runs up the hill over a farmer’s field. This footpath meets up and follows the HS2 route I reached the part of the HS2 track which passes by Sixteen-acre wood and goes onto meet Kenilworth Rd.
The landscape has really changed.Drainage and fencesNot a place for swimming.
A year on and I noticed that the vegetation is starting to reclaim much of the area. The new pond is thriving although it could do with some trees around the parameter. Meanwhile the old pond has not given up and there is still life around an old tree has collapsed into the water. Walking down the designated footpath there is a sharp contrast. On the left side beyond the steel fence the large land moving vehicles were resting as it was a Sunday, a day of rest. The earth had been moved into heaps of brown soil and there were lines of plastic pipes lined up for draining the water. On the right-hand side, the wood looked in a sorry state. Some of the vegetation is recovering but there are still scars around the knocked down trees. Some of the trees looked like scarecrows contrasting against the bleak sky. What did catch my eye was the number of butterflies and dragonflies that were present. Nature is slowly attempting to get back to its feet after being interrupted by the HS2 works.
The old pond looks out at the new landscape.The trees look bare.Crows fly above the trees.We are still here.DragonfliesNew places to restButterflies
These pictures show the amount of construction that is happening as the pace of building is now moving quickly. In the midst of this construction, there were some beautiful butterflies and I must have seen around 10 different types of insects. There was a hoard of dragonflies that are living in the stagnant water created around the HS2 trenches. Someone once told me not to worry about HS2 as everything will grow back once the viaducts that are planned are completed. I wait to see if this will be true as the scars in the land look very deep. I now have my 4th entry into my 16 acre wood project and I will return next year to see what progress has happened and whether nature is coping with the changes forced on the landscape.
HS2 construction is gathering pace.Earth moving equipment waiting for Monday morning.The stagnant water has encouraged the growth of the dragonfly population. The wood is to the left of the picture.
On a day that the government announced a review of the spending of HS2, I revisited my continuing project on the damage to 16 Acre wood near to Berkswell. I first started taking pictures of this small wood in March 2021 and revisited the area in 2022. The spiralling costs of HS2 have made the headlines and there is talk of scrapping parts of the line from Birmingham to Manchester. These pictures show that so much alteration of the land has taken place that reversal of the project would leave so much scarring. Keeping the project going is the lesser of the two evils.
The change in the land by the HS2 works.This reminds me of the Diggersaurus children’s book.
The footpath in Berkswell skirts around the wood and you are fenced off so that you are not allowed to wander onto the working HS2 area. This is understandable as there are large land moving equipment on the site and the signs are very explicit about trespassing. The former farmer’s field now resembles an assault course with deep trenches and large mountains of soil. The edges of the 16 acre wood look sad and tired following destruction of the trees at the edge of the wood. The old pond still looks on over the fields although today the wind was strong and this meant there was little insect life showing on the water. The new artificial pond created by the contractors is populated with reeds and rushes but again the signs and the barriers do make it look as if there is something special going on in the area.
The old pond looks out at the upheaval taking place next door.Pathways through HS2.The flowers cover the paths.The battle between nature and progress.The new HS2 pond is struggling to impose itself. A few trees are needed.
Caged in by all the fences.The trucks take a Sunday rest.
As it was a Sunday, there was little activity so the large trucks and cranes were all quiet resting until the start of the week when they will begin again. I took more pictures and the main changes were around the amount of earth that had been moved since I was last here.
Detail of the old pond.
My next visit in 2024 will reveal what further progress has been made and whether they are any closer to completing the line.
Pictorial record of how HS2 is affecting a local wood near to Balsall Common
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