All events (apart from the trips away from the Park) take place in, or from, the Training Centre in Saltwell Park. For events in the Training Centre there is a charge of £1 which includes refreshments
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Date / Time
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Topic
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Description of Event
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Saturday
24 September
10.30am
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Open Meeting
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Michael Emerson - half hour talk, then question / answer session about Saltwell Park
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Saturday
8 October
10.30am
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Bessie Surtees
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Bill Saunders visits the Friends to tell of one of the most famous stories of a couple eloping. There is more to this story than most people know.
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Sunday
30 October
9.30am
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Bird Walk
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Join Michael Turner for a guided bird walk around Saltwell Park. Autumn is always a great time for bird watching as the resident birds are joined by those departing and arriving on their migration. Please meet at the lakeside.
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Saturday 12 November
10.30am
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Mary Queen of Scots
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Dr. John Derry returns to talk to the Friends.
Still a controversial figure did she help to plan the murder of her second husband? Why did she marry her third?
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Saturday 17 December
10.30am
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Christmas Social at St. Chad’s
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Come along to St. Chad’s to visit this wonderful Church and share some Christmas Fayre and carols with the Friends. PLEASE MEET AT St. Chad’s Church, Dunsmuir Grove, GATESHEAD NE8 4QL NOT AT THE TRAINING CENTRE
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Saturday
14 January 10.30am
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Red Kites
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The Continuing Story of the Red Kites. Judy Summerson will tell the Friends how these beautiful birds are doing since they were reintroduced to the Derwent Valley, Gateshead.
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Saturday
4 February
10.30am
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Seasonal Planting
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Paul Travis-Anderson visits the Friends to demonstrate planting bulbs and plants in season.
Whet your appetite for this by visiting http://gardener.euvue.co.uk/about-north-east-gardener/
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Saturday 3 March
10.30am
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The Wild Cattle of Chillingham
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The Cattle have lived in Chillingham Park, Northumberland, since the 13th century. They are the sole survivors of ancient cattle which once roamed the forests of Britain. Philip Deakin of the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association will give an illustrated history. It is hoped we will visit Chillingham and its historic Castle as a summer event in 2012.
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Saturday 14 April
10.30am
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Music in the Park - George Gershwin
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George Hetherington makes a return visit to play music from the “Golden Age” and tell the Friends about the life of the composer.
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We would like to see as many members as possible at our events, please make every effort to support us. Why not bring one of your friends along too? Each event offers an opportunity to learn something new, enjoy refreshments and have a chat with the Friends
Past Events
William Wailes Evening
On 24 November 2008 about 25 Friends of Saltwell Park gathered together to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of William Wailes. The park was in darkness and as we approached the Towers the building looked welcoming and magnificent, all lit up ready for the birthday celebration.
Victorian costume was the order of the day and everyone had made the effort so there were lots of imaginative outfits. Rob Shreeve our Chairman and his wife Liz were Mr and Mrs Wailes for the evening and they looked amazing in their outfits. We were welcomed into the foyer with a glass of wine and mingled with other guests: this proved to be a good opportunity to take photographs.
We had a hearty three course dinner and then preceded to the upstairs gallery for the entertainment "The Ukulele Hotshots" who were excellent and in no time at all had us all singing along with them. During the interval when the Hotshots had a rest we were served with coffee, mince pies and chocolate mints.
All too soon it was time to go home everyone chatting saying how much they had enjoyed the evening.
Our thanks go to Mr Clayton and staff for looking after us all and also Ruth and her staff for the lovely meal and attention to all those little details that made it a wonderful evening. These events take a lot of organising by the committee and our thanks go to them and it is good when you support these events.
E.W. Johnston – Friend of Saltwell Park
Helen Devere – Friend of Saltwell Park writes:
Monday 24 November was a delightful evening in Saltwell Towers to celebrate the 200th birthday of William Wailes. Friends of the Park once again made a grand night come to life dressed in Victorian costumes for this special occasion. We all enjoyed an excellent evening meal, the rest of the night we were entertained by a wonderful banjo band.
Thanks to 'The Friends' for this great event.
Bowls, Pie and Peas Supper Evening
Our annual Bowls/Pie and Peas supper was a huge success again. This is the third time we have run this event and it is always well attended. A lot of people think because they don't play bowls it's not for them. We have a few members who play bowls and they are always there to show you the ropes! It’s nice to hear all the laughter and everyone enjoying the night.
The supper is the highlight of the evening, nice cup of tea after pies and peas! It’s good to see everyone chatting to each other; they were strangers at the beginning of the night! The idea of having these events is to get all 'The Friends' to meet and have a good chat, we have over a hundred members so it would be nice to have more volunteers.
Bat Walk in Saltwell Park
The evening of Monday 20 July 2009 was a perfect night for watching bats, clear and still. The silhouettes of trees stood out against the clear sky, and the colours of the sunset were reflected in the calm surface of the lake.
Peter Shield and Frances Mudd, both from the Gateshead Countryside Team and Durham Bat Group, lead this event. The evening started at 8.30pm with a very interesting talk by Peter about bats of the United Kingdom and the world. We were shown pictures of bats catching insects on the wing; skimming over the surface of water; close ups showing different shapes of bat faces, each designed to help catch their prey; maternity groups of female bats taking care of their offspring. One of his photographs stole the show – the baby Pipistrelle bat clinging to the end of a finger. It was so small it barely covered a fingernail.
Fran showed us a real live tiny Pipistrelle called 'Bovril' which was small enough to fit in a matchbox. If you had seen its colour you would understand where the name came from. Compare this with Fruit Bats whose wingspan is about 5 feet – but they are not found in this country. Bovril's mum gave birth whilst she was in captivity having been brought to the bat group injured. She quickly became well enough to leave but Bovril never quite learned to catch midges so is now very well cared for and loves maggots to eat.
Before we went out to watch bats, a number of bat detectors were given out. We were shown how to adjust the detectors to pick up the sound of bats nearby. Different frequencies pick up different varieties of bat, the bigger the bat, the lower the pitch. We could not hear the high pitched sounds the bats made, but the bat detectors converted the sounds into clicks which we could hear. The clicks became louder as the bats approached, and quieter s they disappeared into the distance.
When we first went out from the Training Centre at 9.30pm, swifts were catching the abundant insects flying at sunset. A Heron flew over the lake, there were quiet sounds from the ducks and geese as they settled down for the night. As it got darker the bats started to emerge. We saw many Pipistrelle bats flitting amongst the trees, heard the slower clicking of at least one Noctule bat and watched Daubentons bats skimming over the surface of the lake.
It is good to know Saltwell Park provides suitable conditions for these attractive animals to visit to feed. The bat watch was also an deal opportunity to remain the park after the sun had gone down without being chased out by the park Keepers
Diane Ward – Friend of Saltwell Park