Downs Banks
Downs Bank, also known as Barlaston Downs, is an area of open countryside, located two miles (3 km) north of the town of
Area and habitats
The property covers about 166 acres (67 ha)
Management
The heath has been subject to a restoration project by the National Trust, which resulted in the re-introduction of summer-grazing cattle on the hillsides of the property in 2005. The cattle help to keep
The footpaths and
The stream through the property was seriously polluted with diesel oil in April 2008, originating upstream from beyond the reserve. Since then it has recovered and has a healthy fish population, including European bullhead and brown trout. .
Access and activities
The car park that exist for Down Banks is unsurfaced.
The site is 'open access' on foot to all. As well as footpaths there is also a
The site is popular with dog walkers, both amateur and professional. In the summer of 2008 two bins were erected for dog waste. Local National Trust members raised the funds for these bins.
The site is sometimes used by the Potteries Orienteering Club, and before them by the Walton Chasers since the 1950s. The club has made a large-scale map of the site, at 1:5000.
Monuments, history and customs
In the 18th century a farm on Downs Bank grew hops for Joule's Brewery, who rented it from Viscount Sidmouth. The area was well known to the author Mary Renault, whose parents moved to live nearby in the early 1930s.
There is a Millennium Viewpoint stone[3] at one of the highest points, with a toposcope (a disc of metal sight-lines/landmarks) embedded in the top of it. The toposcope went missing in November 2015. By March 2017 it has been replaced by a new toposcope.
The area was part of the route of the annual New Year's Eve Barlaston Wassail, in which a torchlit procession walked from the nearby village to Downs Banks and back again.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "National Trust Acquisitions up to December 2011". National Trust. 2011. p. 77. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
- ^ "Downs Banks | Staffordshire". National Trust. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
- ^ "The Millennium Stone". Barlaston Parish Council. Archived from the original on 3 July 2008.