Last month, 36 members of Waterbeach Gardening Club joined Caroline Ward, Community Development Lead for Waterbeach, for a walking tour around the 23-acre lake that sits at the heart of the development.
The tour started at the former airfield’s iconic Control Tower, which has been sensitively restored and refurbished and is currently being used as the office for Urban&Civic’s project team.
The Tower’s viewing deck provides panoramic views across the development, which helped illustrate the scale of the site and identify the location of the five key habitat areas for ecology that are being preserved and enhanced to ensure people and nature can live in harmony at Waterbeach.
During the walking tour, Caroline explained the unique features of the different habitat areas and the hero species living here – from kingfisher and barn owl to brown hare, water shrew and great crested newts.
There were lots of keen birdwatchers amongst those attending the tour who had brought their binoculars with them to get a closer look at the wide range of species living at Waterbeach. Those attending were fortunate enough to witness two starling murmurations.
Dorothy Druitt, from Waterbeach Gardening Club, said: “Everyone really enjoyed the interesting and informative tour of the Barracks site. We felt very privileged to be given access to the Control Tower, which has a great vantage point for views across the site, which made the walk around the lake all the more interesting.
“Caroline answered all our questions, whether relating to flora and fauna or other matters with knowledge and good humour, and it was clear she has a real heart for the community that is developing on site and how it will work with the community here in the existing village. We look forward to keeping updated as things develop.”
If you are a member of a local group that would be interested in a tour of Waterbeach, please email the team at hello@waterbeachwb.co.uk or call 01223 622533.
Everyone really enjoyed the interesting and informative tour of the Barracks site. We felt very privileged to be given access to the Control Tower, which has a great vantage point for views across the site, which made the walk around the lake all the more interesting.
