Welcome to the Village Link website. We’re a small not for profit organisation staffed by volunteers and cannot justify the expense of an SSL certificate. This certificate is what changes a web address from http to https. Google will soon change how they label sites; instead of labelling sites with a certificate as secure they will label sites without one as insecure. We keep this site as secure as we can and is as secure as it ever has been. Please do not be put off!

Take a little time to browse our pages and discover what goes on where and when in our area. Within our pages you can also find out who does what locally. If you would like to contribute anything to any of our pages, including your favourite picture from where you live in our area, please follow the links on the Contact Us page. We would love to carry all the info for your local club or association and best of all, it’s all for free!

The map on the left is fully navigable plus you can zoom in and out by using the controls in the top left corner and if you view the larger map you can enter street view by dragging the little yellow person onto the map to where you want to view and go for a virtual walk around our streets and lanes.

SPRING GARDENS OPEN FOR CHARITY

The National Garden Scheme raises millions annually by opening gardens for charity. In 2024 it donated a record £3,501,227. Since its inception in 1927, the scheme has raised over £67 million, supporting health charities and community projects through garden admissions and fundraising events. Not all garden openings in our communities are part of the NGS scheme, but they all play a vital role in supporting churches or community projects.

Already over £1,700 has been raised  … but donations continue to be accepted. Scan or click the QR code below to find the Just Giving Fundraising Page and the full version of Susie’s story.

Special Sawbill at Ravensthorpe Reservoir

The morning of Wednesday January 29th began with clear skies and early sunshine: both very welcome after what had felt like a largely grey and dismal winter. I’d almost completed a clockwise lap of Ravensthorpe Reservoir and was walking across the causeway towards Coton when I spotted two dazzlingly white shapes through the low hedge to my left. Scanning through a gap with binoculars I was greeted with the unmistakeable sight of two drake Smew.

The Smew is a member of the sawbill family of diving ducks, named for the serrated teeth with which they grip their fish and aquatic-insect prey. As is often the case with wildfowl, adult male and female plumages are very different. Females are largely grey overall, with a white chin and cheek and a dark red/brown crown, nape and forehead. Juvenile males are very similar to adult females: both are informally referred to as ‘redheads’. Adult males on the other hand are strikingly white overall, sharply marked with neat black lines and black panels on the wings, with grey vermiculated flanks and a black eyemask, all topped off with a white crest with black sides at the rear which meet in a ‘V’ at the back of the head. At distance, drakes can be mistaken for gulls; they are also rather small and can be surprisingly hard to spot against the water in certain light conditions.

In the British Isles Smew are annual winter visitors, usually in small numbers, prone to seasonal movements as they are driven from their ice-bound breeding areas in Scandinavia and Russia. Milder winters appear to be reducing this tendency, one reason perhaps that Smew are increasingly scarce visitors to our county. At their breeding grounds, Smew frequent tree-lined lakes and slow-flowing rivers, nesting in holes in trees. Wintering birds often also favour tree-lined bodies of water: Ravensthorpe has over the years been a reliable site, along with the northern arms of Pitsford Reservoir.

While wintering Smew may linger for several weeks at favoured sites, recent local records have often involved short-staying birds. That proved to be the case with these two: they stuck around long enough to delight local birders throughout the day, giving close views in continued bright sunshine, but by the afternoon they had split up and - apart from a brief view of a single bird two days later - they were not seen again.

One of the local-patch highlights of this winter: any sighting of a drake Smew is always welcome; and to see these two at close proximity in fine weather was something really special.

Jon Cook, County Bird Recorder: http://joncookbirding.wordpress.com

• Cottesbrooke Hall: Sunday 27th April
• Guilsborough: Sunday May 4th
• Ravensthorpe Nursery: Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May
• East Haddon: Monday 26th May
• Creaton: Sunday 1st June

On Saturday 22nd March Saxon Spires and Dr Susie Northover encouraged people in our communities to take part in a special Brixworth Park Walk, Run and Roll to raise funds for Cancer Research. The event took place after this issue had gone to print, but they are still fundraising and here’s why.  
“Those that know me will know that I am passionate about walking. Walking for health. Walking for wellbeing. Walking for mindfulness. Walking for transport (!) I am determined to get more people out there seeing the benefits!
In June 2024, I was forced to retire due to ill health when I was diagnosed with a rare and incurable brain tumour known as glioblastoma. There are very limited treatment options for this type of cancer and treatment has not changed in decades. In recent years however, Cancer Research UK have been funding some trials in to the use of immunotherapy drugs for glioblastoma, and the genetics involved in these types of tumour. For me personally, this research is critical, as I have one of the specific gene mutations being studied, as well as two other mutations potentially passed on within my family which may well also prove to be relevant as the research continues. The ongoing research could make a direct difference for my family as well as myself.”

Susie

Would you like to learn a new skill, or build your children's confidence on the water? Perhaps you sailed as a child but have been too busy since? Why not consider watersports at your local family friendly sailing club?

At Hollowell Sailing Club we offer sailing, stand-up paddle-boarding and Model Radio Yachting.Scullers also operate on the reservoir and can offer separate memberships.

Come along and see what is available. Have an informal tour with one of our committee members, look at our equipment and even try out a short sailing session. We will try to answer any questions you may have about getting on the water as a beginner or more advanced sailor.

Open Mornings for ages 8 to 88 on Saturday 10th May and Saturday 21st June. These are free of charge, but booking is essential. For more info visit:
https://hollowellsc.org.uk/openday.html

Alternatively, sign up for any of the two-day Introduction to Sailing courses on offer.

Adult dates, more info, see advert top left or visit:
hollowellsc.org.uk/train-adult-dinghy.html

Junior dates, more info, contact Jenny Sturt on email:
sail-train@hollowellsc.org.uk

Visit hollowellsc.org.uk for more information.

The Saxon Spires Patient Participation Group is a collaborative team of Patients and Practice Staff, including GPs and
practice Management.

Our meetings are held quarterly and alternate between Brixworth and Guilsborough Surgeries. We meet to review issues and identify ways of assisting the practice in its effort to improve the services available.  

The next meeting will be held at Guilsborough Surgery on Wednesday 14thMay at 6pm.  New members are always welcome. For more information drop us an email on ssppg2022@gmail.com or phone 01604 880552.

Edit: Dr Susie Northover completing the course!