The Fernery is Open Again.

The Fernery has dried out nicely now and it is safe once again for you all to freely enjoy the spring bulbs. The Friends of Danesbury Fernery thank you all for your patience and indulgence while openings were restricted to weekends only during the recent bad weather.

Come to Enjoy the Fernery

The Spring bulbs are showing well now, and we respectfully ask all parents and guardians to discourage children from running over the flower beds, and certainly stop them from climbing the rockwork! Apart from being very dangerous, this could cause very expensive damage which we might not be able to repair.

The Danesbury Fernery has been restored with a great deal of hard work and commitment by many local volunteers over 5 years, and it has fast become an important site of historical interest and part of Welwyn’s rich heritage. It is being enjoyed as a community garden and we need all visitors to help us protect it.

Please stick to the paths.

We have recently learned that before restoration of the original abandoned chalk pit started in 2015, the Danesbury Fernery has been logged as part of a national Geo-cashing App. Clues, have been hidden in caches at various points in the Fernery dell.

Without wishing to spoil the fun, nor wishing to discourage adults and children alike from getting out and enjoying the countryside, it is clearly no longer appropriate that visitors should be tempted to freely clamber all over the rockwork and the gardens in the quest for hidden caches. It might have been appropriate when the site was an abandoned old chalk pit, but that is no longer the case.

We are happy to tell you that we have had an exceptionally prompt and understanding response from the local cache provider and, even though we could not find them ourselves (!) all the caches have been removed from the Danesbury Fernery.

There are geo-caches reported on the App in many other sites in and around Welwyn, including on the wider Danesbury Local Nature Reserve. These should serve to satisfy the most eager treasure hunting groups, who we hope will find time to visit and enjoy the Fernery at the same time.