Weed did it! GoodGym Bath takes on the graveyard shift

There are a number of hidden gems in Bath from Ralph Allen’s town house to Brown’s Folly mines but this was a new one for me. Jill from Bath Preservation Trust revealed a secret garden when she unlocked the wrought iron gate to Southcot Burial Ground. The Baptist cemetery dates back to 1810 and is usually only seen by the public once a year on heritage open days.

It has become badly overgrown so GoodGym have been called in to bring it under control. The team spent an enjoyable hour wrestling with brambles and playing tug o war with bindweed. The task tested our gardening gloves to the limits with the occasional yelp of pain when there was a particularly troublesome briar.

We had the advantage of numbers. Wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow was filled with the fruit of our labours while Jer just carried the cuttings himself, a green man piled high with coils of weeds. I wish I’d caught it on camera.

This space pays tribute to the lives of past Bathonians and there is still plenty more to do to tidy it up - but we certainly made an impression.