There is a lot of mystery shrouding the history of the Lammas Snail Worshippers. Some academics trace their origins to the Rickyard in Walpole Park, while other historical records associate them with the cult of Bodyline Druids known for their weekly rituals performed in a circle close to the sacred grounds of Haven Green.

Their places of worship are often described as quiet, secluded areas, like clearings in woods and forests, and circles of wooden logs. One such site is preserved in modern Britain and appears to be maintained by the local druids: the Lammas Enclosure. Today's druids' reverence for Nature encourages them to plant trees in sacred groves, remove invasive species like brambles and create holy paths with woodchip.

The primary philosophical posture of the Lammas Snail Worshippers is one of love and respect towards all of life – towards fellow human beings, but primarily snails. That love is often expressed in constructing snail temples inside wooden log circles. Probably the most famous log circle in Britain is a megalithic monument in Lammas Park dating back to May 2024. Its alignment with the solar and lunar cycles suggests the importance of harmonising human activities with the natural and cosmic cycles. Most importantly, the circle contains a sacred hollow log, believed to be a temple.

This unique site embodies the druidic fascination with slugs, the homeless deities without a shell who need a sacred dwelling. The hollow log serves as the slug home and gives the druids a sense of serving Nature and connecting the people with the snails.

The mysticism of snail temples often intersects with various other traditions and practices such as the harvesting of burdock in Elthorne Park. This ceremonial act, performed with great reverence, before the summer solstice, can be observed on the 28th of May.

Did you know that Pitzhanger Manor in Walpole Park, along with the surrounding area, will soon be the filming location of the Antiques Roadshow? Because of that, the rangers and volunteers are carrying planting activities, turning the ordinary grass patches into elegant flowerbeds.

A small but effective team of GoodGymers had a go on the planting task one Saturday in April. Tonight, GoodGym was returning with some experience and twice as many people to try to finish off the planting. Was the work easier this time?

There are no great GoodGym adventures without challenges!

⏱️ We were tight on time! It was a group run, so we needed to adjust the timings to account for that (well done Ijo on keeping a steady pace! 🙌)!

🍕 We had a booking for a monthly pizza social! That meant time was even more precious! The planting team - including the newest addition to the team, Georgina, worked extra hard to complete the whole geranium patch - and we did it! We only managed to wrap up on time because we had Milly leading the group to the venue, and Steph staying to help with putting away the tools.

⛔ The code to the lockbox didn't work! Luckily, the ranger was on duty 🫡 and saved the day, answering the call. Otherwise, we might have gone straight home (or for the pizza 😋)!

🖍️ There were no markings on the ground this time! Luckily, Annabel kept her eyes wide open and figured out the exact planting location from the photos we had! Sevan's knowledge of the location from the previous task allowed us to start digging right away.

🌱 The soil was not prepared this time! We had to deal with removing a large patch of grass first. It was a blessing to have Claire on the team, with her gardening expertise and the brilliant idea to use forks, not just shovels, to quickly prepare the ground.

🧱 There were bricks in the soil! In some areas we used brute force, in others we worked around the bricks. The plants may not ended up evenly distributed, yet they made their way to the soil!

🍂 We had to do some mulching too! With a bigger team, not everyone could do the planting. Taskforce Mike, Milly and Steph knew the drill and volunteered right away to wheelbarrow the woodchip and distribute it gently between the existing plants.

Thank you, Amazing Team, for the incredible effort in such a short time! 🤩 You totally deserved the pizza prize after the task!

Next week we are finally back to St Andrew's Church to help create gravel paths in their Pocket Allotment. Sign up now!