Despite major engineering works at Wilstone Reservoir, the popular Meads Farm Shop and Café remain fully open — and now boast large, hand-painted signs on Lower Icknield Way to reassure visitors that access is unaffected.

Staff at the farm shop say trade has dropped a little due to the road closure, as customers from Aston Clinton have a longer drive round at the moment and through traffic has stopped.

However, with clear notices up now at the Marsworth end, customers are again enjoying the peaceful drive to the shop, cafe and distillery, which are all very much open. And trade was quite good at the weekend.

Meanwhile there is still footpath access and a diversion for walkers at the top end of the reservoir.

Walk by the crane: The two footpaths are still open, including one diversion

placeholder image — Walk by the crane: The two footpaths are still open, including one diversion

The £6 million project, led by the Canal & River Trust, involves installing a steel curtain wall within the reservoir embankments to prevent future leakage. As a result, the road beyond the farm shop is closed until the Puttenham junction, with a diversion in place.

Project manager Mark Stephens says progress on piling, which is due to be finished by November, is ahead of schedule and the full eight-week closure may be shortened to just four. So, the closure is expected to last for around another three weeks or so.

Drivers can still reach Wilstone village from the Marsworth direction. The closure zone allows space for a giant crane to operate below the embankment.

Although you can’t walk on the embankments just now, walkers can still enjoy two scenic footpaths at the top end of Wilstone Reservoir:

Footpath open: You can still walk near Wilstone Reservoir

Footpath 45: Enter via the bend near Wilstone Burial Ground, then take the diverted path to the right around the crane. This route runs parallel to the embankment and leads close to the farm shop. Visible from diverted Footpath 45 are the top of interlocking steel piles that will form part of a new seating area at the reservoir’s upper end. They taper into the ground as the level of the embankment rises up. Plans also include an all-weather footpath and new car park steps.

Footpath 46: Continue past the crane to follow the path along the reservoir’s top edge, connecting to the Wendover Arm Canal. Footpath 46 also offers a track through trees to the reservoir’s shoreline, where water levels are currently low. This rare view reveals the reservoir in a dramatically different state. The Canal & River Trust assures that enough water is being maintained to protect fish and support birdlife — with Canada geese spotted flying in on Sunday.

The reservoir car park beyond the farm shop will remain closed for around seven months, while the upgrades are completed. Work will be done by March 6, 2026.

Black Swans Make a Splash at Marsworth

Farm Shop is open: There are two signs on the road now, to remind people Meads Farm, Shop is still open during the road closure.

A striking trio of black swans has been spotted at Startops Reservoir, turning heads among visitors. The birds - native to Australia - are rare in the UK, likely escapees from private collections now living semi-wild.

One lone swan had been seen for months, but now two more have joined, adding a dramatic twist to the reservoir’s usual wildlife. Their arrival has delighted birdwatchers and added a touch of the exotic to this peaceful corner of the Chilterns.

The reservoir, part of the Tring Reservoirs complex, is a haven for birdlife, so it’s not surprising that black swans occasionally turn up - especially in late summer or autumn when waterfowl movements peak.

FIRST AID TRAINING: There’s free first aid training by St John Ambulance at the Millennium Hall on Wednesday, September 17, from 7pm to 9pm. Learn how to do CPR and locate and use the defibrillator. All are welcome.

Levels are low: Wilstone Reservoir, as seen from a wooded path leading off the footpath at the top end.

WATERS EDGE: The café by the canal is holding a Bingo Night on Friday Sept 12. Saturday 13th sees a DJ night, with garden dance floor, and there’s live music on Friday 19th. Friday 26th will be a Mexican Night, with a DJ back on Saturday 27th. On music nights, the café will be open until 11pm. A new autumn/winter menu is coming soon.

RED LION: The pub will be closed this Thursday (September 11), during the day due to electrical work. Mandy Oxley says she will post on Everything Marsworth what time it can open, once they know. Howe fish and chip van is at the Red Lion every Thursday from 7.30pm to 9pm, eat in at the pub or take away. On September 19, the popular Indian street food van is back. A darts team is starting up and there’s a charity quiz on Tuesday, September 9 in aid of the Fire Service. Contact Paul on 07885 686354 or enquire at the pub if you’d like to join.

VILLAGE HALL. The Marsworth Village Hall Facebook page is now live, posting news and events.

DOTTIE ABOUT CAKE: Helena Winter-Brown, from Marsworth, has opened the Home Ground Café, behind Long Marston Village Hall. Ther café’s homemade quiches are baked daily and served with buttery potatoes and salad. There are breakfast baps, afternoon teas, and ploughman’s lunches, with soups available shortly. Open Tuesday to Friday.

FIDDLE CONCERT: The Oxford Fiddle Group will be performing at the historic Pitstone Church, Church R Pitstone on Sunday, September 14 at 7pm in aid of church funds. Entry is £12 (£6 for under 14s) on the door.

SCOOTER MENACE. A grandmother has posted on Everything Tring that her 11-year-old grandson was followed home and intimidated on August 31 by four boys on e-scooters, with masks and balaclavas. He was on his own and blocked off from roads, pubs and houses on his way home from Miswell Lane park, where he tried to get help. One resident posted: ‘If this is the face of feral Tring now, just imagine what it would be like with another 4,000 added to the population at a stroke if Dacorum’s concreting of the Green Belt goes ahead… and no permanent police station in the town. Hope your grandson is okay, and thanks for the heads-up. As for the parents: Wake up.’

MARSHCROFT:

Grove Fields Residents Association reminds us that Barratt/Redrow has re-submitted its planning application for a 1400 house development on Marshcroft Green Belt farmland - near Tring Station.

Their previous application was rejected by Dacorum and eventually by the Secretary of State at the time in 2024. But Barratt/Redrow now know that Dacorum Borough Council have u-turned on Marshcroft and included it in Dacorum’s draft Local Plan, as a site to be developed.

So the developers are likely to be looking to get quick approval for their actual building plans under their belt, whatever the outcome of the EIP process for the draft Local Plan overall.

You can object to this application - visit planning.dacorum.gov.uk. The case reference is - 25/01880/MOA. The new extended deadline is September 30. Last time there were 1500 objections, but this time only 300 or so people have objected so far, and people are being asked to act before the deadline. Marsworth Parish Clerk has more information and links on her Facebook page.