Tinkley Lane wind turbine

After picking up the new air filter for the strimmer early this morning, I drove across country to Gloucester to swap Woody's new wet suit.  I chose to drive via Nailsworth and then straight up the hillside following Tinkley Lane, which is an old drove road for cattle from Wales being taken to markets in England.  The road originally crossed the River Severn at Arlingham passage, where fording was possible at very low tides, and in later times the ferry would have carried allcomers, whether people or animals.

My journey was in the opposite direction leading up to the top of the Cotswold escarpment at Nympsfield, close to the ancient burial mound called Hetty Pegler's Tump close to the Iron Age hillfort above Uley.  Just before the summit of the limestone hills, there is this site where Ecotricity built their first wind turbine.  Ecotricity is now one of the top six energy suppliers in the UK and their speciality is to supply renewable energy.

We are very lucky that Dale Vince, who created the company, has lived here for decades and has chosen to keep Stroud as the main site of employment for the business and its headquarters, which has brought hundreds of new jobs to the area.

About twenty years ago, Dominic W., the son of a great friend of mine, took me to meet a man who lived in an old traditional caravan on site in Tinkley Lane.  He had made his own wind turbine on the roof to power his caravan, which was very close in design to the traditional horse drawn gypsy caravans.  I think Dominic knew the owner because of their mutual interest in high powered motorbikes.

The caravan owner later started a company to produce wind energy, which is now called Ecotricity, and he is one of the richest people in the country.  I think the site of this wind turbine was where the caravan was originally parked and this single turbine is the only one that the local council has allowed them to build in the area. I thought it was rather touching that Dale Vince has made his mark here, in the very same place where it all started.

I have added a picture of the sign on this fence to my 'Extra photos' folder, as it tells a bit about the background to wind energy and Ecotricity.  It also says that:
'This is Ecotricity's first modern windmill. It's 42 metres to the hub and generates enough green electricity to power 217 average homes each year.  It's been here since Friday 13th December 1996. This is one of the growing fleet run by Ecotricity in Britain.

Getting it up and turning was the culmination of a dogged five year battle.  But it's been working day and night ever since – proving itself and the viability of wind energy.'

I can imagine that Dale wrote that himself!