Harnessing the Power of Pensioners to Clean Famous Westbury White Horse
By KimHerbing | Monday, April 16, 2012, 15:31
A team of brave pensioners learned to abseil so they could scrub their local landmark in time for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
-
Cleaning the Westbury White Horse
Members of the Rotary Club in Westbury, Wiltshire, whose average age is 72, strapped themselves into harnesses and descended off the steep hill above the town to clean the famous white horse.
The dozen or so volunteers learned to abseil at the end of last week in preparation for the mission, which took place at the weekend. The 175ft-high figure is carved into the chalk hillside above Westbury and can be seen for miles around, but weathering, pollution and accumulated grime over the years had turned its gleaming whiteness fade to grey.
It's the first clean-up in six years and was organised by the Rotary Club to mark the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The horse is believed to have been originally carved to celebrate the victory of King Alfred over the Danes at nearby Edington in 878AD, and local council chiefs plan to light up the horse figure with spotlights to mark the jubilee in May and June.
Organiser Steve Carrington said the volunteer cleaners were doing "an unbelievable job" with the steam cleaning equipment. "It really is quite amazing the difference it makes," he said.
Comments
wp_alistair I'm with you on this, let's hope it is now kept clean and sparkling! Do take the kids up there - take a kite too!!
By KimHerbing at 19:09 on 30/04/12
ReportWow Naomi, that's a great view to have - I guess only on a clear day though!
By KimHerbing at 19:00 on 30/04/12
ReportI can now see the White Horse from my bedroom window and I live in Trowbridge! It looks amazing! Naomi
By nhavergal at 18:56 on 30/04/12
ReportAs one of Westbury's best attractions it is great to see this cleaned up for the jubilee, and hopefully the cleaning can be maintained regularly. Will definitely be taking the kids back up there to have a look now it has been spruced up!
By wp_alistair at 20:59 on 29/04/12
ReportThe most interesting thing for much of the press was that there were 72 year olds doing this. Then they saw what was actually achieved and this became less of an important fact.
In reality there were no 72 year olds up there, most people were in their 30s and 40s, and it was great that they volunteered. This really got the community working together
Westbury Rotary Club does not consist of 72 year old buffers, there is a good age spread, just to set the record straight.
Well done to all those who did volunteer, it was great to watch the progress over the weekend!
By aliassmith at 09:41 on 19/04/12
Report