Cuerden Valley Park


     
 

Latest News

7 March 2010

Tree Planting Volunteers

Ranger Richard Tanner worked alongside thirteen Volunteers today to plant 100 trees in Ice House Wood, as Park of the Trust's woodland management. The wood is managed as a coppice and will be cut in a regular cycle to provide wildlife habitats.

The Volunteers also place guards around the trees to prevent them being damaged by the deer in the Park, whilst the trees are establishing themselves.

11 February 2010

Explorers in the News

         

This month has brought certificates for the Cuerden Wildlife Explorers group with a bronze Wildlife Action Award and Leader Helen Thompson receiving her Fifteen Year Volunteer Award from the RSPB. Two members of the Watch Group for 8-13 year olds pictured here with their award and Watch Group Leader David Beattie presents the award to Helen.

8 February 2010

Volunteers on the Park

Eleven Conservation Volunteers joined Ranger Darren Williams on the Park yesterday and cleared and cut back the overgrown cherry and willow trees on the scramble track.

They built a bonfire to burn off the brash and enjoyed a lunch of potatoes baked in the fire. Thanks to everyone who turned out to do this vital woodland management work.

27 January 2010

Cuerden Ranger at Fulwood Academy

Ranger Richard Tanner went back to school today, when he attended the assembly at the Fulwood Academy. The Principal had invited him to come and collect a cheque for Cuerden Valley Park, following their fundraising achievement for us as their adopted charity. Richard had been to see them previously to do a presentation about the Park and to leave them some literature and the pupils were keen to give us their support.

Anyone interested in fundraising for the Park or making a donation to help with the upkeep then please contact the Park Office on 01772 324436.

25 January 2010

Farmer's Market

The Friends of Cuerden Valley Park are establishing a Farmer's Market, to take place here on the Park, on the fourth Sunday of the Month. The first one will be held on 28th March and we have been told by the organisers that there are already a number of food and craft sellers signed up to take part. As visitors will know the Park is struggling to meet the soaring cost of maintaining the facility and the Fundraising Group from the "Friends" are using this opportunity to help raise money for the Park. We acknowledge a lot of help from Made in Lancashire who are supporting our efforts by contacting their members and offering advice. If you are interested in having a stall or for more information visit the Cuerden Valley Park Farmers Market website by linking here.

8 January 2010

Let it Snow

The Park is looking beautiful with it's blanket of snow this week and visitors are enjoying sledging, snow balls fights and walks in the valley. People struggling to drive up Town Brow/Sheep Hill abandoned their cars in our Car Park on Wednesday and Berkeley Drive is quite slippery so care needs to be taken by visitors coming that way to the Barn or the Park. Rangers are continuing to work hard with their winter schedule of woodland thinning and will be around the Park as usual seven days a week.

4 January 2010

Conservation Volunteers

Our working party of twelve got the New year off to a good start yesterday when they joined Ranger Daren Williams for the first Conservation Volunteers day of 2010. They worked on the scramble track cutting back some of the trees and stacking them. We welcomed Neil a new volunteer joining our group for the first time.

22 December 2009

Winter Wonderland

The Park turned into a playground yesterday after fresh snow had fallen over night and snowmen sprang up all over the place. People also enjoyed sledging on the slopes and snow ball fights in the valley. So wrap up warm, come out to play in the snow and have a very Merry Christmas. Although the Park looks wonderful in the snow we ask visitors to take care on the paths and roads around the area as freezing temperatures could make them icy.

17 December 2009

Information on Car Parking

Information on Car Parking can now be found on the dropdown menu "About Us" and the application form for a Parking Permit can be downloaded from there. We are pleased to say that the support we have received from members of the public, visiting the Park, has been much more than we anticipated, and we thank you all very much for that.

There have been a few teething problems with the new machines and especially with the dispensing of the tickets, which seem to stick in the machine in the damp weather. Please bear with us on this one, as we have ordered a different brand of tickets in the hope that this will solve the problem.

7 December 2009

Children's Christmas Fair

Another successful day for the Park when we opened our doors to local families to start the celebration of Christmas. There were lots of craft activities for the children, a visit to Santa, who arrived at 11am, a tombola and seasonal refreshments. Even our regular park users dropped in for a cup of coffee and to enjoy the atmosphere. Visit our features page for pictures of the event by linking here and if you missed us this year then make a note of the date on our events page for 2010. A big thank you to all our Volunteers and Friends of Cuerden Valley Park who gave their time to help out by manning the stands and clearing up afterwards.

30 November 2009

Newsletter

The Autumn Newsletter from the Park is available at the Barn Visitor Centre from today or you can link to it here on this website.

24 November 2009

Thanks to the Friends

Woodland thinning work on the Park is about to commence and Ranger Richard Tanner's chainsaw was found to be beyond repair. The Trust offers a big thank you to the Friends of Cuerden Valley Park for donating  the money to purchase a new one for him. At at time when we are trying to cut back on expenditure it is good to know we have people who will support us. The Chairman of the 'Friends', David Beattie, handed over the saw to Richard who was delighted to accept it on behalf of the Park.

18 November 2009

Park Programme 2010

The Park programme of events is now available for 2010, just visit our events page for all the information on Friends events, Conservation Volunteer days and children's activities.

18 November 2009

Friends go Environmental

Yesterday evening the Friends of Cuerden Valley Park invited Kath Tanner to give a talk about the Environment Agency and the various roles she had been employed in during her career. Those who attended were enlightened about where the water supplies come from and some of the problems encountered. Trying to balance the need for sustained habitat for water based creatures and water needed for private and commercial consumption is not an easy job. After a lively question and answer session Ranger Richard Tanner thanked his wife for her interesting and informative talk and then went on to update everyone on what was happening in the Park.

16 November 2009

Victorian Days 2010

Education Officer, Pauline Taylor, is now taking bookings, from Primary schools, for the 2010 Victorian outdoor experience days during the spring, summer and autumn terms for available date please visit the schools page. This is a very popular activity for schools throughout Lancashire so book early to avoid disappointment On the day everyone dresses in Victorian costume, school pupils take part in four activities throughout the day and they can then apply for a job on the Cuerden Estate.

2 November 2009

Conservation Volunteers

Yesterday our Conservation Volunteers working party of eleven volunteers were working with the Park Manager, Jim Longbottom, to complete the planting of the remainder of the 7,000 bulbs in the woodlands on the Park. Three members of the party were young people working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Awards who came along with a parent.

27 October 2009

AGM

Cuerden Valley Park Trust held it's Annual General Meeting yesterday evening and the Trustees were joined by our accountant, Stephen Gardiner, from John Goulding & Co and life member and former Chairman, Colin Ovenden. Ian Dibben was re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and he invited Colin Ovenden to give the vote of thanks. Colin remains an active supporter as a member of the "Friends" group and regular user of the Park, he congratulated the Park Manager, Jim Longbottom, and his staff for their hard work in keeping the Park looking so good.

26 October2009

Messing about in the River

This morning our River dipping activity attracted 17 children with their parents and accompanying adults who joined our Education Officer, Pauline Taylor, for the last holiday activity of the year. They were amazed and the number and variety of inhabitants we have here in the River Lostock.

All four of the School Holiday Activities went down well with the public so watch this space for what we have planned in 2010 to entertain the children.

26 October2009

Bulb Planting


Watch Group

The bulb planting got off to a good start on Saturday morning with the Cuerden Watch Group putting in some bluebells and snowdrops in Cock Cabin Wood under the guidance of their leader, David Beattie, and Ranger Darren Williams. David returned with another group to plant yet more bluebells on the reservoir bank.

This afternoon the public joined Ranger Richard Tanner and Education Officer, Pauline Taylor, down at the Kem Mill end of the park to plant some more, guess what, yes! bluebell bulbs. With over 7,000 bulbs to put in over the week we still have some way to go.

21 October2009

Police Visit

Yesterday evening the Friends of Cuerden Valley Park hosted an event where PC Duncan Thomas came and talked about his role as the Lancashire Police Wildlife Officer. There were around 25 people enjoying an insight into how he deals with poachers, dog fights, badger baiting and disruption of wildlife habitat. Despite suffering with a bad toothache PC Thomas was able to make his talk both amusing and informative and a very good evening was had by all. Cuerden Valley Park Trust and staff are grateful for all the support they receive from the local police force, in the work that they do to help keep the Park and it's wildlife safe for visitors to enjoy.

16 October 2009

Public Bulb Planting

We are inviting members of the public to join us on Monday 26th October 2009 to help us plant the 7,000 wild flower bulbs purchased with funding from the Lancashire Environment Fund and the Friends of Cuerden Valley Park. Anyone wishing to join in should look out for us in the woodlands along the main path from Kem Mill to Lancaster Lane between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. Everyone is welcome, so we hope to see you there.

9 October 2009

Working with Wood and Words

Friday is our day for using the wood from our coppiced FSC standard woodlands and Volunteer Dave, worked with the rangers to cut and load four trailer loads of logs to deliver in the area. Nothing is wasted on the Park, where the winter cutting back and thinning in the woods the smaller pieces are put through the chipper to produce woodchip for paths and gardens and the larger branches and tree trunks are left to season in over the summer and sold for firewood in the autumn and winter.

This evening the Park Manager, Jim, gave a talk on the Restoration of the Park under the Heritage Lottery funding, to Leyland Gardening Club. As a result he found members who would be willing to volunteer their time to helping in the award winning Restored Victorian Walled Orchard and with helping out with the further excavations at Kem Mill.

8 October 2009

Fencing with the Volunteers

One of our regular Wednesday and Thursday Volunteers worked alongside the rangers to repair and replace fencing around the field of one of our tenant farmers. Fence repair and replacement is one of the tasks that requires attention at this time of year. The support of the Mersey Basin campaign allows us to provide tools, transport and refreshment for the Volunteers working on the Park.

6 October 2009

Sheep and Education

This is the time of year when the sheep begin their breeding cycle with tups being put in with the ewes. The small flock of Jacob sheep is used for meadow management to keep the grass and scrub down. Volunteers working today with the rangers caught up this years lambs for market and introduced the rams (tups) to the ewes.

Holy Cross College visited the park today to do an independent study of the River Lostock with 50 students braving the weather to measure the width, depth and velocity and to observe the meanders and oxbow. Cuerden Valley Park's Education Officer runs a simpler programme for primary schools to learn about the river.

5 October 2009

Volunteer Gardeners

The Mersey Basin campaign continued today with one of our regular volunteer gardeners, from Brindle Gardening Club, coming to work in the Restored Victorian Walled orchard. These volunteers have been coming in since the spring to make the garden look good all year round, by weeding, planting and cutting back. The orchard was restored as part of our Heritage Lottery project and contains a fine herbaceous border, apple, pear and plum trees.

4 October 2009

Conservation Volunteers

The Sunday Conservation Volunteers group continued their support of the Mersey Basin Campaign again this year, when eleven people joined Ranger Darren Williams behind the lake to cut back and burn the overgrown bushes and trees, they cooked their lunch of baked potatoes in the fire. The workers included 14 year old Elliot, who is doing this as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award, and his mother Dawn. The group also welcomed newcomer Kayleigh who joined them for the first time today. The group meet on the first Sunday of the month and get involved in a conservation project to help Cuerden Valley Park Trust keep the Park looking good and preserving it for future generations to enjoy.

2 October 2009

Victorian Start to Mersey Basin

Mersey Basin week on the Park started today with eighteen children from Cuerden Church School coming with their teachers to experience life on the Cuerden Estate in 1881. The children split into two groups, in the morning they spent time with the Charcoal Burner cutting and stacking logs in the kilns and with the Game Keeper (oh no it was the Poacher) in the woods learning about poverty and the need to catch food. In the afternoon the children spent time with the Gardener in the walled garden weeding, watering and raking and with the scullery maid making strawberry ice cream and learning about life at Cuerden Hall.

Cuerden Valley Park is not responsible for the content of external web sites

 
     

     
 

Park Office, The Barn, Berkeley Drive, Bamber Bridge, Preston PR5 6BY.  Telephone 01772 324436

Cuerden Valley Park Trust is a registered Charity (number 1002888) and a Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales number 1994107. Registered office: 4 Southport Road, Chorley, Lancs. PR7 1LD. VAT number 636 2831 36

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