Friends of Garstang Walking Festival

Its official – since Tuesday 17 January 2012 I have been a member of the above group – founder member at that, along with the others to date and I hope to attract more. 

I’ve been involved in the festival for some years, so when a friends group was going to be set up to ensure this popular annual event carries on – I wanted to be in there.

 This new group will help to promote the May festival and organise additional events and activities.

 As a friends group we can apply for grants and raise money to ensure the sustainability of the festival and already we have a coffee morning booked in Garstang on April 12.  As well as the usual stalls and raffle we can use the event as a platform to “sell the walking festival”, which will only be a month away as it starts on the 11 May – heavens above – that was quick you might think.  Well – we may like walking on grass in this area, but we don’t let it grow under our feet.  The friends of Garstang Walking Festival is very very new – but its up and running and I’m glad to be running with it.

 

Pat Ascroft

Volunteer Ranger

 

Those who wish to download or request a copy of the 2012 programme of activities planned can do so by going online: www.visitwyre.co.uk/request-a-brochure

Those wishing to get involved in the Friends of Garstang Walking Festival should contact Duncan Byrne: Duncan.byrne@wyre.gov.uk or call 07989 579351 (Tues-Sat)

 

 

 

 

Words from the Void – Exhibition at Kiln House Gallery, Marsh Mill, Thornton Cleveleys

To-ings and fro-ings of wildlife visitors at the Wyre Estuary Country Park

Here are some of the recent wildlife sightings in January and February down at the park in Thornton.

Peregrine Falcon

Little Egret

Red Breasted Megansers

Curlew

Teal

Black Tailed Godwit

Coal tit

Great tit

Blue Tit

Long tailed Tit

Robin

Dunnock

Wren (actually inside the Country Park Office!)

Blackbird

Magpie

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Pheasant

Woodpigeon

 A bit of news on our very valued Volunteer Rangers

We have a fabulous group of volunteers based from the Country Park.  Our volunteers are involved in helping to maintain the country park, contribute to conservation projects through to assisting with guided activities.  Volunteers are out 7 days a week. 

Recently, our countryside volunteers have been helping to deliver a grant funded Woodland Creation Project based at the park and also within other green spaces throughout Thornton, Poulton, Cleveleys  and Fleetwood.  Approximately 5000 young, native broadleaf trees have already been planted.  Well done team! Do get in touch with us if you are interested in volunteering opportunities at the park. 01253 863100.

Charlie Pass – Country Park Officer

2012 Wyre’s major events unveiled

There are lots of exciting events planned for the year including a couple of special events, Sea Change celebrating Wyre’s coastline from Cleveleys to Fleetwood and of course the Olympics. Wyre is very fortunate to be picked for the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route and on Friday 22 June, the Olympic Flame will reach our borough. Torchbearers will carry the Olympic Flame through Garstang, St Michael’s on Wyre, Fleetwood and Cleveleys, who will host a welcome on behalf of their surrounding communities and enable people to share in the excitement at these locations. Keep an eye on our website for further details www.wyre.gov.uk

Wyre Sea Change is a unique and exciting regeneration project that will transform Wyre’s Waterfront.  The project encompasses different elements that stretch from Cleveleys through to Fleetwood – starting with the Sea Swallow Public Art in Cleveleys, an observation tower at Rossall and extensive refurbishment of the Marine Hall Gardens in Fleetwood.  Wyre’s Mythic Coast has also been detailed in a specially commissioned book ‘The Sea Swallow’.  A series of events to celebrate the different elements of Sea Change will take place during 2012 – check our website for details www.wyreseachange.co.uk 

Be sure to visit our events sections of http://www.visitwyre.co.uk/events and http://www.wyre.gov.uk/events/full where you’ll find regular updates and any events. We couldn’t possibly fit everything that’s happening in this guide so log on to find out the latest events.

Come and Experience Wyre for yourself!

Rebecca Parkinson (Marketing Officer)

A spooktacular success at the Wyre Estuary Country Park

Halloween fairies, skeletons and giant walking pumpkins joined the Countryside Rangers for a fun afternoon of Halloween activities at the country park.  These included pumpkin carving, mask and badge making.  By far the infamous ‘doughnut dilemma’ eating competition and ‘take the plunge into the tub of doom’ were the highlight of the event.  Over 40 children enjoyed this winning event.

Forthcoming events at the Park include: 

Tree dressing,  3 December, 1 pm – 3 pm

Rangers Christmas Festival,  4 December, 11am – 4 pm

New Years Day Stroll, 1 January 2012, 1pm – 3 pm

Charlie Pass – Country Park Officer

Family Sculpture Day hailed a success for the 2nd year despite the rain!

The Wyre Estuary Country Park has been brought alive with various creatures, animals and plants. Woodland monsters, owls, deer, dens and even a Gruffalo stand guard within the park grounds and woodlands following the annual Sculpture Day. 

Local schools invited to participate in this popular event worked with staff, volunteers and artists to get creative and construct woodland themed sculptures out of locally sourced timber.   Visitors to the park then also enjoyed a full day of creating and constructing timber structures.  These amazing sculptures are waiting to been seen at the Wyre Estuary Country Park so why not come along and see for yourself?

The popular Sculpture Day is held every October and is just one of many events and activities that are held at park.   You can find out more information about events and activities taking place on the Visit Wyre website www.visitwyre.co.uk or follow us on Facebook.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

 Charlie Pass – Wyre Estuary Country Park Officer

New Tourist Information Point at Poulton Train Station

A new Tourist Information Point has been installed at Poulton Railway Station on Breck Road to provide visitors with key information about Wyre.

The information point, funded by Wyre Council, is located in the ticket office and includes a large descriptive map of the area and an information board. Visitors and locals alike can pick up free guides to visitor attractions, places to stay and events in Wyre. The ticket office has also been redecorated and new flooring installed to give it a fresh new feel.

Councillor Lynne Bowen, Cabinet member with responsibility for tourism at Wyre Council said “Poulton Station is a key visitor gateway to Wyre and the only railway station in the borough. It is hoped that this additional information service will encourage people to stay and increase spending in Poulton and across the area. Friends and family of local residents will also benefit from up-to-date information on things to see and do and places to eat.”

The request for the information point originally came from Friends of Poulton Station, a local voluntary group responsible for the design and maintenance of the plant and flower displays at the station. Carol Woolley from the group said “We would like to thank Wyre Council and Northern Rail who have worked together to provide this fantastic facility. Poulton Station really is a station that the community can be proud of.”

Wyre celebrates success at Tourism Awards!

The annual Lancashire & Blackpool Tourism Awards 2011/12 took place on the evening of 22 September at the glittering Paradise Room at Blackpool Pleasure Beach where the best tourism and hospitality businesses contended for 16 categories. Blackpool born Jody Prenger, star of BBC 1′s “I’d do Anything” and Cameron Mackintosh’s revival production of “Oliver!” was the host for the spectacular occasion. Wyre’s businesses and Wyre Tourism Association members shone during the event which saw wins for Caravan Holiday Park of the Year (Sunset Park) and Small Visitor Attraction of the Year (Old Holly Farm). I was so very proud of the Wyre winners and shortlisted Wyre finalists too!

I am especially proud of a project very close to my own heart – The Visit Garstang Centre which was shortlisted with 3 other very worthy contenders for the Visitor Information Provider Award. I’m very pleased to say that we WON and took home a beautiful glass engraved trophy and certificate I was so very proud of our achievement and my wonderful staff who made it all possible. Here’s to the National Awards which we will do our utmost to be shortlisted for which will take place in May 2012, possibly in London.

Alexandra – Visit Wyre team at Wyre Council

Art Exhibition – Like a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes

Art exhibition by Ann Charlesworth is being staged at Marsh Mill in Wyre. This series of work takes a step backwards from my previous exhibition which was shown here at the Kiln House Gallery. It includes selected pieces from my second year degree work at Blackpool and Fylde College and is the origin of what was to follow.

The work is based on Yates’ Wine Lodge when the building was in a state of demolition after its arson attack. I recorded its destruction, not just from the bulldozers and workmen but from the elements as it slowly began crumbling and falling into oblivion. This also lead to the study of the Grand Hotel on Station Road, South Shore, when that too was dealt the same fate. I am fascinated by the mixing of different media and materials and aim to capture an overall ambience of the process involved in the destroying of monumental buildings and their historical and social presence. Transience and ephemerality are also key themes that I explore through my work.

Do come along and view the exhibition. It’s on from 24 September until 30 October between 10.30am and 4.30pm every weekend.

Ann Charlesworth.

The start of Autumn at Cleveleys

You can feel the autumn starting to march towards us, and as the last day of August comes and goes, the Starlings are singing their end of summer song and the evenings are getting shorter at Cleveleys – although we get away with extra daylight being on the West coast, and long sunsets as the day disappears over the horizon.

The relentless onset of Christmas is starting to happen with some shops already starting to get cards and tinsel in, but before the winter does descend we’ve still got plenty of nice things to look forward to at the seaside, and hopefully some warm days and walks on the beach without wellies and coats! 

In between the rain we’ve had some lovely days and last week we were treated to the sight of a seal bobbing up and down just off shore. In the past they’ve had a rest on land, but this one was just having a swim and a sunbathe and enjoying the view of people sitting on the beach and fishing! A lot of work goes into keeping the seas and shore clean, from both the community and local authority, and the quantity of wildlife that we get in the seas and on the beach has risen dramatically over the years. The top reaches of shingle beach at the northern end of Cleveleys promenade are dry all year round, and this year we’ve even got a quite rare yellow horned poppy growing and flowering among the native wild plants.

The Rossall Beach Group have won Lottery funding to produce a range of interpretation signs to highlight the wildlife in the area, and are currently researching what is to go on them. DONG Energy, who famously installed the electricity cable earlier in the year for the new Walney Offshore Windfarm, have kindly contributed to the project, so other boards will explain about the views over the sea and what you can see in the distance. 

I’m Jane and my business is a member of Wyre Tourism Association.
You can find out much more about Cleveleys from my website www.visitCleveleys.co.uk