What a lovely day to be in Poulton!

Poulton Park

I was proud to live in Poulton this weekend as the monthly farmers market came to town and the first ever picnic in the park organised by Wyre Council took place on Saturday.

It was great to see so many people out and about enjoying what was almost a sunny day! The market was as good as ever, full of lovely treats to buy. I got some nice food for the BBQ and cookies for the kids. Lunch was a sausage barm at the market – the poor man couldn’t cook them fast enough there were so many people there.

On the way back home we stopped in at the picnic in the park where the kids enjoyed ice cream, face painting, Thomas the Tank engine and a good play on the bouncy castle. Many of Poulton’s best shops were out offering everything from kid’s hair cuts to mini manicures! A quick go on the swings and a run about and we’d soon spent the whole day out. Lovely.

 Emma

Countdown to the Garstang Walking Festival!

Pat Ascroft

It’s the week before the Festival opens on the 6^th May and I’m full of nervous excitement about it all. As a volunteer ranger leading and backing up some of the walks and activities you just want to help all those who will come to take part to enjoy what the Wyre area has to offer. May is the queen of months and anyone wanting to experience flora and fauna, fells and fields, rivers and coast at its best, couldn’t do better than take part in the festival. It’s very special to be in the woods – the trees which have been home to herons for hundreds of years. As this heronry is on a private estate, the festival offers this one-off chance.

I and others have had a few busy weeks checking the routes. My favourite is the four day Wyre Way walk. The 40-mile journey starts at the estuary near Fleetwood, a few minutes on the Knott-End Ferry and we walk our way into the Trough of Bowland. People come from far and near. I wonder who might be on the 15 mile Wyre Boundary Explorer – 2 are coming from Middlesborough, or how many will enjoy the Tewit Teas – no – we don’t eat them – just walk, watch, and photograph and enjoy refreshments in the village hall afterwards.

With only a week to go – I check my first aid kit – hoping it won’t be used – get the maps and routes in order for each day, refresh my memory on the names of flowers, birds and trees, for my own benefit as well as others. I’ll go into Visit Garstang Centre and look at the names on the booking forms- only names as yet- but come the day, we meet up and together experience what Garstang, Rural Wyre, the Lancaster Canal and the Forest of Bowland has to offer.

 Bring it on I say.

 Pat Ascroft

 Volunteer Ranger full of nervous excitement

Fun at the Farm!

Our friends at the farm!

Well the weather was not so great this Sunday so we put on our wellies and headed to Old Holly Farm on Garstang Road, Cabus! We had a great time and what’s more we didn’t spend a penny! We said hello to the cows, stroked the horses, marvelled at the massive pigs (salt and pepper – they are huge!) and cuddled some tiny chicks. What better way to spend a rainy day! Next time I’m making sure I leave enough time for the cafe, those cakes looked v tempting.

Emma

Getting in the festive spirit

Feeling festive yet?

Friday (3 Dec) was Poulton-le-Fylde’s Annual Christmas Festival and Lights Switch On. As our offices are just down the road I decided to go and take a look at the special Christmas market while on my lunch break (I made sure I left some extra room after my dinner for a Friday Christmas treat!).

It was a really chilly afternoon and, as I made my way to the square, I thought about all those brave stall holders standing out in the cold! I was pleasantly surprised to see a variety of stalls selling Christmas gift ideas and tasty treats. From nuts and Belgium chocolate to smoked fish and local meats, there was a lovely buzz about the place. After having a good nosey around (and delving into the free samples on offer), I opted to treat myself to a delicious home-made mince pie (a great afternoon treat back at the office), as well as a few stocking fillers from the Belgium chocolate stand – think I might need to hide them from myself so they actually make it into the stockings!

Unfortunately I missed Santa arriving on his sleigh and the Christmas lights switch-on ceremony. Think I might have to ask around my colleagues to see if anybody else was lucky enough to see them.

Kate

Tales of a local shopaholic

The magical Christmas shop

A Christmas Wonderland at Barton Grange Garden Centre

Last week my friends and I visited Barton Grange Garden Centre.  What a fantastic display of Christmas decorations – from tree ornaments to table decorations – you name it they had it.   It gave you ideas of how you could change your own Christmas arrangements just by looking around and buying the odd addition.

We had a look at the lovely primulars, cyclamens and bulbs on sale and also the winter arrangements which we thought would make great presents. Then we had lunch in the restaurant – broccoli soup and a sandwich, which was delicious and re-fueled us for more shopping!  We noticed they also did Christmas lunches which would be great at this time of year. 

After our lunch we went into the clothes and gifts section, some great gift ideas…and then on to the food department.   If you have not been there it is a must, you can buy everything and more that you’ll need for a totally scrumptious Christmas.

Twelve’s Corner Shop – a tasty discovery

On Wednesday 17 November my friends and I visited Marsh Mill in Thornton Cleveleys especially to visit the new “Twelve Corner Shop”.   As regular visitors to the Twelve Restaurant we were interested in this itriguing new shop. 

Although it had only been open just over a week, there was a fantastic display of goods for sale – lovely stainless steel bowls and kitchen utensils, attractive modern glassware for sweet dishes etc (and they were not over priced).    They had chutneys, purées etc made in the restaurant.   We bought some balsamic sauces (and were even told by the chef which dishes to serve them with).

On Farmers’ Market day at the Marsh Mill they will be selling their own bread and also plan to have a selection of Lancashire cheeses in the future.  They have plans for all sorts of other things as the weeks lead up to Christmas  -  I do recommend a visit.

Elizabeth Stowe, Wyre Borough Resident

For loads more ways to get into the festive spirit, check out our Christmas events page

What a nice way to spend a Saturday!

Yet again my weekend seemed to revolve around food, kicked off nicely by a visit to Poulton’s monthly farmers’ market! Having a look round all the stalls and buying some really good local produce was a very nice start to my weekend indeed. Even got a few handy recipes for the autumn veg I bought! We’ll definitely be there again next month.

Irish craic on the Lancaster Canal

Me sampling one of the many oysters on offer!

Guy’s 19th Oyster Festival took place from 2nd to 7th Sept. The fun really started with the Grand Seafood Luncheon on a blistering hot afternoon on Friday 3rd September – which I was lucky enough to be invited along to. There’s no mistaking this event as we witnessed a barge drifting slowly up the canal side toward Guys Thatched Hamlet, carrying a precious cargo of oysters, to the sound of Irish pipes, accompanied by two well known celebrities, Stuart Hall and Ted Robbins. The ceremony continued as the oysters were loaded onto a horse and cart and paraded along the cobbled lane to their ultimate destination, the Festival Marquee. We were entertained until the wee hours of the morning by a line up of international singers, dancers and celebrities, as the Guiness flowed and with oysters a plenty. A spectacular event and a real Irish craic had by all!

 Alexandra Holt, Visit Wyre Manager

My foodie heaven

Picking up goodies at the Barton Grange Food Festival

One of the perks of working in the tourism department is you get to hear all about the great events happening across Wyre. This weekend it was Barton Grange Garden Centre’s Food Festival, so I took my partner along on Saturday morning to see what goodies we could get our hands on.

They had laid the festival out round the sides of the garden centre, so we slowly made our way round the many stalls, perusing all the fab local produce on offer. Impressive looking pasties and pies, tasty Lancashire cheese, delicious ice cream, scrumptious cakes and tangy chutneys – we were spoilt for choice! I was really impressed with the amount of tasters the producers were giving out too – I certainly didn’t need to have any lunch anyway! After careful consideration we opted to buy a creamy Blacksticks cheese (which went great with our garlic chicken salad later), a pot of Westmoorland Relish and my partner John’s personal favourite – a sticky toffee pud!

It was great to see so many of the local producers in one place, as it really made me think about all the brilliant produce we have on our doorstep – something I don’t ever think about when I’m pushing the trolley round the supermarket…

 Kate

A special treat

Part of our delicious meal

I just wanted to let you know about a truly exceptional meal my wife and I enjoyed at Twelve Restaurant in Thornton on Saturday night – a special treat to celebrate our 17^th wedding anniversary.  From the moment you walked through the door the staff were really polite and attentive without being overbearing and the place had a relaxing atmosphere. The menu was a fine selection crammed with great dishes sourced from local producers. 

After careful deliberation we both chose the salt cod fishcakes with squid for our starter – excellent.  For the main course I enjoyed the Goosnargh Duck, which looked fantastic and was so flavoursome.  My wife opted for the Forest of Bowland beef fillet, which she commented ‘was cooked to perfection’.  The vegetables were all cooked beautifully and slightly crisp.  We finished off with a fine selection of local cheeses which was the perfect round up to a delicious meal. 

Ian Munro, Sports Development Manager