Major new nature reserve opens in Lancashire

Brockholes floating visitor village. Credit Jason Lock.

May 2011. The UK's first award-winning floating visitor village will help put nature back on the map as it looks set to receive more than 250,000 visitors each. Set in a former quarry, Brockholes is being dubbed an ‘unreserved reserve' - a place for people to feel free to explore nature. Easily accessible for people up and down the UK - just off junction 31 of the M6 motorway - it is the perfect alternative to a standard service station. The site is now owned and managed by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

Award-winning: Within the unique and award-winning floating visitor village, facilities include an education and interpretation area, shop, children's play area and conference facilities. A restaurant provides stunning views across the reserve and serves a selection of Lancashire's finest produce.

Wildlife and habitats: Family-friendly and specialist hides offer places to watch wildlife from lapwing, whimbrel and redshank to damselfly and roe deer. Short and longer walks plus an adventure play area keep everyone exploring Brockholes' 106 hectares.

The nature reserve contains one of the largest strips of ancient woodland in the UK, species-rich hay meadow, large wetland areas and the beautiful River Ribble. It is part of The Wildlife Trusts' national vision of A Living Landscape, which aims to connect landscapes together, creating an environment in which people and wildlife can thrive side-by-side.

Brockholes has created several dozen new jobs and will provide a valuable resource for local communities, encouraging healthy, active lifestyles and increasing interaction with the natural environment.

Anne Selby, Chief Executive of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said: "We are calling Brockholes the ‘unreserved reserve' because we want to bring nature to the forefront of people's minds. Everyone who visits Brockholes will feel free to explore nature and really enjoy it. We hope this iconic reserve will help emphasise the importance of our natural resources."

Simon King OBE, The Wildlife Trusts' President, said: "The Wildlife Trusts appreciate that, for its vision of A Living Landscape and Living Seas to work, they need the support of the community as a whole and of the business community in particular. The very foundations of some schemes, such as Brockholes, will rely on mutual aspirations for a better, more resilient resource for the natural world."

Investment and potential
The project has received £8.6 million investment from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) under the Forestry Commission-led regeneration programme ‘Newlands'. Other partners include Natural England, Tubney Charitable Trust and the Lancashire Environmental Fund.

• There is no entry fee. There is a car parking charge and all profits go back into the running of the reserve.
• Brockholes is located to the North East of Junction 31 of the M6, on the edge of the city of Preston.
• Brockholes will be the hub of a network of wetland sites in this part of the North West of England, offering an introduction to wildlife in the region and a link to other sites. It links a mosaic of wildlife havens in the Ribble Valley. These include adjacent ancient semi-natural woodlands and unimproved grasslands, in both of which the Lancashire Wildlife Trust plays a key management role - 166 hectares in total. It will also be one of the key attractions in the new Ribble Coast and Wetlands Regional Park, which stretches down the tidal reaches of the River Ribble to the Fylde coast.

 More about Brockholes Nature Reserve