Time to celebrate your local meadows

Hay meadow - Andy Hay RSPB images

Date: National Meadows Day Wildflower Walk, Saturday 1 July  10 am-12 pm

National Meadows Day, dedicated to celebrating and protecting our vanishing wildflower meadows and the wealth of wildlife they support, will take place on Saturday 1 July 2017.

This year's National Meadows Day will be the biggest yet, with over 100 events taking place across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The team at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands are inviting visitors to come along for a guided walk to admire and learn all about the rich array of wildflowers on the reserve. The event takes place on Saturday 1 July from 10 am-12 pm and includes exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the reserve’s hay meadow which boasts special flowers including yellow rattle and ragged robin.

Places are limited so advanced booking and payment is essential. The walk covers some grassland and farmland so is unsuitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs, and a decent level of fitness is required.

Additionally, throughout July a self-led quiz trail will encourage families to look a little closer at the colourful plants around the reserve’s nature trails. Available daily at the visitor reception from 9.30 am-4.30 pm, free of charge.

Venue: RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Puddington Lane, Burton, Cheshire, CH64 5SF

Contact: For further details visit www.rspb.org.uk/burtonmerewetlands or phone the visitor reception on 0151 353 8478 or email deeestuary@rspb.org.uk

Big Tide Walk - RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh nature reserve

Hesketh out Marsh

Join the RSPB on a guided walk across the marsh before the tide comes in to marvel at an amazing wildlife spectacle in nature’s home.

Watch as wading birds and other wildlife move across the marsh looking for roosting sites as the water rises, while keeping a look out for small mammals trying to escape the water as the marsh floods and also the hungry raptors above.

Please wear suitable clothing and footwear as this is an exposed site and the walk will be off the main access paths.

Unfortunately these walks are not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs. No dogs please.

               Price:     £4.00 RSPB members / £5.00 non-RSPB members.

Venue:            RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh nature reserve.  Meet in the reserve car park

                         at the end of Dib  Road, Hesketh Bank.

Contact:          Booking is essential – please call the Ribble Discovery Centre on 01253                796292 to book  your place.

Wednesday 30 September 2015 – 11:00 am to 2:00pm                        Thursday 29 October 2015 – 10:00 am to 1:00pm Saturday 28 November 2015 – 10:30 am to 1:00pm Monday 14 December 2015 – 11:00 am to 1:30pm

Notes:
The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. Together with our partners, we protect threatened birds and wildlife so our towns, coast and countryside will teem with life once again.

We play a leading role in BirdLife International, a worldwide partnership of nature conservation organisations.

For more information on RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh nature reserve, please visit www.rspb.org.uk/heskethoutmarsh

Step back in time and discover a hidden history at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands

RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands trail

There's a hidden history to be uncovered at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands this month. From the picturesque mere itself, created by the family of former Prime Minister, William Gladstone, to the Iron Age hill fort at Burton Point, the nature reserve in the corner of the Wirral is home to far more than just wildlife.

A  Burton History Walk  will be held on Sunday 29 June, jointly led by a local historian and members of the RSPB team, to reveal the fascinating history of Burton village and the surrounding area. The reserve team has also linked up with Burton Manor Cafe  to provide a light lunch for participants at the end of the walk.

Dan Trotman, Visitor Development Officer for the RSPB s Dee Estuary reserve, said:  We focus so much on the brilliant variety of wildlife here that often we forget about the history and heritage that this land holds. Our role is to look forward and plan how we can help more wildlife to thrive here, but looking back to the past can be just as significant and rewarding in a different way.

Burton village was at one time all part of the Gladstone family estate, with the family home at Burton Manor, where we will culminate for lunch at the caf . Gradually the estate was broken up and sold, before the RSPB bought land at Burton Point Farm in 1988, giving us ownership of the hill fort.

This landmark was scheduled as an Iron Age promontory fort of national importance in 1995, and whilst similar to Iron Age forts found on the rocky coasts of Cornwall, Wales and the Isle of Man, it is the only example of this type in this area of England. Unusually, the fort may also have served as a high status homestead during the post-Roman period; few such sites have been identified in this area. The rich history of Chapel Field and Station Road will also be explored as we make our way up into the village centre.

We are really looking forward to sharing the fascinating history of Burton and hope as many people as possible can join us for this interesting walk.

Burton Point is not currently an accessible part of the reserve, so the walk allows an exclusive look at the hill fort, with dramatic views over the vast wetlands, across to the Welsh hills and as far as Hilbre Island at the mouth of the estuary. The circular walk, which requires participants to have a decent level of fitness, is approximately 3 miles in length and crosses grassed farmland in places.

The guided walk starts at 10 am from Burton Mere Wetlands and costs  £9 per person, ( £7 for RSPB members), which includes lunch at Burton Manor Cafe .  To book a place or for more information, phone 0151 353 8478 or email deeestuary@rspb.org.uk

Warden's Welly Walk at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands

RSPB Burton mere

Sunday 9 February 2014   11:00 am until 13:00 pm

Join us for an exclusive chance to go behind the scenes at Burton Mere Wetlands for a tour of one of the most important wetlands in the region!

Learn all about how the wetland was created and get closer to the wildlife that makes its home here, including huge flocks of lapwings and the magnificent whooper and Bewick's swans visiting for the winter.

This a long walk over rough, boggy terrain so a reasonable level of physical fitness and wellies are needed.  Meet in Burton Mere Wetlands' reception hide and enjoy a hot drink and snack from our selection

afterwards.

 

Places are limited so booking is essential.

  

Venue: RSPB Burton  Mere Wetlands, Puddington Lane, Burton, Cheshire, CH64 5SF

Price:  RSPB members  4, non-members  8; children half price.

Contact: Telephone 0151 353 8478 or email deeestuary@rspb.org.uk