Ye Old Jails, Prisons, Stocks & Bonds
View allAll Photos Tagged STOCKS
Taken in the Meon Valley,Hampshire
The hill on the skyline is known as Old Winchester Hill.
Best seen LARGE
During 1966/67 stocks of the CB450-K0 ("Black Bomber") were building up in US showrooms. To assist sales of the now fairly dull looking black only design Honda produced a special kit of parts for dealers to convert new bikes to this special "D"-model, the "D" stands for "Desert Scrambler". Consisting of tank, seat, mudguards, upswept exhausts and other parts to what later become a "CL"-scrambler style. This was the strongest 2-cylinder bike at that time with 444 ccm and 43 HP, DOHC, aircooled 4-stroke engine, 187 kg and 180 km/h. I imported the bike from Italy and only exchanged wear parts and the exhaust (rare genuine part), it has the original painting and chrome. About 30 to 40 exemplars exist worldwide. I cannot believe, that this bike is already 55 years old ;-)
-Sad Feeling
NOTE : I captured all the photos NO STOCKS and This is Surreal work
Copyright © SaD Feeling™. All rights reserved. You may not copy,download or use any of my photos or designs in my photostream without my personal permission.
the original picture is on sxc, because not everyone can see it, I've uploaded it here
Chucks,Lighthouse,Gull,Birds,Moon,Water Splash,Waves,Twister,Shirt are all Brushes or Stocks from DeviantArt
We are receiving reports from our Macro Mondays correspondent that a Miss WHITE, known locally as SNOW, has eaten a poisoned apple. Supermarkets have removed their stocks of apples from the shelves as a precaution.
The source of the contamination has been traced to a Wicked Queen, who we believe is Snow White's stepmother. When questioned, the Wicked Queen stamped her foot and said she heard voices from a mirror on the wall. Prosecutors feel she will be declared unfit to plead and she has been detained in a secure unit for the criminally obnoxious.
Snow White previously lived with Seven Dwarfs. The Dwarfs placed Snow White's body in a glass box pending the examination by the eminent Pathologist Dr Prince. During his examination Dr Prince discovered a piece of the poisoned apple in Snow White's mouth. Once it was removed she recovered consciousness and made a full recovery.
We understand that beautiful Snow White and the handsome Dr Prince are to be married and will live happily ever after.
The End.
"© All Rights Reserved"
Created for DigitalMontage Challenge 2 - The Sun and the Moon
Image credits with thanks to;
Model - Faestock
Light ray brush - SkeletalMess
Fog/Mist Brushes - Ideasplayer
Moon is my own
~
Follow me on Facebook
Spring is on the way. Some trees, like the bauhenia are beginning to burst into pale pink. These stocks filled the house with their wonderful fragrance until yesterday when they started to stink unpleasantly. Compost now, isn't nature wonderful. Here I have stuck them between two pages, or textures if you will. One is by Leschick here
www.flickr.com/photos/leschick/
and the other is called 'shoegazing' and is by NKL
My, what a lovely perfume they have ! I believe the main ones are doubles, while the ones at the left are single Stocks. All have a nice perfume.
Skippy Stocks Up unsettled weather and the squirrel's and birds came by to stock up on bird seed, they were right, now raining hard, shot in North Carolina.
Stocks Reservoir, rather early in the morning all calm and peaceful later it was cold and choppy, love these Cool blues
A sunny afternoon stroll in my garden. This strong rapidly growing tomato transplant is enveloping a purple stocks plant.
No its not the lock, stock and barrel but a different lock and stocks. Lend me your head and see how comfortable you are bent over all night with thy head in the stocks. Fort Gibson, OK Old stockade
Work made with stock images and images of mine.
Stocks used: 19 different photos and 33 layers.
This image has been selected to be the cover photo for "FAV 0-20" on 01-01-24.
Stocks Reservoir on a lovely day, I had to hold the camera up over the wall and hope all was in focus.
Brockholes is a new kind of nature reserve, an unreserved reserve owned and managed by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.
There's lots to see and do at Brockholes, you can hunt out our floating Visitor Village with a restaurant, shops and Welcome Centre or explore our family-friendly hides, walking trails and play area.
At Brockholes you can explore our beautiful reserve, see the wildlife that call it ‘home’ or hunt out our Visitor Village with restaurant and shops, all of which float (yes really!) on one of our lakes.
Our floating Visitor Village features a gift shop and a restaurant providing stunning views across the lake. You can also discover our interactive Welcome Centre and learn all about the wildlife that you could see on-site. Be sure to call in to pick up a welcome leaflet that will help you plan your day. You can view the reserve map in our Welcome Leaflet here to help you plan your first visit.
2013/14 Opening Times:
4th November 2013 to 31 March 2014 10am-4pm
1st April 2014 to 31st October 2014 10am-5pm
Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day only
Car Park Charges
We don't charge for entry and any profits made here go back into looking after the reserve. So every time you pay for parking, treat yourself in the shop or enjoy some lunch, you are helping look after the reserve and the wildlife that visits us!
Sorry no dogs allowed!
There is a good reason! Dogs can disturb wildlife, especially nesting birds. If your dog was to get too close to a nesting bird it would cause the mother to leave the nest. So to avoid any accidents we ask that you don’t bring your dog. (Assistance dogs are welcome.)
Explore the reserve
Brockholes is one of the best sites in the UK for many species of bird and has one of the largest strips of ancient woodland in the county. You can take a stroll by the River Ribble, explore our woods or enjoy the lakes on site, which have all been specially designed to attract all kinds of wildlife for you to see!
Walks around Brockholes
What can I see at Brockholes?
Read about the happy habitats we've been working hard to create at Brockholes.
Watch out!
The Visitor Village floats on water and there are lots of areas of open water on the reserve. Take care in these areas and keep an eye on any children with you. The following activities are not allowed on the reserve:
Barbecues and fires
Fishing
Swimming
Please do not feed the birds
Big gulls know it’s much easier to find food when we leave it lying around rather than finding their own lunch. Here at Brockholes we have lots of species breeding with us, little ringed and ringed plover, lapwing, oystercatcher and redshank. Unfortunately the big gulls will eat the chicks of these special birds so if we feed the gulls and encourage them to stay there is a big chance that they will eat our important chicks, so please do not feed the birds and take your leftover picnic away with you.
www.brockholes.org/our-journey
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has been working on developing Brockholes for nearly 20 years, here is an overview of our journey.
1992 Lancashire Wildlife Trust first contests the quarrying of Brockholes.
27 November 2006 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has four weeks to raise £50,000 to buy the Brockholes site, near Preston, and protect it from development. Brockholes sits next to J31 of the M6 and is the size of 120 football pitches.
15 January 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust makes the biggest land purchase in its history - thanks to donations from Wildlife Trust members, and an investment of £800,000 from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) under the Newlands scheme. The project to buy and develop Brockholes is also supported by The Tubney Charitable Trust.
3 May 2007 Ian Selby is appointed as Brockholes project manager. Ian has 20 years' experience of managing the North West's canal network for British Waterways, followed by environmental regeneration work. Sophie Leadsom, Brockholes' new reserve manager, has worked in conservation for 14 years.
July 2007 The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the launch of a new open competition to design new visitor facilities.
5 October 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the shortlist for the new multi-million pound visitor centre. 61 architects from all over Europe submitted designs. The five were Adam Khan Architects, Arca, Architecture 2B, AY Architects, McDowell + Benedetti.
25 February 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT) and partners announce the winner of its competition to design a visitor facility. Adam Khan Architects was selected for its inspirational design concept: "A Floating World". Designed as a cluster of buildings constructed largely of wood and other sustainable materials, it resembles an ancient marshland village.
April 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the completion of its first phase of preparatory work, including the restoration of the wetlands, creation of ponds, seeding of meadows, planting new hedgerows and trees, making access paths and building proper bird watching hides.
March 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust secured £8million of funding from the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The investment was made under ‘Newlands’, a NWDA and Forestry Commission programme that is regenerating brownfield land across the Northwest into economically viable community woodland.
Summer 2009 Volunteers gave us 134 hours of their time to help propagate our own reed seedlings on-site. We ended up with 20,000 new redd seedlings ready to plant out around our new visitor centre, creating two hecatres of brand new reedbed.
August 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust were granted detailed planning permission for the site.
December 2009 Contractors first day of work as they begin to construct the iconic floating visitors centre. Press conference being held with a ‘cutting of the first sod’
November 2010 A herd of longhorn cattle move into Brockholes to graze the reserve.
December 2010 BBC Countryfile fronted by Julia Bradbury visit Brockholes to film a feature that airs in January 2011.
March 2011 Brockholes makes history as the Visitor Village is floated for the first time.
Easter Sunday 2011 Brockholes opens its doors to the public for the first time!
www.brockholes.org/happy-habitats-brockholes
Happy habitats at Brockholes
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust are using their expertise to create habitats that will encourage lots of different species to visit the site, read more about the work we are doing on the reserve...
Number 1 Pit
Uniform and steep, the edges around the original gravel pit used to look very different. The island looked different too – an egg-shaped piece of land sticking out of the water by three metres. These land profiles weren’t great for the bird species and aquatic invertebrates we wanted to attract. So, with bulldozer and digger we pushed earth into the lake to create shallow, underwater ledges and peninsulas where birds can roost and feed, safe from predators. Diving ducks, such as Great Crested Grebe, now hunt for fish in the deep water.
Nook Pool
The edge of this pool has been planted with reed to create places for small fish and aquatic invertebrates like dragonfly larvae to hide and grow, away from predator fish. The shelter provided by the vegetation provides an ideal hunting ground for lots of species of dragonfly including the impressive Brown Hawker and Emperor Dragonfly.
Meadow Lake
This shallow lake is great for bird watching: when the water level is down, wading birds feed on small invertebrates in the exposed mud. This lake has some of the richest water plant life in and around it, including White Water Lily and Cuckooflower. The reed fringes are becoming well established and hold some of the largest populations of birds on site. The islands provide safe roosting and breeding areas, we keep the vegetation short so the birds can watch out for predators.
Boilton Marsh
This area is part of our newly created wet grassland habitat. We remodelled 17,000 cubic metres of quarry spoil to create 10 hectares of wet grassland with nearly 2km of channels and five pools. This is the ideal habitat for breeding wading birds such as Lapwing, Redshank and Snipe. We now graze traditional breeds of cattle and sheep that thrive on the coarse grasses and rushes and provide the low grassland sward that encourages wading birds to nest.
The channels and pools are kept topped up by using a high-level reservoir, filled from Number One Pit by way of a solar pump.
Woodland
Brockholes is fringed by the ancient woodland of Boilton, Red Scar and Tunbrook Woods. Woodland has grown here for thousands of years and developed a very rich variety of wildlife. Looking after our trees and paths will help the woodland to thrive and enable you to see the wildlife safely.
Reedbeds
Reedbeds are home to Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Reed Buntings and Water Rail. We protect the new reed from grazing birds like Coot, Mute Swan and Canada Goose, by erecting chicken wire fences and baling string barriers. It will take several years before our lak fringes start to look like reedbeds. You might notice that the Visitor Village has been nestled in reedbed. This helps it to blend into the reserve and allows you to hear the song and chatter of the birds that nest there.
www.brockholes.org/brockholes-partners-and-funders
Brockholes partners and funders
For the past ten years, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside have been working to secure this site of national environmental importance, and restore habitats to their full potential.
The £8.6 million of regeneration funding was provided for the Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Reserve project has been granted under 'Newlands' - a £59 million, Northwest Regional Development Agency and Forestry Commission programme to transform brownfield land into durable community woodland, which act as catalysts for economic, social and environmental gain.
The Lancashire Environmental Fund awarded £446,000 for the development of the education facilities, hides and infrastructure on the site. Tubney Charitable Trust granted £350,000 for Biodiversity and Natural England DEFRA's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund awarded circa. £300,000. The Environment Agency granted £50,000 for the continued development of Brockholes.
The support of these funders helped make Brockholes a reality, as did the amazing support from our public appeal, which raised an amazing £63,000 - the most successful public appeal the Lancashire Wildlife Trust has ever run!
Volunteering at Brockholes
Around 200 volunteers have now been recruited, inducted and trained to begin volunteering at Brockholes, so we offer an enormous thank you to all who are helping it make such a big impact on our visitors... Volunteers truly are the face of Brockholes.
There are currently some exciting opportunities to be had volunteering here at Brockholes. Please have a look below at roles (you can click on the titles to download a full role description) which might suit you and click here to register, mentioning Brockholes and the role on the form.
Seasonal Activities Volunteer
Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.
Running throughout all school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).
The Seasonal Activities Volunteer role is ideal for friendly, outgoing people who want to utilise their creative skills and help visitors – in particular children – enjoy the reserve. You will work alongside other volunteers to plan and deliver a variety of activities including pond dipping, guided walks, bird watching. The role will also include assisting with larger events such as our Extreme Adventure Weekend and Craft Fayres. Support will be given to you by the Events & Communications Manager.
This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.
For full details on the role and what it entails, click here.
Seasonal Retail & Visitor Services
Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.
As a volunteer for Retail & Visitor Services you will provide a warm welcome for visitors, helping to ensure that their Brockholes experience is a positive one. You will help visitors by providing them with information about products on sale in our gift stores and help them plan their visit by telling them about the various events and activities we have on offer.
The role suits a friendly, outgoing person who has an interest in wildlife and conservation.
Running throughout the school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).
This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.
Each volunteer will be required to undergo a minimum of 1 and a half days training before they start. If you’d like to find out more or ask questions about any of these roles do not hesitate to get in touch with Catherine Haddon, Volunteering Support Officer on 01772 324 129 or email volunteer@lancswt.org.uk
Awards
Brockholes has scooped many high profile awards since opening in April 2011:
2013 Lancashire Tourism Award for Best Conference/Meeting venue
VisitEngland's Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS) 'Excellent'
Green Tourism Gold Award
Customer at the Heart Award
Lancashire and Blackpool Tourism Awards 'Marketing Campaign of the Year'
National Wood Award
BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ for the interim design stage
Chartered Institute of Building Services – Building of the Year 2011
Civic Trust Award
Civic Trust Special Award for Sustainability
Highly Commended in portfolio of Newlands sites in Landscape Awards
CIWEM Living Wetlands award
Greenbuilds award
Green Apple Awards for the Visitor Centre
Sustainable Project of the year – 2012 Building Awards
RICS North West – Overall award
RICS North West – Tourism and Leisure
RICS NW – Design & Innovation
RIBA North West Building of the Year
RIBA North West Sustainability Award
RIBA Award for top 50 new buildings in the UK
Brockholes is an award winning-venue, which floats on one of our lakes - the only one of its kind in the UK.
Combine this unique design with access straight off the M6, a beautiful nature reserve, ample parking and on site catering, and you have found yourself the perfect venue for your next event. View our Conference Brochure here.
We think Brockholes is the natural place to do business, our dedicated centre can cater for 50 to 130 delegates.
We have a choice of two conference rooms and a reception/break-out area.
www.brockholes.org/conference-packages
At Brockholes we want you to be in control of your event as much as possible. This is why we have created these basic packages, enabling you to tweak each element to build an individual event.
Alternatively, we can cater to your specific requests if you require half day, early morning or evening hire.
Here is an overview of our conference packages, please contact us for a quote.
Our Conference brochure can be viewed in digi-book format here.
Day Delegate Package
Private room hire from 9am - 5pm
Tea and coffee served on arrival with bacon rolls
Mineral water for each guest
Tea and coffee served mid-morning
Buffet lunch served with tea, coffee and fresh fruit platter
Tea, coffee and biscuits served mid-afternoon
Use of a flip chart, screen and projector
Recycled pen and notepad for each delegate
Dedicated co-ordinator to assist you throughout the planning to delivery of your meeting
24 Hour Delegate Package
All of the above plus;
Three course dinner
Full breakfast
Accommodation in a standard bedroom at our recommended accommodation supplier
Accommodation
Preferential rates are available on request from a local hotel when booking through the Brockholes Sales Team.
We can tailor our packages to suit your needs. Make the UK's first floating venue your next choice
Please contact us for more information or to arrange a meeting or showround with our Conference Sales Co-ordinator
Call us on 01772 872005 or enter your details below and we will contact you to discuss your requirements.
www.brockholes.org/sponsorship-opportunities
Sponsorship Opportunities
Brockholes is an award winning nature reserve owned and manages by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, which was opened in 2011. The 250 acre reserve is already attracting record numbers of breeding birds and around 170,000 visitors each year. Brockholes runs a wide range of events throughout the year and has a particularly strong offer for families. Events include wild families, school holiday clubs, school and community group visits, self led trails and larger festivals during the summer holidays.
The key marketing campaigns run targeting families include Christmas, Summer and Easter. Each campaign targets a series of family focused publications across the North West, with a monthly average reach online of over 40,000 people through the website and social media. Advertising and direct marketing campaigns have an average reach of 70% of the total North West population.
Sponsorship and Partnership Opportunities
Summer at Brockholes sees a host of family events each year, from school holiday clubs to open air theatre, guided walks to family fun. Over the Summer period, Brockholes expects to welcome over 60,000 visitors. The marketing campaign is multi channel and will reach a wide audience of families across the North West. Brockholes has also been featured in the National Press for some of the unique events run. We have some new opportunities for sponsorship and partnership, which will allow your business to raise brand awareness and fulfill part of your Corporate Social Responsibility by supporting Brockholes and The Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
Summer at Brockholes Headline Sponsorship £4500
Expose your brand to thousands of families across the North West.
- Logo on all Summer promotional material
- Inclusion in all four of the Summer e-news and Lancashire Wildlife Trust e-news
- Sponsor Feature on Brockholes.org
- On site promotion
- Promotion through social media channels
- Inclusion in all PR activity
- Temporary use of Brockholes logo on promotional material directly related to the partnership
Wild Families Sponsorship £4000 per year
Our Wild Families events are always fully booked. With themes ranging from scarecrow hunts to nature detectives, each event provides quality family time for family members of all ages. Events are run throughout school holidays.
-Logo on marketing materials for Wild Families
-Inclusion in PR for trail launch
-Inclusion in social media activity
-Inclusion in Brockholes e-news
Seasonal Trail Sponsorship £500 per trail
Each visitor to Brockholes can collect their free seasonal trail on arrival. The trail helps visitors to explore the reserve, learn more about what to see and how the reserve changes with the season and challenges them to spot things.
-Logo on sponsorship trail
-Inclusion in PR for trail launch
-Inclusion in social media activity around the trail
Half term at Brockholes £1500
-Logo on all marketing materials
-Inclusion in launch PR
-Social media promotion
Annual Headline Sponsorship £10,000
- Logo inclusion on all Promotional Material
- Dedicated web page on Brockholes.org
- On site promotion
- Dedicated stand area on key event days
- Promotion through Brockholes and LWT e-news, member magazine
- Promotion through social media channels
- Inclusion in all PR activity
-Discounted delegate rate on our conference facilities
Children's Corner £500
Would you like to help brighten up the children's corner in our restuarant for our younger visitors?
-Inclusion in PR activity
-Recognition in the children's area
-Inclusion in activity to our database promoting the new area
To talk to us more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Ruth Gaskell rgaskell@lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129.
www.brockholes.org/commercial-opportunities
Commercial Opportunities
Make Brockholes your business
Businesses are being offered an opportunity to become partners in a North West tourism and wildlife success story.
Brockholes nature reserve is entering the second phase of development which will provide commercial opportunities for other businesses and boost local employment.
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust attraction attracted 185,000 people to its nature reserve and the first ever floating visitor village in the UK, last year. It is looking to top that visitor figure this year.
Just off the M6 at Preston and easily accessible from anywhere in the UK, Brockholes has received more than 30 regional and national awards despite only opening in 2011. Visitors continue to pour in despite the reserve being surrounded by the attractions of Manchester, Blackpool and Liverpool.
The business has shown year-on-year growth and, as a result, is seeking commercial partners for the next phase of development.
Anne Selby, Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trust said “Brockholes has performed incredibly well despite being launched in a recession. We have steered the business through the stormy weather and achieved fantastic results.
“We are now looking to move into the next phase of development. As a conservation charity, we want to ensure our focus remains on the nature conservation of the reserve, whilst ensuring the commercial income supports this work. We are looking for expressions of interest at this stage and asking businesses to be creative with their proposals.”
The Visitor Village has a restaurant, shops, conference centre, welcome centre and education centre. Major companies have made use of the conference centre including RBS and Aldi. The surrounding nature reserve is continuing to grow, with an increasing population of resident creatures and rare visitors like red kite, bittern and otter.
Anne continued: “Brockholes received funding for the initial start up and development phases but it was always designed to be a self-sustaining model. By making the most of the commercial opportunities and keeping these balanced carefully with the needs of nature, we believe we can continue to success of Brockholes into the future and achieve even more fantastic results for wildlife, our wide range of visitors and the tourism economy”.
Opportunities include retail, water sports (non-motorised), indoor play provision, events partners and mobile food concessions. However, the Trust is open to hear if any investors would wish to develop sympathetic commercial facilities on the site.
An opportunity information pack is available by request from:
Karen Williams Karen.Williams@brockholes.org
Expressions of interest should initially be made to
Lindsey Poole, Commercial Development Manager lpoole@lancswt.org.uk
Group Visits
Whether it’s a full day out or just a quick stop off on the way to your destination, Brockholes is the ideal place for groups to visit.
There's so much for all ages to see and learn about at Brockholes. Everyone from toddlers to seniors will find something to fascinate them, whether through our exciting range of organised events, or by just wandering around the site.
We are passionately committed to lifelong learning for all – our belief is that everyone should leave knowing something they didn't when they arrived! The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has over a decade of experience in delivering environmental education, so you can relax, enjoy the surroundings and be sure to come away both enchanted and enlightened...
We have several options for various groups, each with a variety of benefits. For more information click on the relevant link below…
Coach Groups
School Groups
Community Groups
To enquire about group visits please call 01772 872000 or email info@brockholes.org. Or leave your details on the form below and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Coach Groups
Situated next to Junction 31 on the M6, we are the ideal stop for coach trips, whether it is for a short stop, as a green motorway services, or as part of a full day visit.
Free entry for coaches and convenient coach drop-off point
We have a variety of walking trails for your group to explore, ranging from half an hour to 2 hours in length.
We have our floating visitor village that features a stunning waterside restaurant, 2 unique gift shops and a welcome centre with exhibits, which are ideal should your guests decide for something less active (or if the weather lets you down)!
All our buildings are fully accessible, while the vast majority of our paths are well surfaced, level and suitable for wheelchairs.
We now have a more convenient drop-off point exclusively for coaches and in addition have a number of benefits for coach groups:
• Free entry to the reserve and visitor centre
• Free coach parking
• Refreshment voucher for the coach driver
• Free familiarisation visit for group organisers
• Free meet and greet at the coach (on request)
• Free Brockholes welcome leaflet and trail guide
• Free events and activities throughout the year (visit our events calendar for details)
• Free play area
• Pre-booked guided tours (available at an extra charge)
• Adapted toilets available at the visitor centre
Please note that there is a 4 metre high bridge on the entrance to Brockholes. We also advise all coaches to let us know of their visit in advance by calling us on 01772 872000.
For any further information please just call 01772 872000, email info@brockholes.org
School Groups
Our 250 acre nature reserve and Visitor Village is a great place for school groups to visit. Children can learn about the geological history and how the quarrying has shaped the land today. And because we are a new nature reserve, you can watch it grow! It is also home to the UK's first floating Visitor Village.
Most importantly of all, the children will be able to see that Brockholes is home to a host of wildlife, with many different species of bird popping by throughout the year, along with brown hare, dragonfly and deer to name a few!
Facilities
Your school will have use of the education centre on our floating visitor village and you will have at least one Education Officer dedicated to your group throughout the day.
Plus... NEW FOR 2014!
Next year your school will be able to get even closer to nature at Brockholes by booking an education session in our new purpose-built bird hide classroom, right on the edge of the lake!
The hide will overlook No 1 Pit Lake which is home to many different species of birds and you'll also be able to look across to the new sand martin wall, which will provide valuable breeding habitat when they arrive in spring.
Why not your details below if you'd like us to keep to informed of these exciting new developments!
Programmes
We offer a wide range of programmes including:
Big Adventure in a Miniature World
Life Cycles
Migration and Hibernation
Environmental Art
Geography and Geology
Forest School
You can read more about the education programmes available at Brockholes here.
Education Team
Our Education Team are based at Brockholes and have a huge amount of experience in inspiring young people about the natural world. They are a lively bunch and pride themselves on creating an exciting and memorable experience for your school. You can read about how great our team is here: Meet the Education Team.
Outreach
Can't get to us? Then we can come to you! Our outreach education programme is very popular and offers a wide range of programmes for those who are unable to reach Brockholes.You can view our Outreach Programmes here.
For any information just call us on 01772 872000 for more information, email eduadmin@lancswt.org.uk
Community Groups
Brockholes is a great place to bring your community group, whether it's the Scouts, Guides, Cubs, Brownies or Beavers or a rambling or photography group, there is something for everyone!
As well as exploring our stunning nature reserve you can enjoy an activity such as a guided walk, a mini-beast hunt or an environmental art session.
You can visit Brockholes during the day or we have special community group evenings when the reserve is open beyond our usual opening hours. Group activities usually take place between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.
Forest Schools
Forest Schools is a unique outdoor learning experience that improves children's self-esteem, confidence and abilities.
Brockholes provides an inspirational setting for Forest Schools sessions and training, and is conveniently located just off junction 31 of the M6 at Preston.
Our Forest School sessions are designed and delivered by our experienced and fully qualified Education Team including our Level 3 Trained Forest Schools Practioner.
Our next Forest Schools adult training session will be running in October. To find out more about Forest School sessions at Brockholes please call 01772 872017 or email kphillips@lancswt.org.uk
Shop til you flock
Why not drop into our two on-site shops, The Nest and Village Store, which are packed with all sorts of goodies. We've a variety of products from local beverages and food, to cards and books and crafts and jewellery. They are the perfect place to pick up a unique gift... and there's plenty of treats for the little ones too!
The Nest
The Nest is home to an inspiring collection of gifts, jewellery, books, toys, arts & crafts. Discover what's inside The Nest here.
The Village Store
The Village Store stocks a wide range of products, from locally sourced food and drink treats to bird food, garden accessories and wildlife books. Come and look inside here.
Membership of the Wildlife Trust
Brockholes is a Lancashire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve. You can become a member today or talk to our friendly staff members and volunteers on your next visit to Brockholes. Gift membership is available in The Nest or you can buy it online here.
Our restaurant is the perfect place to stop and watch the world go by with panoramic views of our lake. Scrumptious homemade dishes and a taste bud tingling selection of Lancashire's finest local produce are all here to tempt you, along with fair trade tea and coffee.
Our restaurant is open from 10am to 5pm.
www.brockholes.org/very-special-occasions
Brockholes is a fantastic place for your very special occasions.
Our floating venue is one of the newest and most unique in Lancashire and promises you and your guests an unforgetable event whatever the occasion.
We have a dedicated function centre that can accomodate weddings, christenings and all sort of functions.
The clean, contemporary finish of our venue means that you have the perfect opportunity to put your own stamp on your event, with a flexible range of catering available from our on-site restaurant.
We have a dedicated Conference and Events Co-ordinator that will be available to help you plan your special occasion.
Very Special Weddings
We had our first wedding celebration September 2011 and since then it's been all go with Wedding Fayres and lots more bookings for this year and next. Find out more about weddings at Brockholes here.
Very Special Christenings
Brockholes is a real family friendly venue for a Christening celebration that you will remember for years to come. Find out more here.
For general enquiries about holding a function at Brockholes please call 01772 872005 or email philip.dunn@brockholes.org.
Day 159
Went on a trip to Hampshire today to see a man about a car. Stopped at Stow on the Wold on the way home. Long day!
Stocks Reservoir is a large lake in The Forest of Bowland, constructed in the early 1930s to provide a water supply to Blackpool and the Fylde Peninsula. It is at the head of the Hodder Valley and has a capacity of 12 million cubic metres.
The ECONOMY AMERICAN Is DANGER, BUSH CONVENES An EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT To the WHITE HOUSE....
Good evening. This is an extraordinary period for America's economy. Over the past few weeks, many Americans have felt anxiety about their finances and their future. I understand their worry and their frustration. We've seen triple-digit swings in the stock market. Major financial institutions have teetered on the edge of collapse, and some have failed. As uncertainty has grown, many banks have restricted lending, credit markets have frozen, and families and businesses have found it harder to borrow money. We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis, and the federal government is responding with decisive action. We boosted confidence in money market mutual funds and acted to prevent major investors from intentionally driving down stocks for their own personal gain. Most importantly, my administration is working with Congress to address the root cause behind much of the instability in our markets. Financial assets related to home mortgages have lost value during the house decline, and the banks holding these assets have restricted credit. As a result, our entire economy is in danger. So I propose that the federal government reduce the risk posed by these troubled assets and supply urgently needed money so banks and other financial institutions can avoid collapse and resume lending. This rescue effort is not aimed at preserving any individual company or industry. It is aimed at preserving America's overall economy. It will help American consumers and businesses get credit to meet their daily needs and create jobs. And it will help send a signal to markets around the world that America's financial system is back on track. I know many Americans have questions tonight: How did we reach this point in our economy? How will the solution I propose work? And what does this mean for your financial future? These are good questions, and they deserve clear answers. First, how did our economy reach this point? Well, most economists agree that the problems we're witnessing today developed over a long period of time. For more than a decade, a massive amount of money flowed into the United States from investors abroad because our country is an attractive and secure place to do business. This large influx of money to U.S. banks and financial institutions, along with low interest rates, made it easier for Americans to get credit. These developments allowed more families to borrow money for cars, and homes, and college tuition, some for the first time. They allowed more entrepreneurs to get loans to start new businesses and create jobs. Unfortunately, there were also some serious negative consequences, particularly in the housing market. Easy credit, combined with the faulty assumption that home values would continue to rise, led to excesses and bad decisions. Many mortgage lenders approved loans for borrowers without carefully examining their ability to pay. Many borrowers took out loans larger than they could afford, assuming that they could sell or refinance their homes at a higher price later on. Optimism about housing values also led to a boom in home construction. Eventually, the number of new houses exceeded the number of people willing to buy them. And with supply exceeding demand, housing prices fell, and this created a problem. BUSH: Borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages, who had been planning to sell or refinance their homes at a higher price, were stuck with homes worth less than expected, along with mortgage payments they could not afford. As a result, many mortgage-holders began to default. These widespread defaults had effects far beyond the housing market. See, in today's mortgage industry, home loans are often packaged together and converted into financial products called mortgage-backed securities. These securities were sold to investors around the world. Many investors assumed these securities were trustworthy and asked few questions about their actual value. Two of the leading purchasers of mortgage-backed securities were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Because these companies were chartered by Congress, many believed they were guaranteed by the federal government. This allowed them to borrow enormous sums of money, fuel the market for questionable investments, and put our financial system at risk. The decline in the housing market set off a domino effect across our economy. When home values declined, borrowers defaulted on their mortgages, and investors holding mortgage-backed securities began to incur serious losses. Before long, these securities became so unreliable that they were not being bought or sold. Investment banks, such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, found themselves saddled with large amounts of assets they could not sell. They ran out of money needed to meet their immediate obligations, and they faced imminent collapse. Other banks found themselves in severe financial trouble. These banks began holding on to their money, and lending dried up, and the gears of the American financial system began grinding to a halt. With the situation becoming more precarious by the day, I faced a choice, to step in with dramatic government action or to stand back and allow the irresponsible actions of some to undermine the financial security of all. I'm a strong believer in free enterprise, so my natural instinct is to oppose government intervention. I believe companies that make bad decisions should be allowed to go out of business. Under normal circumstances, I would have followed this course. But these are not normal circumstances. The market is not functioning properly. There has been a widespread loss of confidence, and major sectors of America's financial system are at risk of shutting down. The government's top economic experts warn that, without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold. More banks could fail, including some in your community. The stock market would drop even more, which would reduce the value of your retirement account. The value of your home could plummet. Foreclosures would rise dramatically. And if you own a business or a farm, you would find it harder and more expensive to get credit. More businesses would close their doors, and millions of Americans could lose their jobs. Even if you have good credit history, it would be more difficult for you to get the loans you need to buy a car or send your children to college. And, ultimately, our country could experience a long and painful recession. Fellow citizens, we must not let this happen. I appreciate the work of leaders from both parties in both houses of Congress to address this problem and to make improvements to the proposal my administration sent to them. There is a spirit of cooperation between Democrats and Republicans and between Congress and this administration. In that spirit, I've invited Senators McCain and Obama to join congressional leaders of both parties at the White House tomorrow to help speed our discussions toward a bipartisan bill. I know that an economic rescue package will present a tough vote for many members of Congress. It is difficult to pass a bill that commits so much of the taxpayers' hard-earned money. I also understand the frustration of responsible Americans who pay their mortgages on time, file their tax returns every April 15th, and are reluctant to pay the cost of excesses on Wall Street. But given the situation we are facing, not passing a bill now would cost these Americans much more later. Many Americans are asking, how would a rescue plan work? After much discussion, there's now widespread agreement on the principles such a plan would include. It would remove the risk posed by the troubled assets, including mortgage-backed securities, now clogging the financial system. This would free banks to resume the flow of credit to American families and businesses. Any rescue plan should also be designed to ensure that taxpayers are protected. It should welcome the participation of financial institutions, large and small. It should make certain that failed executives do not receive a windfall from your tax dollars. BUSH: It should establish a bipartisan board to oversee the plan's implementation, and it should be enacted as soon as possible. In close consultation with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and SEC Chairman Chris Cox, I announced a plan on Friday. First, the plan is big enough to solve a serious problem. Under our proposal, the federal government would put up to $700 billion taxpayer dollars on the line to purchase troubled assets that are clogging the financial system. In the short term, this will free up banks to resume the flow of credit to American families and businesses, and this will help our economy grow. Second, as markets have lost confidence in mortgage-backed securities, their prices have dropped sharply, yet the value of many of these assets will likely be higher than their current price, because the vast majority of Americans will ultimately pay off their mortgages. The government is the one institution with the patience and resources to buy these assets at their current low prices and hold them until markets return to normal. And when that happens, money will flow back to the Treasury as these assets are sold, and we expect that much, if not all, of the tax dollars we invest will be paid back. The final question is, what does this mean for your economic future? Well, the primary steps -- purpose of the steps I've outlined tonight is to safeguard the financial security of American workers, and families, and small businesses. The federal government also continues to enforce laws and regulations protecting your money. The Treasury Department recently offered government insurance for money market mutual funds. And through the FDIC, every savings account, checking account, and certificate of deposit is insured by the federal government for up to $100,000. The FDIC has been in existence for 75 years, and no one has ever lost a penny on an insured deposit, and this will not change. Once this crisis is resolved, there will be time to update our financial regulatory structures. Our 21st-century global economy remains regulated largely by outdated 20th-century laws. Recently, we've seen how one company can grow so large that its failure jeopardizes the entire financial system. Earlier this year, Secretary Paulson proposed a blueprint that would modernize our financial regulations. For example, the Federal Reserve would be authorized to take a closer look at the operations of companies across the financial spectrum and ensure that their practices do not threaten overall financial stability. There are other good ideas, and members of Congress should consider them. As they do, they must ensure that efforts to regulate Wall Street do not end up hampering our economy's ability to grow. In the long run, Americans have good reason to be confident in our economic strength. Despite corrections in the marketplace and instances of abuse, democratic capitalism is the best system ever devised. It has unleashed the talents and the productivity and entrepreneurial spirit of our citizens. It has made this country the best place in the world to invest and do business. And it gives our economy the flexibility and resilience to absorb shocks, adjust, and bounce back. Our economy is facing a moment of great challenge, but we've overcome tough challenges before, and we will overcome this one. I know that Americans sometimes get discouraged by the tone in Washington and the seemingly endless partisan struggles, yet history has shown that, in times of real trial, elected officials rise to the occasion. And together we will show the world once again what kind of country America is: a nation that tackles problems head on, where leaders come together to meet great tests, and where people of every background can work hard, develop their talents, and realize their dreams. Thank you for listening. May God bless you.