Great Harwood Memorial Park, Hyndburn
19.05.2025
The interpretation panels have now been installed in the park, and they look beautiful! Local artist, Cath Ford, has done an amazing job.
If you’d like to know more about the park, then have a read next time you visit! 🌳☀️
17.02.2025
The History of Memorial Park, and Nature in Memorial Park KS1 and KS2 school lesson presentations are available to view below. There are so many interesting things to learn about the park – download now and take a look! 🌳🌼
28.01.2025
Look out for the new interpretation panels arriving in Memorial Park soon! Thank you Cath Ford – they look beautiful!
07.01.2025
The Great Harwood Memorial Park learning resources / lesson plans are now being shared with schools across the area – and you can take a look at them too 👇🌳🌼
There are two documents – a Heritage learning booklet, and a Biological Heritage learning booklet. Together, the resources will make sure that local children / people will know lots about the park, and it’s importance for Great Harwood, for years to come.
Thank you to the amazing team at PROSPECTS Foundation, and the staff and children at St. Bartholomew’s Primary School who’ve helped get the information ready for us!
Great Harwood Memorial Park Biological Heritage Pack
Great Harwood Memorial Park Heritage Pack
12.11.2024
As the Great Harwood Memorial Park improvements are now almost complete, we would love to find out if visitors and local residents are happy with the work and activities that have taken place since the project began.
You can share your thoughts and comments here : Great Harwood Memorial Park Survey. The survey is very quick to complete, but your feedback is really important to us.
Improvements to the park area included:
- New boundary railings
- Memorial repairs
- Memorial garden and walls
- Improving access by improving paths and access into the wood with the boardwalk
- New seating and bins
- Planting to increase colour and biodiversity
- Designated forest school area so children can learn regarding the history and nature in an outdoor space
- Woodland management
- Nature trail
- Learning experiences such as bird and bat walks
- Artwork around the memorial
- Party in the park – 18th August.
For us, this has been an amazing project and we would like to thank everyone – the community groups, residents, volunteers, organisations, heritage experts, environmental partners, artists, teachers and school children – for their support over the last few months. We hope that you all enjoy visiting Great Harwood Memorial Park for many, many, more years to come! 🌳☀️🌼🦇
04.11.2024
The new boardwalk has been added and the footpaths are looking great!
If you haven’t managed to visit the park during the project works, then do pop along now and take a look at the changes. Interpretation should go in very soon – we’ll let you know when it’s done 🌳
01.10.2024
The work at Great Harwood continues! Next task to be tackled is the resurfacing improvements to the Blossom Walk footpath. Works should take around 2-3 weeks, weather permitting. We’ll let you know when it’s been completed 🌳
30.09.2024
Some pictures from the Rededication Event that took place in the park on 28th September. The team have been hectic making changes and running events, but it was especially lovely for everyone to take a moment and remember why the project started, and why the monument was created for the people of Great Harwood all those years ago.
Special thanks to Peter Shaw from the Friends of Memorial Park group for the photographs.
19.08.2024
We had an AMAZING day out at Picnic in the Park yesterday! It was so lovely to see hundreds of people turn up to see all the park improvements, explore the nature trail, take part in the treasure hunt, go bug hunting, see the artwork, and get to work in the new forest school area.
Performances by ReACT and the Stacksteads Brass Band were fantastic, and we were lucky to have the Mayor and Town Crier in attendance too.
The teams from PROSPECTS and The Friends of Memorial Park did a wonderful job, and they had great support from Hyndburn Borough Council. This was everything a community day should be, and a great way to celebrate everything that the Great Harwood Memorial Park Project has achieved so far. The project was made possible thanks to the generous teams at The National Lottery Heritage Fund (and all the National Lottery players), Lancashire Environment Fund , Hyndburn Borough Council and Lancashire County Council 🙂.
14.08.2024
Amazing volunteers working hard to display the artwork created by Cath Ford and the children from St. Bartholomew’s CE Primary School in time for the Picnic in the Park THIS SUNDAY 18th August! ☀️
13.08.2024
Only 5 sleeps until ‘Picnic in the Park’! It’s going to be a great day. Look forward to seeing you there 🙂
12.08.2024
Don’t forget to join us for a FREE family-friendly ‘Picnic in the Park’ at Memorial Park in Great Harwood on Sunday 18th August 2024, 12 noon – 4pm!
There’ll be a live performance from Stacksteads brass band, ReAct will be performing an act from Frozen JR, and there’ll be other fun activities including a treasure hunt, face painting, nature walks, and bug hunting too.
There’ll be food and drink from La Bella Mozzarella pizza 🍕, Brie Mine cheese deli 🧀, Mrs Dowson’s ice cream 🍦 and the DC Coffee van ☕.
You’ll also be able to see the recent work that has gone into improving Memorial Park over the past few months, including repairs to the War Memorial and upgrades to access, signage, railings, walls and gardens.
We really hope you can join us! 🙂
07.08.2024
I know we’re all busy looking forward to the ‘Picnic in the Park’ event on Sunday, 18th August…but, at Proffitts, we’re also still busy looking back at the amazing documents we discovered on our trip to Lancashire Archives 🙂
It was fantastic to find a poster about a public meeting to discuss the War Memorial, and a copy of the Harwood Advertiser newspaper (29th August, 1925) which advertised the event too!
01.08.2024
📅 SAVE THE DATE! 🥳 Join us for a FREE family-friendly ‘Picnic in the Park’ at Memorial Park in Great Harwood on Sunday 18th August 2024, 12 noon – 4pm
Fetch a blanket, find a sunny spot on the grass and set yourself up for a live performance from Stacksteads brass band, ReAct will be performing an act from Frozen JR, and fun activities including a treasure hunt, face painting, nature walks, and bug hunting will be going on around the park.
There’ll be food and drink from La Bella Mozzarella pizza 🍕, Brie Mine cheese deli 🧀, Mrs Dowson’s ice cream 🍦 and the DC Coffee van ☕.
Come and see the recent work that has gone into improving Memorial Park over the past few months, including repairs to the War Memorial and upgrades to access, signage, railings, walls and gardens.
We hope you can join us!
This event is being organised by the Friends of Memorial Park, PROSPECTS Foundation and Hyndburn Council.
30.07.2024
No Wednesday volunteering session tomorrow! The team will see you all again next week 🙂
23.07.2024
Here are the details for tomorrow’s Memorial Park Volunteering session!
Tomorrow, learn how to make your very own wooden mallets from locally harvested wood!
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: The team will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles. Please bring spare water for yourself. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 17-20°, Light rain and light winds, 3-6 mph winds, 0% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
18.07.2024
The good news just keeps on coming…
Hyndburn Borough Council have confirmed that they have not only retained their Green Flag Award status for 10 parks, but have also added a record breaking number 11 too. The newest addition is Memorial Park! It’s a fantastic achievement for the Council, for all of the wonderful volunteers and organisations who’ve worked incredibly hard on park improvements, and for the generous funders at The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Lancashire Environment Fund who have supported the ongoing improvement project. Well done everyone! 👏
You can read more about the award here:
Hyndburn Celebrates Record-Breaking 11 Green Flag Awarded Parks and Green Spaces in 2024
17.07.2024
Another successful morning at Memorial Park! Today a team of volunteers from The Friends of Memorial Park and Hyndburn Borough Council have been busy constructing frames so the banners that covered the scaffolding during the renovation of the Memorial can continue to be displayed.
Everyone has worked incredibly hard – artist Cath Ford, the amazing children from St. Bartholomew’s CE Primary School and the wonderful volunteers today. We’re thrilled that the artwork gets to be enjoyed for a while longer 😀
15.07.2024
A great volunteering session lined up for this week! This week the team will be carrying out a Woodland Condition Assessment of Round Wood that will be used to inform future management decisions, along with other assessments by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust. As always, all details below 🙂
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles. Please bring spare water for yourself. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 17-18°, Light rain and a gentle breeze, 7-10 mph winds, 0-49% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
8.07.2024
Here are the details for this Wednesday’s Memorial Park volunteering session. This Wednesday, the team will be carrying out a final sweep of Round Wood to make sure all Rhododendron and Laurel root balls that can be removed mechanically are removed.
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles. Please bring spare water for yourself. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 16°, Light rain and a gentle breeze, 9-12 mph winds, 60-70% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
03.07.2024
One of the best parts of this project has been working with the amazing team at Lancashire Archives. They’ve helped us uncover so many interesting documents relating to Great Harwood, Memorial Park, and the Memorial itself.
Below you can see an original copy of the letter from the Ladies Committee requesting that a Memorial and Remembrance Garden be created in the park, and the reply letter from Great Harwood Urban District Council (30th July, 1923) agreeing to the request. We’ve loved going through these files – we’ll share more with you in the coming weeks!
01.07.2024
This is just a quick note to let everyone know there will be no Memorial Park Volunteering Session this Wednesday 3rd July 2024.
Regular sessions will resume next week 🙂
24.06.2024
Here are the details for Wednesday’s Memorial Park Volunteering session. This week, the team will be learning how to create their very own wooden mallets which can be utilised for a range of functions (including creating a dead hedge).
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles. Please bring spare water for yourself. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 18-19°, Light rain showers and a gentle breeze, 6-9 mph winds, 32-63% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
17.06.2024
Here are the details for this Wednesday’s Memorial Park Volunteering session. This Wednesday, you can learn how to set up, hone and utilise scythes in a woodland management context. All of the details below 👇
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles. Please bring spare water for yourself. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 14-16°, Sunny intervals and a gentle breeze, 5-8 mph winds, 0-5% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
17.06.2024
Great to see that the planned path works are complete. Work on the waymarkers, interpretation and memorial are all continuing and we’ll have more updates on those soon :-).
10.06.2024
Another week, another fab volunteering opportunity at Memorial Park! This Wednesday, the team will be learning how to properly sharpen and maintain tools that are commonly used when working within a woodland. All details below 👇
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles. Please bring spare water for yourself. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 11-12°, Light rain showers and a gentle breeze, 6-10 mph winds, 17-30% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
27.05.2024
Here are the details for this Wednesday’s Memorial Park Volunteering session. On Wednesday, the volunteers will be learning how to properly sharpen and maintain equipment that is frequently used during woodland management sessions. All details are below. Hope to see you there!
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: The team will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles. Please bring spare water for yourself. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 13-14°, Light rain and a moderate breeze, 11-14 mph winds, 39-67% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, work area may be boggy under foot.
20.05.2024
Here are the details for this week’s Memorial Park Volunteering session. On Wednesday, you can learn how to set up and operate a scythe. Scythes are great tools for carrying out ‘conservation cuts’ without the need for machinery, while keeping the operator fit and practicing a heritage skill too. We really hope you can join the team on Wednesday! More details below 👇
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles. Please bring spare water for yourself. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 15-16°, Light rain and a gentle breeze, 5-8 mph winds, 49-69% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, work area may be boggy under foot.
17.05.2024
Great to watch traditional heritage skills in action! Thanks to Stone Central (NW) UK for fantastic lead work adding names to the war memorial at Great Harwood 👏
14.05.2024
Please note that tomorrow’s Memorial Park session 15.05.24 is cancelled.
Apologies for the short notice. Hopefully see you you all next week!
13.05.2024
Calling all Great Harwood volunteers! Here are the details for this Wednesday’s Memorial Park volunteering session 🙂
This Wednesday, the team will begin to lay the foundations of the ‘dead hedge’ area that will be the natural barrier for the fantastic new forest school area planned for Round Wood.
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: Team will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles. Please bring spare water for yourself. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 15-17°, Light rain showers and a gentle breeze, 9-10 mph winds, 0-48% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
Thank you all for your time and help so far!
10.05.2024
Missed the last bat walk event at Memorial Park? Don’t worry…there’s another session taking place on Friday 17th May!
So, if you’d like to join the PROSPECTS Foundation and Roger ‘The Batman’ Cunliffe for a evening stroll through Memorial Park in search of our flying friends, then meet them at the Memorial Park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. The event will run from 8.30 pm – 10.30 pm.
They’ll be using bat detectors to listen out for bat calls and you’ll hopefully record a few different species. Everyone is welcome, but you do need to book a place in advance. To do this, please contact Brandon at [email protected] or call on 07733 840842.
Please do not bring any dogs to the event.
07.05.2024
Here are the details for this Wednesday’s Memorial Park volunteering session. Every welcome!
On Wednesday, the team will be using hand tools to remove the final few Rhododendrons, along with any small Rhody/Laurel root balls that remain. Secondary tasks include carrying out a litter pick in the recently felled areas.
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing. Please remember to bring spare water for yourselves. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 15-17°, Light rain showers and light winds, 6-7 mph winds, 0-37% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland.
29.04.2024
Here are the details for this Wednesday’s Memorial Park volunteering session! Everyone welcome 🙂
On Wednesday, volunteers will be using hand tools to remove non-native red flowering currant which is encroaching into Round Wood. Secondary tasks include using hand tools and spades to remove any left over Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel.
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: The team will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 13-16°, Light rain and light winds, 5-6 mph winds, 0-43% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
24.04.2024
22.04.2024
Here are the details for this Wednesday’s Memorial Park volunteering session. On Wednesday, volunteers will be using hand tools to remove invasive non-native Mahonia from Round Wood. Secondary tasks include sowing wildflower seeds within Round Wood at the areas of bare ground created from the Rhododendron and Laurel felling works. Hope to see you there!
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 7-9°, Light rain showers and a gentle breeze, 8-9 mph winds, 0-16% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
19.04.2024
The artwork created by Cath Ford, and the amazing children from St. Bartholomew’s CE Primary School is now on display in Memorial Park.
The art will screen the Cenotaph while restoration work takes place, and theme for the work is the community, physical, and environmental heritage of the park. The pictures here are great, but we would really encourage you all to pop down to the park and take a look at the work up close – Cath and the children have done a beautiful job. The storytelling and detail are just wonderful. Thank you all so much! 👏.
Some of the pictures will be used to screen the Cenotaph whist the restoration takes place
16.04.2024
Just a reminder that there will be an expert led bat walk in Memorial Park this Friday, 19th April from 7.30pm! Everyone is welcome, but you do need to book a place. You can do this by emailing [email protected]
Hope to see you there! 🦇
10.04.2024
There’s an amazing opportunity to attend an expert led bat walk at Memorial Park, Great Harwood, on Friday, 19th April from 7:30pm till 9:30pm. You can learn about, and hopefully hear (and see) a few of the local bat species that call the park home.
It’s going to be a really fantastic session, and everyone is welcome – but you do need to book a place! You can do this by emailing [email protected]
08.04.2024
Here are the details for this Wednesday’s Memorial Park volunteering session 🙂
This week, the team will continue with the removal of the remaining root balls to prevent re-growth using hand tools.
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 8-10°, Light rain and a moderate breeze, 9-16 mph winds, 0-70% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
04.04.2024
The walls in the memorial garden are completed now with copings and are looking great! There’s still some tidying to get done, but this will get done over the next week or two along with the topsoiling and seeding.
The team have now moved onto the walls for the raised circular tree beds, so expect to see changes there soon too.
02.04.2024
Here are the details for tomorrow’s Memorial Park volunteering session. Tomorrow, the team will be using hand tools to remove some of the root balls from the recent felling works. The root balls are too small for treatment and so will require manual removal to prevent re-growth.
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 10-11°, Light rain and a moderate breeze, 8-9 mph winds, 50-71% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
26.03.2024
Here’s another chance to join the team from Prospects on site at Memorial Park! Tomorrow the group will be continuing with the Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel removal to open up more of the area to native species.
Here’s everything else you need to know…
Time: 10am – 1pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 7-8°, Light rain and moderate breeze, 15-16 mph winds, 56-70% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
20.03.2024
There is just so much going on at the moment…woodland management, shrub clearance, the installation of the art displays, work on the memorial, contractors on site, the planning of trips, surveys and events – it’s hard to keep up sometimes! However, we do need to stop now and again and remember that this wonderful project is only possible thanks to support from both Hyndburn Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, and the wonderful funding teams at Lancashire Environment Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Thank you to you all 🙂
19.03.2024
Tomorrow, the team will be continuing with the Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel removal to open up more of the area to native species. Since November, there have been 5 of these sessions. While we always want to keep the space as green and interesting as possible, if these species are left unchecked, they can become very dominant and have a negative impact on the woodland dynamics and biodiversity of the wider site – so thank you to everyone who has helped so far 🙂
Here are the details for tomorrow’s session – look forward to seeing you there!
Time: 10am – 1pm
Meeting point: Meet at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 10°, Light rain and light winds, 5-7 mph winds, 80% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
12.03.2024
Details of tomorrow’s volunteer session at Memorial Park 🙂
Time: 10am – 1pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 11-12°, Light rain and a moderate breeze, 16-17 mph winds, 66-81% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.
28.02.2024
Look out for more contractors starting on site next week. The Wade Group will be improving the low stone wall to the rear of the memorial, and then starting on the other elements of work including the raised circular tree pits, seating, signage, interpretation and path works.
We hope that work to refurbish the memorial itself will start soon – we’ll let you know as soon as we have an exact date!
17.02.2024
As contractors begin on site at Memorial Park, the timber hoardings need to go up to protect areas of work.
Instead of leaving these blank, local community artist Cath Ford has been working with children from St. Bartholomew’s Primary School on some designs to cover the timber. Cath has worked with the school since November and has, amazingly, worked with every class / year in the school!
The theme for the artwork is the community, physical, and environmental heritage of the park itself. We’ve been blown away by how beautiful the images are. Cath and the children have worked incredibly hard on the project, and we can’t wait for everyone to see the decorative hoardings go up next month 🙂
15.02.2024
The winter bird ID walk was a great success – thank you to everyone who came along Here’s the list of birds that the group saw or heard during this session, and previous volunteer days too:
Nuthatch
Dunnock
Song thrush
Tree creeper
Greenfinch
Coal tit
Goldfinch
Greater spotted woodpecker
Blue tit
Great tit
Collared Dove
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Magpie
Wood pigeon
Jay
12.02.2024
This Wednesday, The PROSPECTS Foundation will be hosting a winter bird ID walk at Memorial Park. The session will run from 9.30am to 11am. Everyone is welcome, but please do book in advance. Everything you need to know is on the poster below and, as always, you can email Brandon Cherry from Prospects if you have any questions.
30.01.2024
This Wednesday volunteers will be carrying on with the Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel removal. Tasks include using hand tools to fell and process invasive non-native species and extracting the arisings. If you’d like to join, you’d be very welcome – see details below 🌳
Time: 10am – 1pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 4-7°, Gusty winds and heavy rain, 13-17 mph winds, 0-20% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Steep inclines throughout the site, boggy and undulating terrain throughout the woodland.
23.01 2024
As well as the great work the Prospects team and volunteers are doing in the park, there are also various teams of contractors making changes across the site. Some things to look out for on your next visit include new, beautiful, railings being installed by the team from Farefence , and new upgraded surfaces around the Memorial.
In the next couple of months, contractors from Wade Group will be starting work to rebuild the low stone wall around the rear of the memorial garden, as well as completing other work around the park including installation of signage, interpretation and furniture.
As always, we’ll keep you updated here, so do check back regularly for details and pictures 🙂
23.01.2024
Due to the bad weather, the volunteering session due to take place tomorrow, 24th January, will be cancelled. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but we’re hoping for better conditions and temperatures next week 🙂
16.01.2024
Due to the expected temperatures, tomorrow’s volunteering session at Memorial Park on the 17th January 2024 is now cancelled.
Please stay safe and warm during the cold weather.
Thank you for your understanding, regular volunteer sessions shall resume next week on Wednesday 24th January 2024 (weather permitting) ❄️
15.01.2024
The next volunteer session will take place in Memorial Park this Wednesday, 17th January!
This week the PROSPECTS team will be continuing with the removal of Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel from Round Wood to help improve the local biodiversity of the site. The details for the volunteer session are below. It’s pretty cold this week, so please remember to wrap up warm again ❄️
Time: 10am – 1pm
Meeting point: Meet at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 1-3°, light snow and light winds, 6-7 mph winds, 35-39% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Steep inclines throughout the site, boggy and undulating terrain throughout the woodland.
09.01.2024
Tomorrow, our Memorial Park volunteers will learn how to identify trees in the winter season along with learning some facts about our native trees. All details are below – remember to wrap up warm as it’s been pretty chilly this week! ❄️
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 4-6°, light cloud and a gentle breeze, 10-12 mph winds, 0% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Steep inclines throughout the site, boggy and undulating terrain throughout the woodland.
07.01.2024
Thank you to everyone who came along to help with the bulb planting yesterday! Look forward to seeing you all again in Spring when the flowers bloom 🙂
04.01.2024
There will be another community planting session taking place this Saturday, 6th Jan from 10am – 2pm. Every bulb planted will help make the park and even better place to visit. Hope to see you there!
02.01.2024
Happy New Year, everyone! It’s going to be a busy one for us, and the volunteers supporting us with the Memorial Park project. There’s so much to look forward to – and we can’t wait to get the year started with a bulb planting session. Time to get outside and get active again after a lovely Christmas break. We’ll keep you updated on activities and volunteering opportunities here – so do check back regularly for updates.
Thanks again to Hyndburn Borough Council and Lancashire County Council for supporting this project, and also to the generous teams at Lancashire Environment Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Roll on 2024! 🙂
22.12.2023
As we approach Christmas, we thought we’d give you a quick reminder about who will be on site over the next few weeks. You’ll see the team from Farefence – they have started to install the new railings off Allsprings Drive, and hope to resume these works early in the new year. Following this, we will have a team from Wade Group starting work to rebuild the low stone wall around the rear of the memorial garden and picking up other works around the park including installation of signage, interpretation and furniture 🙂
12.12. 2023
This week’s Wednesday volunteering session will be continuing with the removal of the invasive non-native Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel to help improve the Biological Heritage Site, Round Wood. All details are below 🙂
Time: 10am – 1pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 5-6°, sunny intervals and a gentle breeze, 7-8 mph winds, 0% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland.
11.12.2024
What a day! Working with several classes from St. Bartholomew’s Primary School, we have created lots of new bird and bat boxes for Memorial Park. We’ve produced bird boxes in various sizes so that birds of all sizes can use them for nesting, egg laying, and roosting. The bat boxes have been made to mimic the small gaps and crevices where our small native bats would typically roost. Look out for them going up on site in the Spring!
08.12.2024
This week, the team from Prospects got festive and local families were invited to take part in a fun, sustainable, Reindeer Making craft event! The children were guided through the art of transforming fallen branches and logs into charming holiday decorations, that looked amazing. Well done, everyone 🙂
04.12.2023
Here are the details for Wednesday’s Memorial Park volunteering session 🙂
This week, volunteers can learn how to carry out a Woodland Condition Assessment and the value these surveys can have for informing future management decisions. Everything you need to know is below and, as always, you can email Brandon Cherry from Prospects if you have any questions.
Date: Wednesday, 6th December
Time: 10am – 2pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 1-3°, Light rain and a gentle breeze, 5-9 mph winds, 0% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland.
03.12.2023
Thank you to all the volunteers who joined in the community planting session on Saturday, 2nd Dec! The group planted wildflower bulbs including Ramsons, English Bluebells, Wood Anemone, Lesser Celandine and Snowdrops. The bulbs were planted in an area set aside for ‘rewilding’ to hopefully encourage pollinators to the area.
Thanks to everyone who came along and lent a hand, your efforts were greatly appreciated 🙂
28.11.2023
There will be no Wednesday volunteer session running in the park this week. However, If you’re free on Saturday, 2nd December, between 10am and 2pm you can join the team from Prospects for a community planting session at Memorial Park 🙂
The group will meet at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. All equipment will be provided, but please do make sure you wear warm clothes and suitable footwear.
This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your families to help improve local biodiversity, and we really hope to see you there!
If you have any questions, please email Brandon Cherry from Prospects, and he will be happy to help.
21.11.2023
Reminder…there will be another opportunity to take part in a volunteering session at Memorial Park tomorrow, 22nd November! This week, the team will be continuing with the removal of Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel inside Round Wood. All details are below, and if you have any questions, please email Brandon Cherry from Prospects, and he will be happy to help.
Time: 10am – 4pm
Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner
What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy steel-toe boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing, and bring plenty of water. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 10-11°, Light rain and a moderate breeze, 13-17 mph winds, 23-54% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland.
14.11.2023
Memorial Park Volunteering Opportunities!
The first memorial park volunteering session will take place this Wednesday, 15th November, between between 10am and 1pm. This session will focus on removing Rhododendron from the Biological Heritage Site, Roundwood.
The next sessions will be on Wednesday, 22nd November and they will run from 10am – 4pm. On this date there will be one woodland management training session and one Rhododendron bashing session.
All details for TOMORROW are below, but if you have any questions please email Brandon Cherry from Prospects, and he will be happy to help.
Date: 15th November, 2023
Meeting point: We will be meeting on Church Lane, Great Harwood, BB6 7PR. There is on-street parking available. Staff will be in orange hi-vis.
Google Maps link HERE
What3Words Location: nasal.albatross.shun
What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy steel-toe capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing, and bring plenty of water. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.
Facilities: There are no toilets on site.
Weather Forecast: Temperature around 9°, light rain showers and a moderate breeze, wind speeds between 15-16 mph, 25-29% chance of precipitation.
Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines present. Woodland is quite boggy.
05.10.2023
Despite the awful weather, the contractors from Wade Group have still made a good start at Great Harwood Memorial Park. If you’re visiting while the team are on site, please do take extra care.
As always, we’ll keep you updated on progress here – so do check back for regular updates!
26.09.2023
Contractors from Wade Group will begin work at Great Harwood Memorial Park on 2nd October, 2023. The works will be phased to avoid disruption to the site over Remembrance Sunday, with the path surfacing works being carried out first, followed by the walling and coping works after Remembrance Sunday.
The works include upgrading the existing paths and edging around the memorial garden, resurfacing around the base of the Memorial itself with new sandstone flags and edging, rebuilding the low wall to the rear of the Memorial Garden and installing a new coping to the top of the wall and replacing the missing copings to each side of the stone steps leading away from the Memorial.
It’s fantastic to get work started on site, and there are a lot more exciting updates to come – changes on site, activities, events and celebrations! We’ll keep you updated as things move forward. The project has been made possible thanks to funding from the teams at National Lottery Heritage Fund, Hyndburn Borough Council, the Levelling Up Fund and Lancashire Environmental Fund 🙂
19.09.2023
As part of this project, we’d love to work with an artist to create banners and interpretation panel artwork for the park. All of the details are available here: Artist Brief for Great Harwood Memorial Park Project
The deadline for tenders is 6th October, 2023 at 2pm.
24.07.2023
Exciting conversations with staff from St. Bartholomew’s Primary School, and a team from Accrington Library about the history of Great Harwood Memorial Park. We love uncovering more details about the people and places close by, and can’t wait to get local children more involved after the school holidays.
Until then… here are some great pictures which have been reproduced courtesy of Lancashire County Libraries. The first shows the original War Memorial in the park being unveiled by Mrs. Omerod and Major General Sir Neil Malcolm on 2nd October 1926. The second and third are extracts from the unveiling and dedication ceremony that took place on 29th May 1949, after the names of soldiers fallen in World War II were added.
06.06.2023
Since the funding for the project has been confirmed, we’ve been finalising plans for all of the works and activities that will take place during the project to improve Great Harwood Memorial Park.
Over the next 8-10 months, you’ll see a lot of changes on site including replacing damaged boundary railings, repairs to the war memorial itself and improvements to the memorial gardens, repairs to the old stone tree pits, tree management works, path upgrades, the installation of a new boardwalk, more bins / seating and tables, and even the installation of a bird box camera!
Community based activities to help people learn more about the history of the park, and opportunities to get hand on and volunteer with planting and other events will also be shared as the project progresses.
It’s taken us a little while to get here, but now we can’t wait to get started. We’ll share regular updates here, so do keep checking back for information 🙂
07.12.2022
Great news – the project team have now secured the funding needed for the Great Harwood Memorial Park improvements! The project has been made possible thanks to support from both Hyndburn Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, and the wonderful funding teams at Lancashire Environment Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
You can read more about it in the latest article published by the Lancashire Telegraph Great Harwood Park Get’s Makeover, and we’ll keep you updated on 2023 plans and progress as it happens too.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us get the project to this stage 🙂
08.06.2022
Thanks to everyone for their support with the project and consultations so far. We’re currently applying to, and speaking with, funders about securing the monies needed to make the improvements happen. We’ll let you know when we have more news, so do keep checking back here for updates!
14.12.2020
Just a reminder that there’s still time to let us have your thoughts and ideas for Great Harwood Memorial park. Click on the images below to enlarge the sketch design and take a look or click here to complete the survey. Thank you for your feedback!
23.11.2020 – For survey click here
- Improve and repair the war memorial
- Improve the garden area surrounding the war memorial including repairs to boundary walls and features and better sensory planting
- Woodland Management
- Upgrading paths to improve accessibility
- Upgrading / improving site boundaries
- Installing interpretation boards with local history details displayed
(Click to enlarge image)
As part of the physical improvement project, the group would also explore the history of the park through activities with local residents who can share their memories of the gardens and memorial, and children who can find out more about local history and heritage.
Once the site improvements have been made, the aim is to increase footfall in the park by offering an events and activity programme for the wider community on an ongoing basis.
However, before we move forward with this, we’d like to give you the opportunity to share your thoughts and feedback about the plans with us. You can do this by clicking on the link here: Great Harwood Memorial Park Survey
The survey is very short and should only take a couple of minutes to complete. Thank you for your time.
1.02.2020
We are pleased to announce we have been given permission to work with Friends of Memorial Park and Hyndburn Borough Council to try and attract investment into the memorial park. The work will focus on improving accessibility and the history of the memorial park and of the war memorial within the park as well as memories of local people of Great Harwood. The aim of the project is also to work with the Friends Group, Hyndburn Borough Council and the community to raise funds to improve the park. Specifically:
- The garden area surrounding the war memorial. This might include an awareness raising project with local children and/or war histories of local families, repairs to boundary walls and features; repairs to the memorial itself and better sensory planting (low maintenance)
- Increase colour in the park through low maintenance planting such as bulbs, wildflowers and shrubs; not flower beds
- Woodland management and upgrading paths – improving accessibility
- Upgrade/improve site boundaries
- Assess possibility of bringing stone outbuilding into use as learning resource for kids and community
- Increase footfall in the park with events and activity programme
- Create opportunities to engage with local senior citizens centre and Townfield House
- Interpret history of the park through activities, permanent displays and online material
