What's on in the park? Check here!Feasting At The Festival
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The monthly update on what's going on in and around the park is now available. Either download it from here or use the contact form to request your details are added to the mailing list so it comes to you directly every month.
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Guided Walk
4 July 2016
One of their finds on the walk.
On Saturday 2nd July we held a "Wildflowers and Beasties" walk, led by one of our Rangers. A select group of 6 assembled at 10.30am in the Winding Engine House car park ready to set off into the park with Rob as their guide. They walked a circuit of the park including several of the diverse habitats which are home to a wide variety of flora & fauna. They had finished by about 12.30pm, leaving time for a visit to the café where all six enjoyed a cuppa & a cake and viewed their photos of the walk.
We have some photos of the walk in the gallery.
We have some photos of the walk in the gallery.
Walk In The Woods
29 June 2016
Get out and walk in the woods - It's officially good for you! Bestwood Country Park has lots of trees for you to enjoy as you walk through the park from Bestwood Village to Arnold or vice versa. Give yourself a break from all those electronic gadgets and find some peace & quiet. Recent studies have shown that walking in woods reduces blood flow to those parts of the brain associated with brooding. It can have an effect on your physical well being too by lowering blood pressure, boosting energy and combating depression. And of course best of all this is one therapy that is free!
Read all about this ultimate antidote to stress here.
Read all about this ultimate antidote to stress here.
On Your Bikes
15 June 2016
The Rangers have noted that the motorbike nuisance and disturbance in the park is increasing. If you see this going on, please report it to the Police by calling 101. It’s only when such reports pile into them that they’re able to take action on it. If you live close by the park, tell your friends and neighbours!
Flower Festival
14 June 2016
The park has been showing us some of its most spectacular blooms this month. Keen local photographer Tamsyn Cheetham managed to find a couple of our most prized little gems & took photos of them to share the joy. Like all wild flowers these should not be picked. If you come across them please enjoy them in their natural environment, decorating our lovely park.
Dates For Your Diary
6 June 2016
Please note these dates of future events in your diary:-
Arnold Carnival – FoBCP stand will be involved on Saturday 18 June 2016. Gill and Richard will be attending, so look out for them.
Oakwood Academy Food Festival will be held on Saturday 2 July 2016 and volunteers for a FoBCP stand are required. Please contact Gill asap.
Friends of Greenwood Awards Ceremony would be held on Monday 11 July 2016. FoBCP members interested in attending, let Gill know before 17 June 2016.
Arnold Carnival – FoBCP stand will be involved on Saturday 18 June 2016. Gill and Richard will be attending, so look out for them.
Oakwood Academy Food Festival will be held on Saturday 2 July 2016 and volunteers for a FoBCP stand are required. Please contact Gill asap.
Friends of Greenwood Awards Ceremony would be held on Monday 11 July 2016. FoBCP members interested in attending, let Gill know before 17 June 2016.
June Meeting & AGM
5 June 2016
Our next meeting is on Thursday 16 June, 7.30 pm, at Bestwood Lodge Hotel. It will also be our AGM, when the posts of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer will be up for nominations from the committee. The current Chair, Margret, will delivery a summary of the past year and the current Treasurer, Gill, will review our spending and fund-raising over the last 12 months. The remainder of the meeting will be on the normal agenda. Check out more details on the meetings page.
June Activities
4 June 2016
The "What's On" events sheet is available for the month of June. Make sure you don't miss out on anything happening in and around the park by checking out the details here or clicking below to download your own copy.
| june_bcp_events.pdf |
The Lark Ascending
23 May 2016
Yesterday 21 members of the Friends of Bestwood Country Park gathered at 9am to enjoy a walk around the park with the focus on our bird life. Expertly guided by Brian and Norman they made their way around the back of the Winding Engine House and over to Mill Lakes. During the 2 hour wander they saw 30 birds and heard another 3. They were treated to sightings of our resident buzzard circling over the lakes, a passing cormorant and sky larks soaring in full song over the reclaimed pit tip area. Other sightings included chiffchaff, great tit, blackbird, thrush, black cap, willow warbler and lots of waterfowl, most excitingly a teal. We also noted a few butterflies: green-veined white, orange tip & speckled wood. There are a few photos of the event in the gallery. If you want to be notified of other events like this please sign up for the newsletter by getting in touch with us using the contact form
Bank Holiday Bonanza
30 April 2016
In addition to the normal Saturday opening hours the Dynamo House Café and the Winding Engine House will be open for visitors on BH Monday. The free tours of the WEH will run from 10am to 12 noon and the Café will be serving up hot & cold drinks and home-baked cakes from 10am to 1pm. Free car-parking is available at both ends of the park - check out our maps for details.
Japanese Update
29 April 2016
Back in March the Thursday volunteers undertook some work in the Japanese Gardens. Gedling BC had used a small digger to remove a tangled corner border of old roots, brambles and nettles and had left us with a pile of top soil. Our job involved levelling out the newly arrived top soil in readiness for seeding with grass.
It was an opportunity to check out what was flowering in and around the Japanese Gardens too. Gill was on hand as ever armed with her camera to capture the work & what they found blooming. Check out the photos in the gallery.
It was an opportunity to check out what was flowering in and around the Japanese Gardens too. Gill was on hand as ever armed with her camera to capture the work & what they found blooming. Check out the photos in the gallery.
Butterflies & Reptiles
28 April 2016
Two interesting opportunities have come up in nearby parks we thought you might be interested in. You can take part in a reptile survey at Sherwood Pines or learn more about the Grizzled Skipper butterfly at Balderton Village Central Pavilion. Both events take place on Saturdays in May. Find out more on our Greenwood Events Page.
Talk Talk
25 April 2016
The Sherwood Lecture series continues! The next two upcoming lectures are an Archaeological Walk and Talk with Andy Gaunt on 15th May and A Dusk Chorus in the Forest with Carl Cornish 16th May. You can see details of the where & when on the poster in our Greenwood Events Page. For further information ring Visitor Information Centre on 01623 823202.
Big Day Out - as advertised on Radio Nottingham
18 April 2016
Once again the Winding Engine House was one of the heritage destinations taking part in Radio Nottingham's Big Day Out on Sunday. This meant an extra day of opening up the WEH & the Dynamo House Café as the regular Sunday opening doesn't start until June.
The extra publicity we received by being part of this county-wide event resulted in great numbers coming along to the park. We even had a queue waiting for the free tours of the WEH. The café took well over £100 which when you only charge 50p for each drink or cake means plenty of customers passed through the doors. The radio interview that Bob and Margret took part in on 29 March was re run in sections throughout the day on Radio Nottingham and obviously helped to bring in the crowds. If you missed it you can catch it again here. (Best viewed not as full screen.)
The extra publicity we received by being part of this county-wide event resulted in great numbers coming along to the park. We even had a queue waiting for the free tours of the WEH. The café took well over £100 which when you only charge 50p for each drink or cake means plenty of customers passed through the doors. The radio interview that Bob and Margret took part in on 29 March was re run in sections throughout the day on Radio Nottingham and obviously helped to bring in the crowds. If you missed it you can catch it again here. (Best viewed not as full screen.)
County Life Coverage
15 April 2016
We were very proud to find an article about the Bestwood Winding Engine volunteers in this month's edition of Nottinghamshire County Council's County Life magazine.
If you didn't get a copy delivered through your door you can just download a copy here or see a copy of the article on our "What the papers say" page by clicking here.
If you didn't get a copy delivered through your door you can just download a copy here or see a copy of the article on our "What the papers say" page by clicking here.
Free Photo Walks
6 April 2016
We have news of some free photo walks in neighbouring parks. Take your camera along for the walk and learn how to take a more interesting picture with an expert. For more details click here.
Spring Newsletter Plus
5 April 2016
The FoBCP Spring Newsletter is now available to download on the What's On page. Have a quick read and make a note of the events that you want to attend so you never miss out on an opportunity to enjoy time in the park.
As an added bonus this time there is a Bestwood Spring Creatures Feature sheet to download here.
As an added bonus this time there is a Bestwood Spring Creatures Feature sheet to download here.
| bestwood_spring_creature_feature.pdf |
Big Day Out
4 April 2016
Once again the Winding Engine House will be taking part in the Radio Nottingham Big Day Out on Sunday 17 April. For the full list of locations offering free entry click here.
Feeding The Big BAG
25 March 2016
Yet again the task of feeding the 120 delegates and lecturers attending the big Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group day of talks at Brackenhurst College fell to the FoBCP. Rallying their army of bakers who support the Dynamo House Café they managed to supply home-baked biscuits at morning break and cake for pudding at lunchtime. Any leftovers were snapped up at afternoon break. Despite offering these refreshments free of charge the donations rolled in and £110 was found in the ladybird money box at the end of the day. All profits will be ploughed back into the park via the FoBCP. Thanks to everyone who was involved in baking, serving, eating and donating. Of course the whole thing was in jeopardy when the cakes got stuck in the lift... but that's another story!
Volunteering Opportunities
12 March 2016
Notts County Council have posted up the latest dates when you can volunteer to help out in the park. You could become one of the regular Thursday Volunteers who help to maintain the park and improve it for all our visitors. Check out the details here.
More Coverage In The Papers
19 February 2016
On Monday this week we received even more great coverage in the Nottingham Post following the launch of the Timeline Booklet. Read the 2 page article here.
Oh Deer!
13 February 2016
At the last monthly meeting of the Friends Of Bestwood Country Park it was noted that lots of roe deer had been spotted in the park. We are also keeping a special eye out for any sightings of nightjar and woodlark in the park. If you see any of these special visitors, or anything else interesting in the park, please drop us a line and let us know. Get in touch here.
Covered In Papers
8 February 2016
The launch of the new timeline booklet was covered in the local press last week. Several local papers including the Nottingham Post and the Hucknall & Bulwell Dispatch gave over space to announce its arrival. This resulted in some new faces at the café on Saturday, despite the weather being miserable.
Check out what the papers had to say here.
Check out what the papers had to say here.
Remember when....
1 February 2016
We have had a query from our website Forum – can anyone help?
“My first memory of the park was doing a litter pick / clear in the late 1970s with neighbours from Rise Park. I remember clearing a very steep bank, hanging onto ropes that were secured to trees at the top of the slope. I would have been about 8 at the time, does anyone else recall this, or know who we were clearing for?”
If you recall this and can shed light on what was happening please contact us using the contact us form.
“My first memory of the park was doing a litter pick / clear in the late 1970s with neighbours from Rise Park. I remember clearing a very steep bank, hanging onto ropes that were secured to trees at the top of the slope. I would have been about 8 at the time, does anyone else recall this, or know who we were clearing for?”
If you recall this and can shed light on what was happening please contact us using the contact us form.
Miners of African Caribbean Heritage Project
31 January 2016
Nottingham News Centre, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund will begin an exciting project: Coal Miners of African Heritage - Narratives from Nottinghamshire, which will document the memories of former African-Caribbean coal miners of Nottingham & Nottinghamshire from the nationalisation of British Coal in 1947, to the miners’ strikes of the 1970 and 1980s and to the end of British coal mining in 2015.
Bestwood Country Park and the WEH will be one of the focal points for the project with displays & events being held there over the coming months. Look out for information on these events on this website & advertised in the Dynamo House Café.
One of our WEH volunteers has recollections of the Black miners who worked at Bestwood and Gedling Pits but we are keen to discover more.
Do you remember Black miners at local collieries? If so, please drop in and talk to our heritage officer or drop an email to Laura.
Bestwood Country Park and the WEH will be one of the focal points for the project with displays & events being held there over the coming months. Look out for information on these events on this website & advertised in the Dynamo House Café.
One of our WEH volunteers has recollections of the Black miners who worked at Bestwood and Gedling Pits but we are keen to discover more.
Do you remember Black miners at local collieries? If so, please drop in and talk to our heritage officer or drop an email to Laura.
Love Food : Hate Waste
25 January 2016
On Saturday afternoon the Dynamo House was the venue for a free workshop on the theme of reducing food waste in the home. Tutor, Peter Hellawell drew attention to areas where savings could be made on your weekly shopping and explained how to store the food better to increase its shelf-life once you take it home. Making the most of all your ingredients including left-overs also featured on the 3 hour course. To read more about the day see the Nottingham Post's article here. To find out more about the WRAP Love Food :Hate Waste campaign click here.
Pages Of History
24 January 2016
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After months of planning and preparation the historical information set out on the information boards in the Dynamo House are available on paper. A wonderful A5 booklet has been produced containing the text and images from the boards for our visitors to buy and take home. At just £1 a copy it is a real bargain and a great memento of a visit to the park, the Winding Engine or the Dynamo House Café. The Friends Group would like to thank everyone who has been involved in this project, not least Counsellor Pauline Allen and NCC'c Linda Hardy who have both helped make this possible.
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Let It Snow!
18 January 2016
The park saw its first snowfall of the season this weekend and Gill was out and about with her camera to capture the moment. Check out some lovely shots of the park under its snowy-white blanket in the gallery.
Young Baker's Début
11 January 2016
Last weekend we had a contribution from what is almost certainly our youngest ever baker. Jodie (8) had baked (with a little help) a wonderful iced lemon cake for us to sell on Saturday. We were very happy to receive this donation as the sunshine had brought out walkers in good numbers and without it we would have certainly run out of cake. Jodie's lemon cake was snapped up almost as soon as it was cut and the customers said it was marvellous. The money we made from selling it, as always, will be fed back into the park to buy items likes bird seed, benches and picnic tables. Look out for more cakes from our budding baker in the coming months.
Meet The Team - Laura
7 January 2016
As many of you will know we have been lucky enough to have Laura Simpson join the NCC team as Heritage Tourism Officer. She took over from Adele and ran the Steam Punk and Victorian Market events last year. We thought it was about time we all get to know her a little better so you can read her story in the Park People section here.
Happy New Year!
3 January 2016
We are looking forward to a great year ahead in Bestwood Country Park. The Dynamo House Café is thriving and will continue to be open every Saturday 10am to 1pm with tours of the Winding Engine House on offer 10am to 12 noon. The monthly health walks continue on Wednesday mornings as do guided Nordic walks on Saturday mornings. There are regular volunteer days where you can involved in helping to keep the park looking at its very best. For details of all these and more park events check out our events page, where you can also download the Winter newsletter.
Seasonal Canine Illness
31 December 2015
Although we have received no reports of this from our park we felt it sensible to alert visitors to the issue and offer advice should they be concerned. Click here for some general advice and please report any local cases to us so that we can act to inform and protect other users of the park.
Mini Victorian Fair
12 December 2015
Today saw the Dynamo House converted into a pop up mini Victoria Market place with goods on sale made by young people from Stapleford. They enhanced the Victorian feel of the event by donning period costumes to man their stalls.
There was a tombola to test your luck and Christmas wreaths made at a recent workshop were also on sale. The event was very successful raising over £300 for the FoBCP funds. For a few photos of the event check out the Gallery.
There was a tombola to test your luck and Christmas wreaths made at a recent workshop were also on sale. The event was very successful raising over £300 for the FoBCP funds. For a few photos of the event check out the Gallery.
Pictures Tell The Story
11 December 2015
Photographs of the amazing event "A Celebration of the Forest" back in November are now available. The images taken by Hue Of Two show the story of the evening with entertainment from several strands of the art world. To view them click here.
Christmas Cracker
10 December 2015
Once again NCC arranged a great thank you party for all the various volunteer groups involved in making Bestwood Country Park an amazing place. They all gathered at Emmanuel Church for a pie & pea supper served up with love by Sue & Laura. Sue also set a testing quiz for the tables to tease their brains with over the great range of puddings. The whole evening was a treat for everyone and fun was had by all. Photos are in the gallery.
Christmas Creations
6 December 2015
Today 10 local ladies enjoyed a couple of hours turning spruce, holly, ivy and fir into Christmas wreaths. The workshop was held at the Dynamo House from 1pm to 3.30pm and resulted in lots of festive fun and some wonderful festive creations to take home & enjoy. A few extra wreaths and sprays were made and these will be available to buy at the Mini Victorian Christmas Market being held at the Dynamo House on Saturday 12 December between 2pm and 4pm.
Photos of the wreaths are in the gallery.
Photos of the wreaths are in the gallery.
Looking Forward
2 December 2015
A new set of Thursday volunteer day dates have been announced. So if you feel like getting out into the park and putting something back into your community in the New Year go and check out the dates on offer. Click here.
FoBCP Meeting - Date Change
18 November 2015
To avoid a clash with the Celebration of the Forest Event (see below) the date of the monthly FoBCP meeting has been changed. We will now meet on Thursday 26 November instead of the 19th. The venue remains at the Bestwood Lodge Hotel and the meeting will start at 7.30pm as normal. Anyone is welcome to come along and observe the meeting.
Ground Breaking News
15 November 2015
Heavy machinery has been seen inside the park gates opposite the Post Office - yes work is about to start on the MUSA area. Weather permitting, they will start work on Monday 16th November and estimate completion within about 3 weeks - again, weather permitting. You should be able to ride your BMX, play football or basketball, or try the trim trail by Christmas - fingers crossed !
This week we will be taking delivery some young trees donated by the Woodland Trust and sourced by the Bestwood Village WI. The trees will be a bundle of 105 "Wild Harvest" species and will be planted by the rangers and volunteers behind the Winding Engine House to provide extra cover and food for the local wildlife. Look out for lots of planting activity in that area over the coming weeks and for photos of the work in the gallery.
In The News Earlier...
News from October 2015 and before is stored on our News Archive page here.
In partnership with
Who are we?
The Friends of Bestwood Country Park was formed in late 2007 and focuses its activities a few miles north of Nottingham in Bestwood Country Park.
The group’s aim overall is to promote the interests of our big beautiful park, its habitats and flora and fauna as well as its many human visitors and its historic buildings, and to serve as an active means of communication and co-operation between all users.
The group meets most months on the 3rd Thursday of the month at the Bestwood Lodge Hotel. You can check out what goes on at the meetings page. We are always looking for new members to join us and everyone is welcome to come along to the meetings. If you think you would be interested in coming along please use the contact us form to let us have your details.
The group’s aim overall is to promote the interests of our big beautiful park, its habitats and flora and fauna as well as its many human visitors and its historic buildings, and to serve as an active means of communication and co-operation between all users.
The group meets most months on the 3rd Thursday of the month at the Bestwood Lodge Hotel. You can check out what goes on at the meetings page. We are always looking for new members to join us and everyone is welcome to come along to the meetings. If you think you would be interested in coming along please use the contact us form to let us have your details.
What do we actually do?
_There are several strands to the group of people interested in the park so it is not all about meetings! If you’re into engineering, you might be interested in joining the Winding Engine House Volunteers. If you’re into practical conservation, there’s a group that meets on Mondays (except bank holidays) to help the rangers with their work. A similar practical group meets on the first Sunday of the month. No experience necessary and tools will be provided.
To find out more check out out volunteering page under the Events tab.
To find out more check out out volunteering page under the Events tab.
The Forum
We have previously run a web forum where people can log any wildlife they see or get involved in discussion threads on issues involving the park. This old forum has been moved into this website where all old posts have been archived.
How to register
You can now register to add your new sightings or ask questions on the new forum hosted as part of this site. Just hover on the "Contact Us" tab above to find the Forum page.
The way you register to submit posts is by ‘associating an existing account’ you may have with another system such as Weebly, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, etc. so if you don't already have an account with one of those, you will need to sign up for one.
The way you register to submit posts is by ‘associating an existing account’ you may have with another system such as Weebly, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, etc. so if you don't already have an account with one of those, you will need to sign up for one.
Useful Links
Read the Richard the Ranger's blog - click here
Read Rob's blog - click here
Read Rob's blog - click here
Bestwood Country Park Facebook account
Bestwood Country Park Flickr site
Bestwood Park Photos by Katja Hock
Bestwood St Albans Parish Council
Bestwood Village WI
Bestwood Village Wikipedia entry
Greenwood Community Forest
Gedling BC - Country Parks
Love Parks
Mercian Archaeological Services
Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group
Nottinghamshire CC - Country Parks
Rise Park Bestwood Country Park Pages
If you have images of the park you would like to add to our gallery please send them in to us using photos@fbcp.org.uk
You can discuss the format we need using the contact us form.
Bestwood Country Park Flickr site
Bestwood Park Photos by Katja Hock
Bestwood St Albans Parish Council
Bestwood Village WI
Bestwood Village Wikipedia entry
Greenwood Community Forest
Gedling BC - Country Parks
Love Parks
Mercian Archaeological Services
Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group
Nottinghamshire CC - Country Parks
Rise Park Bestwood Country Park Pages
If you have images of the park you would like to add to our gallery please send them in to us using photos@fbcp.org.uk
You can discuss the format we need using the contact us form.
Actually wanted Friends of Buchan Country Park, based in West Sussex? If so, click here:- fobcp.org.uk.
