P S i i i l^ P P ^ "
sw^%4- <*' --L - - I RURAL LIFE-: ears q ERE is a'certain irony / '
in the history of the ’ . RSRB at Leighton Moss. First of all the RSPB is
~Ssa conservation charity with
if.ya particular interest in birds;.. sjfebutwhen
it.took out a lease ■
-
S|on the site in 1964 there were ^shooting rights
on.the land; : ■ ^Secondly; whenit did buy JS-boththe land (1974) and the i%shootirig rights (1984) from the Leighton Hall estate, the latter
s/costjmore than the former. ■ Now it can congratulate itself
-, f on_its foresight; not only is the ■ ^,reserye:the largest
reed-bed.in * rfi^the]N6fth.West;ithas played a : •sskeyroleinproviding a homeforrare ^ birds. ^rjujn back the dock to the 1800s and J^-you would still have seen reed-bed ' %at Leighton Moss but, unlike today, i i it would have been flooded with salt .. water from the sea.
. , .
rgijWhen the/railway.embankment was pi built jnthe'rniddle of the century, the land was:drained forfarming and the:
S^area'became known asthegolden. .-■/valley; Because it was so good for - - “growingcrops/, ■
r. ,'
As the end of the First World War , • approached, fuel and manpower
Over
of our local
population
actively seeking
employment at any time
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f o f i ?
' " Lodge'Bank Estate,-Cro.wn Lane, Horv /TelepHone: 01204 664488 I Email:'sales'(^^^^
horwind6ws.co.'uk
,
www.grosvenorwindowMIo.uk .. ........ « — ----» ---* — ■ ~ riTKni '
first year,- and paths built - and therl was just one warden, John Wilson:1 In April 1965, the site was opened? ,
to visitors and in- - .
t that year 375 people I visited, all of whom/1
t had to apply for^/S: ? a permit from the/H,
'“RSPBhead office irri .Bedfordshire.
£ By contrast, the diner! visitor centre, opened!
rin 1980; welcomes , about 100,000 visitors! a year. .
The RSPB bought' Leighton Moss in;./§|
19.74. Inthesame year|
shortages meant the drainage : ■ pumps were turned off and the land
. quickly re-flooded, but this time with ■ . fresh water, and returned to wetland, which was used for wildfowling by...-. the Leighton Hall estate: • - ■ ■When the site was leased to ~ v
- the RSPB in 1964 it looked very •> different from how it looks’now. -The’: ■ causeway was there, but little else/ v.r until a 10ft by 8ft hut was built to provide a tool store and reception. Three hides were installed in that •
.-it bought an area of . Morecambe Bay the : : /size of.2,000 football:
pitches; and the rights to a further-1
, 800 ’pitches; making them RSPB: -Leighton Moss and Morecambe Bal nature reserve.
; In 198J it bought a section of:- v-
Warton.Crag;home to some rare:
. and special butterflies. The new •
.millennium.saw purchases at Barrovi -Scout FieldsjSilverdale Mossand! I
' Challan Hall Woods, turning it intoT reedbeds that provide sites for. wildlife using Leighton Moss.
• Wednesday, February 26,2i ■Wednesday,February26 ,2014 RURAL IIFE" I
0 ^ 3 T h e D U K E Y O R K
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