•rfll . I RURAL LIFE Wednesday, February 2 tagjj 1. Wednesday, February26,2014 RURAL LIFE Country Trails
- When,the law was changed in-1995 to.v ’ '-i\ allow couples to gefmarriecfin places^ „*£j?
^licensed to, hold civil,weddingberemoniespS ^rtwasthe^tartof a whole new'ideaof how
^ and where to get married;^ w
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* s
In 1961 70% ofmaVriages
were..cgnducted in religious premises with tKe/remaining
T i* *
,,30% using Registry
Offices..Today 67%"of^/ w marriage ceromonies conducted'are non-" ' ' religious, the majority of which now take 5; ^ place in civil approved-venues.
The rise in demand for-these sorts of add weddings to their resume.’ r „ ^ weddingsi has given manyribusihesses’such "People are looking for something different" tu „ «ia/ . . . n - t
100 guests in'the.evenihg"' ‘
for their weddin9s now and that’s What we f J ] 2 ! T “ T ? re ,l?ei ,deal P°aW° " can provide" says Ra'chel fromThe'Priorv -
- ^ .\restaurant already serving an excellent We
special.se ini small to medium sized, . Variety of loyally sourced dishes and
boroughs, the Forest of Bowland, United Utilities,
-.the Forestry ' v - Commission arid others, has opened up a number of "Tramper" trails over the county. A tramper is a robust, motorised •' buggy especially designed to travel on off road tracks.
A great I
N recent years, Lancashire County Council, working in partnership with the
countryside services of its- , f
Across
the.colifnty/ but particularly in the Forest of Bowland, there are ’ 4 a number, of sites wKeretram'pefs' v \- can be hired (often/atanominali -
v i
• t?e)» allowing those thajt use them.X^ access
to.Lancashire's wo'nderful " (and under-rated) countryside:-This : week we feature a tramper trail in the Gisbum'Forest.: x - :
; T|ie Gisbum Forest is unusual in the
wider area "of the. Forest of Bowland in that it is a forest’- th a t is it has ” trees! Lots of them.■
Those readers familiar with the ■: Forest of Bowland will know that ■
referring to the area's past as a • fpyal hunting park.
. The location at the start of the walk lies close to Lancashire's lost village
, old church can be'seen to the rear of the carpark.*-
Indeed, the ruins of the . ’ "
■ ■
. much of it is characterised by a'” -' ” . lack of trees' - th e term "forest" -
!
In the 1920s, as Blackpool wasvu- ' becoming more and more popular, V
^attracting millions of visitors, it was ' facing a problem with water
supply.fi, To meet this situation, the.Fylde - . ri ,. Water Board constructed a dam and flooded the. head of
v ”/ :
the Hodder Valley to create the reservoir. The project required an army of : more than 500 men at its height. : J
•Although outside the area of "" i:’ - ‘
. flooding, the church, vicarage, • school and a numberoffarmsi'. ’- i
.were demolished to protect waterf quality/
„ / j
• Now this whole area - forest arid' • reservoir, is an outdoor playground. Apart from the place's obvious - attraction to walkers, there is a - ■ • fishery on the reservoir, and the • Forest of Gisbum is a magnet to -
mountain bikers. , -
-• / A?,will be seen on the trail, this is ®:prie ofthe best places in Lancashire '
•,;‘,f°rbircfwatching, with wildfowland j ; waders out on the water, and then A * an impressive range of species -• '.attracted to' woodland habitats; ■' •
V Directions: Facing Stocks :
F : Reservoir, take the footpath in the. - v-right comer which is the start of-
■ - to
Start/finish: School Lane
carparlc.Gisbum Forest. SD . 732562. From Slaidbum, follow
,signs for. Long Preston and Tosside'.on B6478. After two
: 'miles turn left onto Dugdale - La’rie.-v^fter passing the church
•■..?TPa|ehead, the road crosses: ■; ;
a.causeway. Beyond this is the y entrance to the Hub (BB7 4TS) atStephen Park,a new visitor ,, centre/car park and viewpoint. ;,-TT)e start of the trail itself is
;'fS / u.rther along as the lane turns f sharp right.
T
• Distance: 2km (One-and-a-half ' miles)
-
Time: 30mins to one hour — (walking); One hour by tramper
- Summary: Trampertrail Maps: OS OL 41 Forest of Bowland
- -:
. the circular walk. This passes first the picnic area and then a tramper
friendly track to a bird watching A hide.
. Almost 800yds from the start; at a marker post, turn right on to a much
narrowertrack entering woods. In a little over 200yds this arrives at
■ a junction in more open ground..... Turn right. Now, on a broader track,
keep ahead through tall trees.- - * Keep on the track as it swings r ig h ts
, crossing a culvert, and descends through' broadleaf woodland to bring you back on the footpath
. dose to the car park. Turn left.- ; ®
Check out
www.forestofbowland. com for more information about - this and other trails. The Forest of o Bowland tramper can be hired from w The Hub at nearby Stephen Park. Readers are advised to give 48 -
^ , hours notice to check availability.-
, To check, call 01200 446533. The suggested donation is £15 per 1- •- day to help cover maintenance 1/''- - and insurance. Before use, a short .lesson will be given bn hovvto operate the vehicle.:
, • devised by Lancashire
County Council in partnership ’'/- , , with Forest^ofrBowlandra. <*- -
Described by Bob'cfare: FoV more walks g o to
www.lancashirewalks.
' : ® , • * '? 9r°wln9 market wi,h their :
. asThe Priory, in Scorto'n the ppportunify>o.r.yrtimate weddin9s typically for up to 60; ’ ■; ,-guests for the ceremony and breakfast'and'
brinks.These are/then .tailored to suit each - J set of wedding
guests.Thereis also a hoteL with 7r1oveJy bedrooms;meaning it really is ■
a one stopshop for the lucky guests. 1 »>■> /
■ ■ y ,."v. »• y f .* • -.-r ? : , •* . 4 *^.*4.’ -x*- . • ” - '
.-..-"When
we.realised a-lot of couples wanted everything in one-venue, we opened up our private garden-for Champagne
vadded;avHj3neymoon'surte'to'the:h6tel";>tv:^ ;
>-
It seems as though the trend is set to - continue with 2014 set to be a boom
wedding year due to superstitions about getting married in 2013 causing couples
to delay t^eir-big day. Many venues . offer discounted rates on Friday 13th as
superstitious"couples often avoid booking weddings on this day.
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