A crafty free day out marks amazing woodland history

Outdoor fans are being invited to have a go at rustic crafts and delve into the past with a brilliant free family event at Hollingworth Lake Visitors Centre.

The spectacular Woodland Heritage and Archaeology Festival will take place on Sunday 14 July 2019 at the waterside beauty spot, near Littleborough, with many opportunities to try bushcraft, wood working, willow weaving and also handle ancient artefacts like Roman pottery and prehistoric tools.

The event is backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and is being organised by rural regeneration agency Pennine Prospects and Rochdale Borough Council.

Other great attractions on the day include horse logging, pot making, metal working, zooarchaeology and textile workshops, with activities taking place between 11am and 3.30pm.

Organiser Chris Atkinson, from Pennine Prospects, who will don the uniform of legionnaire to celebrate the area’s Roman past, explained: “This is a great day of discovery for all ages and also a chance to try crafts for yourself and watch experts demonstrate their skills.

“Over the past three years we have worked on an exciting heritage project in the region’s woods, working with volunteers to uncover their history. The family day is a great way to celebrate this work and enjoy the amazing South Pennines landscape.”

 

 

Three of the woods surveyed in the heritage project were in Rochdale, including woods near Helpet Edge,  Broad Lane, where the site of a medieval farmstead was re-mapped to reveal its full extent, and Coptrod Wood, where an extensive network of water channels and ponds, constructed to power a number of 19th century mills, were surveyed and recorded.

Chris continued: “The project has improved our knowledge and understanding of our woods in the South Pennines. The work of over 300 volunteers from across the region has ensured that the archaeology is not only recorded and archived on a regional and national scale, but where possible protected.

“It has been particularly exciting to involve people of all ages in this process, as well as through numerous community outreach events, from excavations to forest schools and workshops teaching archaeological techniques. It’s been a big success."

A series of reports and a publication on the project and its findings covering nearly 40 woodlands will be published and made freely available by March 2020.

Despite its history and beauty, the South Pennines remains the only upland landscape in England not designated as a national park, or area of outstanding natural beauty. 

Pennine Prospect, established in 2005, is spearheading an ambitious plan with partners, including local authorities, to launch a self-declared South Pennines Park, embracing parts of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.  

Its aim is to unlock the region’s potential to nurture a thriving and resilient local economy, a landscape for the future and one that can be enjoyed by everyone.