2011

SJ6499 : Giant Woodpecker - Pennington Flash Country Park

taken 13 years ago, near to Lowton Common, Wigan, England

This is 1 of 2 images, with title starting with Giant in this square
Giant Woodpecker - Pennington Flash Country Park
Giant Woodpecker - Pennington Flash Country Park
This woodpecker sculpture is at the entrance to the woodland area north of the information centre and children's play area.
Pennington Flash Country Park

“Flashes” are lakes formed over time from mining subsidence. Pennington Flash, a 70-hectare lake at the centre of a 200-hectare country park between Lowton and Pennington, in Leigh, is a spectacular example of this phenomenon.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the land now under the Flash was farmland, crossed by railways and the meandering Hey Brook. Maps of the time marked the area as ‘liable to floods’ (LinkExternal link old-maps.co.uk).

The vast amounts of coal extracted by local collieries (all now closed) eventually caused the land to sink and by 1905, a large lake had formed, submerging two farms and flooding some of the railway lines. Originally, the Flash was larger than it is today. It was partly filled with colliery waste creating the spoil heap known as Ramsdale’s Ruck and the southern part of the flash was filled with domestic waste to prevent the regular flooding of St Helens Road. The idea of developing the site for recreation and conservation began to emerge and Pennington Flash Country Park was officially opened.

Now an extensive nature reserve with several bird hides and a network of tracks and footpaths, Pennington Flash Country Park is nationally renowned and is a classic example of natural regeneration.

(adapted from Pennington Flash information leaflet obtained on site)
also useful:
LinkExternal link - Wikipedia
LinkExternal link – RSPB Liverpool


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · North [6] · Giant Woodpecker [2] · Play Area [2] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
SJ6499, 88 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Tuesday, 19 April, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Thursday, 21 April, 2011
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 642 991 [100m precision]
WGS84: 53:29.2833N 2:32.4144W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 642 991
View Direction
North-northeast (about 22 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image classification(about): Geograph
This page has been viewed about 133 times
You are not logged in login | register