A "very special open day" is happening in Freshwater's Golden Hill Country Park to mark the end of a two-year-long project by a charity to improve the site.
Storytellers, entertainers, archaeological and wildlife experts will all be on hand to share the fascinating recent developments and mark the 50th ‘Golden’ anniversary of the park’s creation and 150 years since the fort itself was built.
As exclusively reported by Isle of Wight Radio, a willow maze, inspired by the fort, has also been installed and commissioned, which is one of two in the whole of the UK and has proved popular with Islanders already.
Next Sunday (27 June) will be a chance to enjoy a glorious day out on one of the Island’s best, open access countryside sites, with its wide-open spaces, stunning views across the Solent and fascinating heritage.
Vanessa Langley, Project Coordinator told Isle of Wight Radio:
"On the 27th of this month at Golden Hill Country Park in Freshwater we are having a very special open day, which we have been working on for two years now, because of COVID it's taken longer.
"Basically we are inviting people to come and see what we have been up to including all the heritage work, the wildlife trails and of course our very special willow maze installation... It is made from local willow, from Afton Marsh and it comes out the ground and twists and turns. It's not a massive structure but the children love it and so does everybody, it has brought the heart back to the park that we wanted. "
Alongside the heritage discoveries, the Island’s environmental charity, Gift to Nature has been busy developing the site for the benefit of both people and wildlife, including planting a new community orchard.
Gift to Nature has been delivering a National Lottery Heritage Fund project, that has seen the military history studied, revealed and recorded by a team of archaeological volunteers led by Dr Ruth Waller.
Vanessa added:
"The site has been a little bit unloved and when Gift To Nature took the management of it we thought how can we bring this park back to life? One of the very interesting things is the site has a lot of military history and World War One heritage and we have been able to reveal and research all the buildings around the park which you can all see.
"We wanted to improve the access for people, manage it more for wildlife, Nick and Ed our rangers have been working really hard. We have orchids too which is a delight to see."
Created to echo the original fort structure and using local materials, willow artist Eddie Glew has built this spectacular addition that gives the park a unique attraction.
So, Islanders are invited to enjoy the refreshments, music, dancing and kite flying
Watch a video of the maze below...
The free event is on Sunday 27 June at 12pm.
Find out more about the event here.
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