Witton Country Park
Encyclopedia
Witton Country Park is a 480 acre
(1.9 km²) public park
in the west of Blackburn, Lancashire
. Around half of the park is mixed woodland and parkland, while the rest is either farmland or rough grassland with open access. A visitors' centre features stables with exhibitions of old horse-drawn farm machinery, farm hand-tools and a natural history
room. A mammal
centre houses shrew
s, vole
s, ferret
s, rabbit
s and other animals, which are on display.
Each year, two events, namely "Arts in the Park" and "Blackburn with Darwen Mela
" takes place. These events formerly took place in Corporation Park
, but moved to Witton Park in 2005. "Arts in the Park" sees local bands playing, as well as more famous acts such as Liberty X
and Rolf Harris
. Also many other events take place throughout the day, which is usually ended with a set performed by an orchestra. Both events were cancelled in 2007 after torrential rain, and replaced by indoor events. The park is also the venue for the annual Blackburn Race for Life
charity fundraising event.
The park is the location of a secondary school, Witton Park Business and Enterprise College. The area now covered by the park was formerly owned by a distinguished local family, surnamed Feilden. The park is watered by the River Darwen
and River Blakewater, the latter flowing into the former within the park.
On the 11 April 2011, Prince William and Catherine Middleton visited Witton Country Park and greeted the Blackburn Harriers and Athletic Club.
There are a variety of walks within the park including a six mile perimeter hike which takes approximately four hours to complete.
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
(1.9 km²) public park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in the west of Blackburn, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. Around half of the park is mixed woodland and parkland, while the rest is either farmland or rough grassland with open access. A visitors' centre features stables with exhibitions of old horse-drawn farm machinery, farm hand-tools and a natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
room. A mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
centre houses shrew
Shrew
A shrew or shrew mouse is a small molelike mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders.Although its external appearance is generally that of...
s, vole
Vole
A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes, and differently formed molars . There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America...
s, ferret
Ferret
The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...
s, rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s and other animals, which are on display.
Each year, two events, namely "Arts in the Park" and "Blackburn with Darwen Mela
Mela
Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning 'gathering' or 'to meet' or a Fair. It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gathering and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sports. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were of great importance...
" takes place. These events formerly took place in Corporation Park
Corporation Park, Blackburn
Corporation Park is a traditional Victorian park in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. It was landscaped by William Henderson and opened in 1857. Corporation Park is regarded as the main formal park in Blackburn and is used mainly by local people for general recreation, walking and dog walking, as...
, but moved to Witton Park in 2005. "Arts in the Park" sees local bands playing, as well as more famous acts such as Liberty X
Liberty X
Liberty X were a British pop vocal group formed by the five contestants eliminated from the final ten qualifiers from the 2001 ITV show Popstars. The group consisted of Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor...
and Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
. Also many other events take place throughout the day, which is usually ended with a set performed by an orchestra. Both events were cancelled in 2007 after torrential rain, and replaced by indoor events. The park is also the venue for the annual Blackburn Race for Life
Race for Life
Race for Life is a series of fundraising events organised by the British charity, Cancer Research UK. They involve running, jogging or walking a 5-kilometre course and raising sponsorship for doing so. The money raised is donated to the charity to fund cancer research and campaigns...
charity fundraising event.
The park is the location of a secondary school, Witton Park Business and Enterprise College. The area now covered by the park was formerly owned by a distinguished local family, surnamed Feilden. The park is watered by the River Darwen
River Darwen
The River Darwen is a river running through Darwen and Blackburn in Lancashire.The river was seriously polluted with human and industrial effluent during the Industrial Revolution, up to the early 1970s. The river often changed colour dramatically as a result of paper and paint mills routinely...
and River Blakewater, the latter flowing into the former within the park.
On the 11 April 2011, Prince William and Catherine Middleton visited Witton Country Park and greeted the Blackburn Harriers and Athletic Club.
There are a variety of walks within the park including a six mile perimeter hike which takes approximately four hours to complete.