A community bluebell wood near Nantwich has been officially opened to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
A plaque to mark the Wistaston wildlife haven, part of the Crewe to Nantwich Greenway, was unveiled by Mayor of Crewe Peggy Martin.
She was joined by representatives from organisations involved in the project including Reaseheath College, Rotary Club of Crewe & Nantwich Weaver, Wistaston Conservation Group, Cheshire East Council and Blue Bell Motors Crewe.
Countryside students from the Nantwich college planted 5,000 bluebell bulbs on the plot, plus hundreds of young trees.
The trees were supplied by the Rotary Club, which acquired a free community tree pack from the Woodland Trust as part of its Jubilee Woods project.
The club also plans to plant a Royal Oak sapling – grown from an acorn gathered from a royal estate – in Church Square, Nantwich town centre.
The bluebells were appropriately sponsored by Blue Bell Motors Crewe, the local BMW dealer.
The newly planted area is on Cheshire East Council land and is part of the Crewe to Nantwich Greenway – a rural corridor linking Nantwich’s riverside walks with Crewe’s historic Queen’s Park along the A530 corridor.
The Greenway offers cyclists and walkers a traffic-free link between the two towns, and will be added to 13,000 miles of Sustrans’ National Cycle Network.
Peggy Martin said: “It has been fantastic how everyone in the community has worked together to create this lovely route through the area.
“Hopefully, these bluebell woods will be here for all to enjoy for many years to come.
“It has been a privilege to open the project, particularly at this special time when the Queen is celebrating 60 years on the throne.”
(Pic: Mayor of Crewe Peggy Martin with Phil Brown of Blue Bell Motors, Neville Care of Reaseheath College, Simon Yates of The Rotary Club Crewe & Nantwich Weaver, Rob Carey of Cheshire East Council, David O’Hara Wistaston Park Ranger, and John Wood of Wistaston Conservation Group).
Quote from the article, “The Greenway offers cyclists and walkers a traffic-free link between the two towns, and will be added to 13,000 miles of Sustrans’ National Cycle Network” unquote.
The Crewe to Nantwich Greenway is far from complete. Phase 3, which should go from the junction of Wistaston Green Road and Middlewich Road (which is where the Bluebell Wood plaque is situated)to the Barony Park in Nantwich has not yet been started.