News

With the UK lockdowns winding down, and the public venturing back out into the gardens and parks across the country, Historic Houses officially launches the 2021 Garden of the Year Award with eight spectacular nominees to vote for from around Britain.

The Garden of the Year Award, sponsored by Christie's auction house, has been celebrating Britain's extraordinary historic gardens since 1984. The award is voted on by the general public and by Historic Houses members, with almost twelve thousand votes cast in the 2020 award, given to Mapperton Gardens in Dorset.

Keep Britain Tidy project LOVEmyBEACH is calling on all regular beach users to help identify and report signs of coastal pollution to help protect the North West coastline. 

Thanks to the hard work of LOVEmyBEACH volunteers and the Turning Tides Partnership, the North West coast is the cleanest and safest it has ever been, but pollution incidents still occur occasionally. Coastal pollution has the potential to harm our beaches, seas and wildlife, so LOVEmyBEACH is calling on beach users to help See it. Report it and Prevent it.

Ye Olde Bell is offering exclusive spa hire and private staycations for those after a getaway with friends and family.

The new staycations mean that guests can book safe in the knowledge that they can enjoy a spa and stay exclusively within their group.  

Ye Olde Bell, located in Barnby Moor, on the borders of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire will follow all government guidelines and there will be strict policies in place to ensure the safety of guests. 

Conservation charity WWT has announced it is to re-open its Martin Mere Wetland Centre on Wednesday, June 10. Members of the public and WWT members will have to pre-book online for the day they want to visit as part of measures to keep everyone safe. 

WWT’s priority is to ensure the public can access its beautiful waterscapes to help boost wellbeing and people’s connection with nature in the area. 

COVID-19 and new social distancing measures have led one soft fruit farm in Staffordshire to get creative, with the opening of its first ever strawberry drive-through.
 
Manor Farm Fruits located in Hints, three miles outside Tamworth, opened in 1973 and has been owned and run by the Clarke family for three generations. With a total of 55 acres of soft fruit, including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and blackberries, the farm is one of Staffordshire’s longest established soft fruit growers.