We’re getting nearer to being lockdown-free, but have to abide by the COVID regs for the time being so, when in the parks please help everyone stay safe by respecting social distancing of 2m and limiting contact, and not sharing items with those outside your immediate household or support bubble. The limit on outside groups has been increased to 30 people and that will hopefully be done away with on19th July. Hugging family and friends is no longer illegal, although caution is advised.
The Drovers Return café is open for both indoor and outdoor sit-down meals as well as take-aways, so be sure to visit on the way past.
Love Parks ‘Week’
The Keep Britain Tidy Love Parks Week 2021 is planned for Friday 23rd July to Sunday 1st August this year. We have asked WNC if we can hold an event involving William, our favourite Shire horse, in the Country Park on Saturday 31st July, hoping that we will be free of COVID Lockdown restrictions by then. We’ll let you have more details once we get WNC’s agreement.
We have not got any mass litter picks scheduled (yet), but regardless of whether or not we are allowed to hold our planned event, we welcome anyone individually litter picking at any time.
Hunsbury Hill Centre Community Festival
Hunsbury Hill Centre, owned and managed by Northamptonshire ACRE, had planned to hold a Community Festival on Sunday 18th July but due to the extended COVID lockdown(s), that has now been moved to Sunday 5th September.
Should be a lot of fun, and it’s FREE ! We shall be there (COVID regs permitting) so hope you will be, too.
Heritage Open Days
Although we have now achieved our ambition to get Shire Horses (well, one anyway) back in the park fields after possibly a hundred years or more, by having Hartwell Shires’ William chain harrow our Wildflower Meadow on 20th September last year (check out photos and videos), we unfortunately were not allowed to make this a public event due to the COVID-19 restrictions, but we WILL be bringing William back to Hunsbury Hill this year once we are allowed to hold public events again and have already started thinking of some ideas for what we can arrange.
We would have liked to have him visit us in the Spring, but lockdown prevented that, so at the moment we are hoping to get William back for 2021’s Love Parks Week (see above) and the Heritage Open Days on Saturday 18th September. We’re thinking of a chain-harrowing competition, but probably not as you know it.
National Tree Planting Week
Rotary Club of Northampton West have kindly offered us some trees to plant, so we are liaising with the club and idverde to choose species, numbers, size, and potential planting locations.
This year, National Tree Planting Week is Sat. 27th November to Sun. 5th December, so we anticipate doing the planting with Rotary and idverde then.
Other things
Thinking further ahead, we are still hoping to organise an astronomy evening in early 2022, involving telescopes and moon-gazing.
In the meantime you can always enjoy our Tree Trail and can buy Northampton Lottery tickets using our dedicated page at any time. You can also read our Poems in the Park for Happiness, Humour, VE Day, Mothers’ Day, Valentines’ Day and Armistice Day by scrolling through our website Gallery at your leisure.
Be sure to enjoy the Wildflower Meadow and the Bluebell Wood, but with the latter, please do stick to the established paths round the edge of the wood so as not to squash or damage the flowers.
Remember to keep an eye on this website and on our Facebook page for updates.