Time spent outdoors can be great for our wellbeing and provide endless opportunities for making, and re-living, happy memories.
Through our Days to Remember project we'd like to encourage older people and people living with dementia, alongside family members and carers, to explore and enjoy this beautiful area.
Experiencing Bowland through walking, wildlife spotting and picnicing - or perhaps some star gazing, local heritage or arts and crafts - can be great fun! Of course, there are times when a trip to the great outdoors isn't possible and, at those times, we do hope you'll enjoy a virtual "visit" to the Forest of Bowland.
Take a look at the suggestions below, where you'll find lots of ways to keep connected to nature.
OUT AND ABOUT
Please note that the details below are given for information/interest. Responsibility for these sessions lies with the organisers. Please contact them directly to decide if they are suitable.
Garstang Short Walks
Join Wyre Council volunteer walk leaders for a relaxed walk along the footpaths and tracks of Garstang`s countryside and historic Market Town, taking in fresh air and enjoying the views of the River Wyre, Lancaster Canal, farm fields and the Bowland hills. Meeting every Monday (except Bank Holidays) at 11am in Cherestanc Square, off Park Hill Road, Garstang (near to Visit Garstang Centre).
These are easy walks lasting up to 1 hour and aim to be accessible to all. There's also chance for a warming brew in Garstang Library afterwards.
No need to book, just turn up. For more information on this and other short walks please contact greatoutdoors@wyre.gov.uk or ring 01253 887502.
These walks are suitable for Trampers but you'll need to book one seven days in advance. You can ring the Duty Ranger for any specific enquiries with regard to the Tramper - 07976650803.
Please note that Wyre Coast & Countryside Service can adapt certain activities to accommodate specific needs, such as people living with dementia. To find out more and discuss what support they can offer, please contact the team directly by emailing greatoutdoors@wyre.gov.uk
Walks for All - Arnside and Silverdale
Explore the beautiful landscape, wildlife and culture of this lovely area. Organised by Arnside & Silverdale National Landscape and project leader, Feleena Taylor, these hour-long walks are combined with the opportunity to have a chat and a cuppa in one of the local cafes after stretching your legs.
No need to book - just turn up on the day!
Dates for the walks can be found on the Arnside & Silverdale National Landscape website at this link https://www.arnsidesilverdaleNational Landscape.org.uk/events/ and more information is available from Feleena Taylor on 07474 588585 or the National Landscape Partnership on 01524 761034.
Campfire & Conversation
Outdoors 4 All Together CIC meet in the Peace Garden at Whalley Abbey on Monday mornings (excluding Bank Holidays). Participants can meet others whilst spending time in nature, enjoying refreshments and trying something new. More information, booking and contact details available at: https://www.outdoors4alltogether.co.uk/campfire-conversation-for-people-living-with-dementia-and-their-carers or call Anna on 07801794514.
Rosemary and Time CIC
With horticulture at the heart, Rosemary and Time CIC offer two dementia friendly groups on the outskirts of the National Landscape. Friday Friends meet each week at Grimsargh Village Hall, whilst the Young Onset Dementia Cafe gets together for an evening each month in Broughton. Food and singing also feature! More information and contact details available at Home | My Site (rosemaryandtimecic.org) or phone Donna on 07880 348597.
IDEAS FOR INDOORS
Great Outdoors Memory Box
We developed our memory box with Lancashire County Council's Heritage Learning Team and it's full of activities designed to trigger positive recollections and encourage conversation about past countryside visits and adventures.
Why not take a look at the ideas below and have fun making up your very own Great Outdoors Memory Box?
WILDFLOWER PLAYING CARDS
We've put photographs of beautiful Bowland wildflowers on each of the five sheets below (three different flowers on each sheet - 15 flowers altogether). Why not print them all off (or as many as you need), then cut them out and laminate them so that they last longer and are easier to keep clean?
Each flower is duplicated, which means you can play all sorts of games with them – like Snap! or Pairs.
- Bird's eye primrose, Yellow rattle, Melancholy thistle cards
- Common spotted orchid, Bird's foot trefoil, Speedwell cards
- Ox-eye daisy, Red campion, Globe flower cards
- Primrose, Bluebell, Red clover cards
- Ramsons, Meadow craneshill, Mouse-ear hawk bit cards
FOREST OF BOWLAND PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM
People have enjoyed visiting Bowland for decades and many of us will have fond memories of favourite places, childhood visits or family picnic spots.
We've put together photographs of some of the places we love in the Forest of Bowland and we hope you enjoy looking through to see if you recognise any of them. Why not print them out and make your very own "album" or scrapbook? Or use your own Bowland photographs instead!
- Photograph Album - page 1
- Photograph Album - page 2
- Photograph Album - page 3
- Photograph Album - page 4
- Photograph Album - page 5
- Photograph Album - page 6
For more great photos of Bowland life, take a look at our 50th anniversary Bowland Scrapbook
BOWLAND BIRD SONGS
One of the joys of a visit to Bowland is the sound of the birds – especially during springtime. Some bird calls almost instantly transport you to the fells and fields of the National Landscape.
Each of the birds below can be found in the Forest of Bowland. If you click on the image you will find a link to a sound recording of their call.
Curlew
Lapwing
Hen harrier
'
Red grouse
Snipe
Oyster catcher
Golden plover
Stone chat
Our Memory Box also includes…..
- A pair of basic binoculars and a garden bird identification chart from the Field Studies Council. Great for getting up close to whatever birds visit your garden.
- A selection of the RSPB's soft toy birds which make authentic calls when squeezed. They're really nice to hold, as well as listen to.
GET CRAFTY!
Our Farming & Wildlife Officer, Sarah, is a dab hand at crocheting and she made us a fantastic daisy chain for our box. (You can even thread the stems together!)
We also included a woolly hat as it's always good to dress for the weather in Bowland!
If you know someone who might enjoy knitting or crocheting, why not ask them to make something for your own Great Outdoors box? (A scarf or a pair of woolly socks perhaps?) There are plenty of patterns to choose from online.
JIGSAWS
Jigsaws can be great fun and these days there are lots of ways to have personalised puzzles made. We had a Bowland village scene made into a 36-piece plastic puzzle for our box, so that it would be nice and robust, but you could choose whatever image brings back memories for you – and whatever size works best!
MAKING SENSE
Along with all the colourful visual resources which you can add to your memory box, it's great to include things which stimulate other senses as well.
We included a tightly lidded tub of hay in our box. It really captures the fragrance of a sunny, summer day in the countryside and can be replaced with a fresh batch once the smell has faded.
Another easy sensory item is a selection of natural textures like conkers, acorns, conifer cones and twigs, which are good for holding and feeling.
Just remember to wash your hands after handling any natural materials.
We also included some poems written by members of Bowland Biography Group in our memory box. We've added one of them below, but why not try including some of your own favourite poems about the natural world and reading them aloud?
Bowland waters (by Maureen Fenton)
Ducks gather, quacking
like any holidaying crowd,
on Dunsop’s grass verge.
Marshaw Wyre is glints.
glimpses along mossy banks,
between silver trunks.
But high on Hareden
Fell, clear and bare Langden Brooks
chatters on pebbles.
Fun Puzzles
Our Family Fun page includes lots of other ideas for activities including colouring sheets and quizes, plus a Bowland wordsearch and tree anagram. They can be enjoyed by both the young and young at heart, so why not take a look and get some inspiration?
GUIDED MEADOW MEDITATION
Holistic therapist Helen Leece, from The Gathering Fields Retreat on the western edge of the National Landscape, has written and narrated a lovely guided meditation for us. Based on the sights, sounds and textures of a Bowland meadow in summer, this 20 minute audio with natural sounds and simple music is a beautifully relaxing sensory journey, which aims to calm and soothe. All you need to do is sit, or lie, comforably as you listen. (Click the audio link below)
Many thanks to Helen, and to OM Marketing for the recording and edit.
National Meadows Day Poetry
To celebrate National Meadows Day 2021, local writer and tutor, Maureen Fenton, joined Festival Bowland to encourage poets, both practised and new, to discover Lancashire's Coronation Meadows at Bell Sykes Farm in Slaidburn, and to use this inspiration to pen poems on a natural theme. You can read all 12 poems here and listen to three of the poems, read by the authors themselves, at the link below.
We'll be working on more activities and resources to include on this page in the future, so do keep checking back to see what's new!
For more information, or if you have any suggestions for activities, please contact sandra.silk@lancashire.gov.uk