Welcome to the Northwest Ecological Trust website.  Here you will find information about our work developing and managing Gorse Hill Nature Reserve, its wildlife and habitats, various surveys, latest news and how to find us.

The Trust values and relies upon its subscription supporters and volunteers so you can find information about how to subscribe, how to become a volunteer and the sorts of things you can do.

This website is regularly updated so please keep checking as we will be adding more information about the flora and fauna of Gorse Hill, latest news and more photos.

 

You can also find us on our official Facebook page click here

You can now follow us on Twitter click here

You can now follow us on Instagram click here

 

IMPORTANT:  Gorse Hill Nature Reserve will continue to remain closed to visitors and volunteers due to Covid-19 for the time being.  There is no access to our car park, Cabin Wood, 5 Acre Meadow and Information Cabin although the public footpaths do remain open.  When using these footpaths please keep to the Government guidelines on social distancing and restrictions on outdoor activities.  We will of course continue to keep the situation under review.

Thank you all for your support and we wish you well in these challenging times. (16.5.20)  

 

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OUR SUPPORTERS:

We have been notified by our bank that in order for it to comply with banking regulations our current account has to be changed to a business account and this has necessitated a change to our account number.  Our new bank details are:

Sort Code: 77-57-03      Account No.: 00020041

 We have been advised that the new account is active from today 16th March 2020 and our old account is now closed and no further payments will be accepted to our old account number.  Any payments received with our old account number will not be reallocated but returned to sender.  Please therefore do not be alarmed if any payment is returned to you by the bank.

We are in the process of contacting all our supporters who make regular direct bank payments.

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EVENTS FOR 2020 – cancelled until further notice: 

Sunday Opening

We start our monthly Sunday openings on 5th April.  We are open from 12 noon until 4pm and on most of these open days there will be a free guided walk to parts of the Reserve not normally open to the public from 1pm to 2.30pm.  Further details of Sunday themes will be added.

As usual the Cabin Café will be selling tea/coffee and homemade cakes.  Admission and car parking are free, well behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

Our Sunday opening dates:

5 April – Springtime Stroll

3 May – Blossom and Bluebells

7 June – theme to be announced

2 August -theme to be announced 

6 September – theme to be announced

 

Meadows Day Sunday 5 July 12 noon to 4pm.

Enjoy a stroll around our magnificent wildflower meadow and watch the wide variety of insects visiting the flowers such as butterflies, hoverflies, bees and sawflies.  Identify the dragonflies and damselflies around our wildlife ponds.  Cabin Wood will also be open with its woodland paths, pond and bird hide.

There will also be guided meadow walks, times will be advertised nearer the date and other activities. 

Admission and car parking are free.  Well behaved dogs welcome on a lead.  Refreshments will be on sale in the Cabin Café so come and enjoy a cup of tea/coffee and some delicious homemade cake.  Donations welcome.

 

National Garden Scheme Open Day 12 July 11am to 4pm

This is a new event for us and our wildflower meadow will be combined with a wonderful garden open at 72 Ludlow Drive Ormskirk L39 1LF.

Visitors are free to wander through our wildflower meadow and Cabin Wood although there will be guided walks in the meadow at 11.30 am, 1 pm and 2.30 pm.

Our Cabin Café will sell tea, coffee and delicious homemade cakes.  All refreshments, sales and donations will be in aid of Gorse Hill Nature Reserve although the combined garden admission price of £5 will be part of the National garden Scheme.

Car parking is free.

We are planning our Dawn Chorus, Newt and Moth Night and Bat Walk events and we will be celebrating our apple harvest in October 2020.  Further details will be posted soon

 

FOR SALE

 

 

Apple Juice £2.50 a bottle.  Our pasteurised pure apple juice is made from our Heritage Apples grown in our orchards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LATEST UPDATES (last six months)

16.5.20 – Home Page – slight amendment to notice about temporary closure

18.4.20 – Home Page – updated notice about temporary closure.

               Out and About at Gorse Hill – Nobody Told Mother Nature About the ‘Lockdown’

               General – Change of website Header Image

23.3.20 – Home Page – temporary closure of Gorse Hill Nature Reserve to visitors and volunteers

18.3.20 – Home Page – cancellation of events and current restrictions

16.3.20 – Home Page – Important information regarding our bank details

15.3.20 – Support Us Page – our new bank account number added

 Gorse Hill Tab – Birds – 2019 Bird Sightings Lists added

14.3.20 – Home Page – Events and coronavirus

17.2.20 – Out and About  at Gorse Hill – Snowdrop Sunday

               – Home Page – up coming events 

1.2.20 – Out and About at Gorse Hill – new 2020 front page added – Camera trap delights

15.1.20 – Home Page – Snowdrop Sunday event

 

 

 

Registered Charity: 327788

Unless otherwise stated all images are copyright© of the photographers