Welcome

Signs of spring are everywhere in the Park at the moment. Buds and blossom are bursting out and the early snowdrops have been replaced by sunny celandines.

It won’t be long before Bluebell Wood has a blue carpet and we’ve even noticed the swans on Overton Lake starting to build their nests. For our staff too there’s a sense of great anticipation in the air. Nene Outdoors has just opened its doors for the season again and we’re getting our eco passenger boat ready to relaunch and Longthorpe Tower ready to reopen on the 1st April. There are lots of plans and preparations for events over the Easter holidays and of course we’re gearing up for our 2nd Peterborough Celebrates Festival over the weekend of the 19th-21st May. You can find out more about all our plans over the next few months in this edition of Parklife and we hope you can come and enjoy spending time exploring our greenspaces as the weather gets warmer.

‘One of my favourite sculptures is ‘Outside In’ by John Foster. The large, powerful steel shape suggests to me a heart, with different sections and connecting blood vessels. Although it is made of steel it appears soft and malleable. I am drawn to the symbol of a heart, as the giver of life, but also as a symbol of love and compassion. The sculpture is also located at the ‘heart of the Park’ at Thorpe Meadows, one of my favourite areas to walk’.

Please visit www.nenepark.org.uk/sculptures to find out lots more information on all the sculptures in our Sculpture Collection Have you seen this sculpture? Share a photo of your favourite sculpture using the hashtag #NeneParkArt or email art@neneparktrust.org.uk

Our ever-popular monthly photography competitions are up and running for 2023, giving Park visitors the opportunity to share their photography talents. You can enter photographs you have taken anywhere on the Nene Park estate - scenic views, recognisable landmarks, seasonal nature or the wonderful wildlife that makes its home here. This year we’ve added a competition twist! Each month, the judges will choose their top three entries and put them forward to YOU for a public vote on social media to choose the winner. Each month’s winner will receive a £20 voucher to spend in the Park and enjoy the accolade of their photograph being shared on our social media pages, displayed in our annual winter photography exhibition and featured in the 2024 Nene Park fundraising calendar.

So what are you waiting for? Dust off your cameras, fire up your smart phones and get snapping in the Park. Then email your photos to marketing.NPT@neneparktrust.org.uk

We look forward to seeing your entries!

You may or may not have been lucky to spot our recent unusual Park visitors – two common seals! This pair have been spotted in the river at Orton Staunch and also in the rowing lake at Thorpe Meadows. As the weather gets warmer they will probably make their way back out to sea but they seem to have been very much at home here over the last few months – and they are not camera shy.

With spring well and truly sprung, pop into the Visitor Centre, Gift and Farm Shop for all your gifting needs.

Designed to get youngsters involved and enthusiastic about plants and bugs, The Little Gardener range is perfect for a spring birthday or holiday treat. We have a Paint your own Bug Hotel and a Paint your own Plant Pot, both priced at £14.95.

Why not find a spring brithday gift here too? We now stock RSPB branded goods ranging from a choice of different mugs (hedgehog, hare, bees, butterflies) at £7.95, and a rather lovely organiser at £9.95. Pop in and take a look!

With Easter just round the corner and chocolate on our minds, we have some lovely packs of mini eggs and an Easter Themed chocolate bar, both priced at £3.50. We also offer packs of mini iced biscuits in the shape of chicks or rabbits and an Easter Rabbit biscuit and a larger Chick biscuit both priced at £2.75.

Regular tasting sessions

We will be welcoming some of our suppliers to host tasting sessions throughout the year. Keep your eye on our website and social media for updates. Three dates fast approaching are:

 Friday 31 March: Cranes Cider

 Tuesday 4 April: Ferneley’s Ice cream

 Friday 14 April: Dalston’s Drinks

Remember you can get 10% off these products when purchased at the tasting session.

Extended opening hours

From the 27 March we will be extending our shop opening times and will be open seven days a week from 9am-6pm. Don’t forget you can get FREE parking when you spend £20 or more at the Gift and Farm Shop.

Our regular monthly lamb boxes are pausing and will be back available to order from August. In the meantime, you will be able to find our Park to Plate lamb burgers served at Lakeside Kitchen & Bar and keep your eye out for other lamb products coming to the Farm shop soon. Find out more about the share farming partnership at www.nenepark.org.uk/park-to-plate

Dog-loving visitors are in for a treat over the next couple of months as an exciting photography exhibition by local photographer, Chris Porsz, is now on display in Ferry Meadows between Badger Play and the Visitor Centre. Come and have a look at images of dogs and their owners taken in the Park over the last ten years. You never know, you might see someone you know – and the colourful, action-packed photos, taken across the four seasons, are sure to raise a smile.