Brockholes Nature Reserve

Brockholes Nature Reserve & Visitor Centre

Brockholes Nature Reserve near Preston, is about 3 miles away from Walton le Dale and can be walked to along the Ribble Way, which shares the route with the Guild Wheel for that section. Brockholes Nature Reserve is just off Junction 31 of the M6 motorway. It is owned by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside. The reserve is situated on the flood-plain of the river Ribble and it has a floating visitor village.

Brockholes is situated on what was once a major quarry extraction site. The land was bought by the Trust in January 2007, and the reserve opened to the public in 2011. It has been regenerated as a mosaic of key habitats such as pools, reedbeds and woodland.

Visitor Village

An architectural design competition, managed by RIBA Competitions in 2007,a invited architects and architect-led multidisciplinary design teams to design the new visitor facilities for the Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Nature Reserve. A design by Adam Khan Architects, working with Price & Myers, was selected by the wildlife trust and its partners. Work commenced in 2009.

Brockholes Visitor Village houses shops, an exhibition area, an activity room for schools and community groups, a restaurant and a conference centre.

Benjamin Franklin (one of the Founding Fathers of the United States) visited the home of General John Burgoyne, Preston M.P. 1768-92, at Cooper Hill, Church Brow, Walton-le-Dale in 1771 and 1775. It is believed that he fixed the first lightning conductor in England to the wall of this house.

The Unicorn Inn, a 17^th century building (now known as Pinocchio's Restaurant) was the posting station used by Parliamentary troops during the English Civil War. The Unicorn Inn was said to be the headquarters of Oliver Cromwell during the battle of Preston. It was later the meeting place of the Jacobites in the area. Thomas Cowpe, a Walton man who joined the Jacobites in 1715, was later hanged at Gallows Hill in Preston. His grave is in St Leonard's churchyard.

There are very few industries now left in the village of Walton le Dale. Massy Feeds, who acquired their Mill from Dalgety in 1999, being the largest employer. Well known firms such as Atkinson's Vehicles, Haworth and Airey, J. A. Ley, Calvert's Cotton Mill and Hankin's Haulage have changed, closed down or left the area. Some of the old buildings are being used for new enterprises and the new complex of stores (The Capitol Centre) along the new London Way bypass has altered the area significantly in recent years.