Everyone is invited to bring a packed lunch to the 2018 ‘Picnic in the Park’ at the Countess of Chester Country Park taking place on Saturday (August 4).
A wide variety of interesting stalls and activities should appeal to all ages at the free event taking place between 11am and 3pm on land to the rear of the city hospital.
These will include Chester Zoo Safari Rangers, Friends of the Earth, a World War 1 re-enactment group, Poppy Appeal stand, Keep Britain Tidy, Super Trees and Paul Edwards who will perform a live carving of a figure which he will donate to the country park.
There will be junk drumming, a Nordic walking sampler, wildlife habitat activities and much more.
A spokesperson said: “The park and the footpaths within it offer many opportunities to wander through wonderful green spaces right on the doorstep of Chester. So, pack up a picnic and bring it along but don’t forget to leave a bit of space for an ice cream from the Hyacinth vintage ice cream van!”
This year the park, a joint initiative between Friends of the Countess of Chester Country Park, The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and The Land Trust, is celebrating its prestigious Green Flag status which was awarded recently.
At 1pm, a stunning memorial bench will unveiled commemorating the centenary of the end of World War 1 along with a nearly completed trail of carved poppies leading to the Upton War Memorial.
The bench and poppies, carved by Paul Edwards of Ossum Tree Carving, are from a 100-year-old fallen cedar tree in Upton, lending inspiration for the project name of ‘Fallen for the Fallen’. The ribbon will be cut by Steve Hughes from the Chester Super Trees project, who recently ran 100K in under 10 hours. This will be followed by a vote of thanks from Mike Farrell of the Armed Forces charity SSAFA.
Morag Scargill, chair of the Friends group, said: “Over the last year we have worked hard to improve what the park has to offer and it’s been heartening to see so many more visitors. We hope that Picnic in the Park will encourage new people to discover it and enjoy it as much as we do.”
The park can be accessed from Countess Way opposite the Little Owl pub, although there are other access points scattered around its perimeter. To supplement the normal car park, there will be extra spaces made available nearby although it is walkable from the north side of the city.
