CHRISTMAS SPIRITS ARE HIGH AT RIVINGTON GARDENS’ NEW VISITOR CENTRE

7 Dec 2021 04:48
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The new visitor centre at Rivington Terraced Gardens opened on Saturday, 4th December and has unique festive gifts and Christmas trees felled from the historical estate on sale.

 

Helping to raise the £100,000 plus annual funds required to keep the conservation project on track, an army of volunteers has helped to renovate the building situated on Rivington Lane, next to The Great House Barn and Go Ape.

 

The Christmas trees on sale are sustainably sourced and are being replaced with a new broadleaf woodland plantation which will provide improved habitat for local wildlife. The beautiful 6ft trees cost £40.00 and local delivery is available on request for an extra £5.

Bigger or smaller trees can also be ordered via email to rtg@groundwork.org.uk and each comes with an optional timber base free of charge. Trees are available for collection at the Visitor Centre at Rivington between 10am and 3pm each Saturday and Sunday until Christmas.

 

Keen to support local, crafts and gifts from producers such as Rivington Chocolates, Flowersmiths and Let it Bee Honey are on sale, alongside other festive crafts made by volunteers on-site. Bird houses, jigsaws, Christmas cards, handcrafted resin jewellery and hand-knitted bobble hats will also make the perfect festive gift. Calendars and prints featuring the landscape photographic talents of Jonathan Ellison are a stunning feature in the displays, alongside walking guides and a wide range of branded items ideal for walkers, cyclists and nature lovers.

 

The ‘Squarea’ campaign giving supporters of the gardens the chance to sponsor a 10m sq plot of land in the Gardens is still available, with certificates available to anyone pledging £20 to help fund the upkeep of The Japanese Gardens, Lawns, Italian Lake and woodland areas across the 45-acre hillside site. Benefitting from celebrity support from locally born names such as Dave Spikey, Sammy Winward, Mark Radcliffe, Tess Daly & Vernon Kay and Steve Royle, the Squarea campaign is now one year old and has raised over £12,000 to date for the charity.

 

Andrew Suter, heritage programmes manager at Rivington Terraced Gardens, said: “The efforts of our wonderful volunteers has made this project possible. Now visitors can come along, view exhibits,

learn more about the Gardens and buy responsibly sourced trees and extra special gifts for Christmas. Our website offers all the information visitors need to know when planning their trip.”

 

One of Britain’s most important historical gardens, Rivington Terraced Gardens were conceived and built by Lord Leverhulme, the soap magnate and founder of Lever Brothers (now Unilever) with the help of British garden designer, Thomas Hayton Mawson, between 1905 and 1925.

 

The area has undergone a transformation in recent years, thanks to the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and the work of hundreds of volunteers. Rivington Heritage Trust runs its events programme to raise conservation costs to preserve the Gardens.

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