We're celebrating the opening of Cold Springs, our first ever Community Nature Reserve, on Sunday 25 May from 10am to 3pm. The nature reserve is beneath Penrith Beacon and local residents are all welcome to join in the fun.

There’ll be family-friendly events, including the historic ‘bottle shaking’ ceremony at the well, which has been uncovered at the nature reserve. The last Sunday of May is traditionally the day each year when the site’s historic well was celebrated.

Ami Stidolph, Cold Springs Community Engagement Officer, explains more:

“For centuries, children gathered at the Cold Springs well on this day to fill their bottles with water and add sweets, shaking the bottles to make a fizzy pop! This ceremony was stopped in the early nineteenth century, but now we’re reigniting it to celebrate both the spring, and our wonderful wildlife.”

“There’ll also be fun and games including a treasure trail and pond dipping, allowing everyone in Penrith to get to know our incredible nature reserve from the very beginning of its history. I hope we’ll see you there!”

Booking isn't required but check our website closer to the time for timings of the various activities. Please note, there’s no designated parking at the nature reserve, so please walk if you can. There’s limited parking at the laybys on Beacon Edge Road. Dogs are only allowed on the path around the upper edge of the nature reserve and not in the fields.

The 15 hectares of farmland at Cold Springs on the outskirts of Penrith were given to us by Ann Clark, in memory of her husband Brian. Since then it’s been transformed into a wonderful community asset with improved habitats which are allowing wildlife to recover. A local steering group and many hard-working volunteers have been driving the improvements with us, and we've received generous funding from a wide range of organisations, in order to carry out huge improvements to the land.

The transformation includes a wildlife garden, community orchard, tree nursery, footpaths, seating and waymarking, wildflower planting and the creation of ponds, and an ongoing series of community events and activities are planned over the coming years. All of these activities are designed to open up this space for local people so that they can learn about and enjoy nature.

We're hugely grateful to all the funders of Cold Springs Community Nature Reserve - listed below.