The History of Sunnyhurst woods
This article is part of my John Muir Explore Award about my local woods.
Sunnyhurst woods is a stunning eighty-five-acre woods situated in Darwen, Lancashire. Darwen’s hills form part of an off-shoot from the Pennine range which surrounds it and the town itself lies at the bottom of these hills. The origin of the name Darwen possibly stems from an ancient Briton word “Dwr-gwyn” which means clear water or the Celtic word “derwa” which means oak. Professor Ekwall, an expert on place-names believes that the name does come from the Celtic word “derwa” and means oak under water. The woods were once believed to be covered in oak and birch trees as many were uncovered whilst constructing the Sunnyhurst Hey Reservoir.
There is a lot of evidence of Saxon settlements in Darwen as the “hurst” in Sunnyhurst is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “hyrst” which means “clump of trees”. This name is well-suited for the woods and many other areas in Darwen that share the same suffix. There are other examples of how rich in wildlife Darwen was, Earnsdale Road, the road where the woods are now next too, is probably linked to “heron” and “dale” – (valley) and “Birch Hall”, an area not too far from the woods derives its name from Birch trees. All these street and place names are links to what wildlife used to be there.
In the 1800’s, Sunnyhurst woods had no trees, they were cut down and used for the farmers who lived on the hillsides. It was a Mr. Henry Brock who replanted the land and used it for hunting. He later sold all his land to a Mr. Eccles Shorrock, as this was a condition of a young, Blackburn woman who he wanted to marry. Shorrock then left the land to his nephew, another Eccles Shorrock, in 1853 after his death, having no children of his own.
The people of Darwen did want to purchase the woods in 1887 as a celebration of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee but was not successful. There were two other parks in Darwen at the time, to the south was Whitehall Park (opened in 1887), and in the center, there was Bold Venture park. There was nothing in the north for the people who lived there and there was actually more people who lived in the north of Darwen.
There was a lot of opposition to purchasing the woods because it was free to the public and was considered a waste of money.
However, a committee was started by the Mayor of that time, Alderman John Tomlinson, to raise two thousand pounds which would cover the costs to convert the woods into a public area. A lot of money was raised and Tomlinson set out to purchase the land. He thought it would be given to him but he did have to purchase it. This was unexpected and received a lot of criticism because the family was supposed to be have been told to sell it cheap as it was for the people of Darwen.
Tomlinson then wanted to sell some of the lands back to the water authorities to build a reservoir. This doubled the cost of buying the woods for the people of Darwen, which was supposed to have cost nothing. The reservoir, however, was never built.
The woods officially opened on Thursday 2nd July 1903 and was by invitation only. The people of Darwen reacted strongly to this as most of the townspeople would be at work and it was favouring the aristocrats. Despite this, the event went ahead, followed by a garden party.
Danni Whitehead
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Summer is upon us and it’s time to get wild and reconnect to nature. Nature is all around us even if we don’t notice it.
30 Days Wild is about making each day a bit wild. It could be read a book in your garden, fly kites on a field, go pick some strawberries. Anything to get you out of the house, enjoying the fresh air and away from your electronic devices.
If you need some tips on what to do to get wild for June, there is plenty of inspiration on the wildlife trust websites and on Facebook and Twitter.
Here are some of my wild things I have done:
Furness Abbey
BBQ on the beach
Heysham ruins – stone graves
Taking your dog for a walk:
Gardening with Donatella:
Conifer shaping:
Gardening:
Walk up to a landmark:
Visit a local attraction:
Go on a workshop with the Wildlife Trust
Do some Hedge Laying!
Get growing some stuff!!
Go to the beach
#30dayswild
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Everyone has seen this list, it is all over the internet. So I thought I would so my own version of it. What foodshaveyou tried?
1. Venison – yes, very nice.
2. Nettle tea – Yes, bit weird
3. Huevos rancheros – yes, made it myself.
4. Steak tartare –
5. Crocodile – Yes tasted mix ofpork, chicken andfish. My dog turned its nose up but my rat ate itha ha.
6. Black pudding- yes, its gross.
7. Cheese fondue -yes, I have triedSwissfondue cheese. not nice.
8. Carp
9. Borscht –
10. Baba ghanoush – yes, made it myself.
11. Calamari – yes, this isbasicallyfried squid rings.
12. Pho –
13. PB&J sandwich – yes
Extra: Try a fried or grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich
14. Aloo gobi – yes, bit boring
15. Hot dog from a street cart -yes, I tried one from New York.
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other thangrapes
19. Steamed pork buns –
20. Pistachio ice cream – yes, wasn’t that nice even though I love pistachios.
21. Heirloom tomatoes –
22. Fresh wild berries – yes, picked them myself.
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans – yes
25. Brawn, or head cheese – yes it was quite nice
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche –
28. Oysters – yes, cooked
29. Baklava –
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas – yes, I think these are the same as Wasabi nuts. I have tried the red and green ones.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl –
33. SaltedLassi– I have only tried the sweet Lassi. Mango flavoured.
34. Sauerkraut – yes
35. Root beer float – yes, I think root beer is disgusting.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar – Yes, very nice.
37. Clotted cream tea – Yes
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O shot – yes
39. Gumbo –
40. Oxtail -yes in a soup
41. Curried goat – i saw some in new york once. i made it myself from goat sausage
42. Whole insects- Yes I have had a scorpion lolly.
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk – yes
45. Single malt whisky – yes
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala – yes, lovely.
48. Eel – yes, jellied eel heads, gross.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut – yes
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear – yes
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone –
54. Paneer – yes
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal – yes
56. Spaetzle – yes
57. Dirty gin martini – yes
58. Beer above 8% ABV – yes
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores – yes
62. Sweetbreads –
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst -yes
65. Durian – Not the fruit though, I have tried a Durian cake.
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake – i have tried churros
68. Haggis – yes
69. Fried plantain –
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho –
72. Caviar and blini – tried caviar
73. Louche absinthe – tried absinthe. Yes
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie –
78. Snail – yes
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini –
81. Tom yum –
82. Eggs Benedict – yes
83. Pocky – yes
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash –
88. Flowers –
89. Horse
90. Criollo
91. Spam -yes
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa –
94. Catfish – yes
95. Mole poblano –
96. Bagel and lox –
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta –
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
100. Snake –
I have tried 46 so far.
Some more foods for the adventurers to try
camel
zebra
ostrich
kangaroo
impala
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