At Wirral Countryside Volunteers (WCV) we need to ensure the safety and wellbeing of volunteers and organisers alike
Continuing the need to protect each other from the risk of COVID infection, we would still ask everybody to take the following precautions:
Date |
Event Description |
Location |
Booking Link |
2025 Wirral Countryside Volunteers 40th Year |
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April |
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Saturday 26th Start time: 09:30 |
Spring walk around the ancient woods and woodland admiring the spring flowers. Upper Dibbinsdale, Tom's Paddock, Foxes Wood and Thornton Wood |
Meet on Thornton Common Road where the road crosses the M53 |
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May |
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Sunday 4th Start time: 09:30 |
Grand Opening at New Ferry Butterfly Park. Volunteers needed to support the Open Day activities |
New Ferry Butterfly Park, Howell Road, Bebington |
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Thursday 8th Start time: 19:30 |
A tool maintenance evening. A chance to refurbish and sharpen the tools used for maintaining the park - a good social evening too. |
New Ferry Butterfly Park, Howell Road, Bebington |
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Thursday 15th Start time 19:30 (21:00 for the social) |
Cutting the centre of the ride and hedge weeding, followed by a social at the Seven Stars in Thornton Hough |
Thornton Common, Thornton Common Road. Park in the car park of Wirral Rugby Club |
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Saturday 17th Start time:10:00 |
Cool Heswall: Once again WCV will have a stall at the annual Cool Heswall event. No booking needed, just come along and support this event |
Hill House Gardens, Heswall (the gardens are behind Heswall Hall). Motor access and parking via Mount Ave, CH60 0AF |
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Monday 19th Start time: 18:30 |
Group meal (18;30) followed by meeting (shortly after 19:30) to discuss plans and activities for WCV |
Three Stags, Church Rd, Bebington. CH63 3EA |
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JUNE |
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Thurs 5th Thurs 12th Thurs 19th Thurs 26th Start time: 19:30 |
Removal of Himalayan Balsam and clearing brambles from the coppice entrance |
Thornton Wood. Meet on Thornton Common Road where the bridge crosses the M53 |
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JULY |
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Friday 4th Start time:09:30 |
Volunteers needed: Preparations for our day at Poulton Hall supporting the annual Poulton Hall Gardens Open day. A busy day collecting gazebo's and transporting them to Poulton Hall. Cutting material at NFBP to take to the hall to build a 'mock hedge' for visitors to have a go at hedge laying - and plenty more prep work. |
Meet at New Ferry Butterfly Park, Howell Road, Bebington |
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Saturday 5th Start time: 09:30 |
Volunteers needed to support the annual Poulton Hall Gardens open day which WCV support. Activities include preparing and serving cream teas, staffing the WCV stand, scything instruction, hedge laying instruction, car park attending and general all round help |
Meet at Poulton Hall, specific details will be provided to all volunteers. |
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Saturday 12th Start time: 09:30 |
A leisurely 30/40mile cycle ride along mainly quiet lanes , around Cheshire, taking in many interesting places with stops at tea shops along the way. |
Meeting point is Hooton Station, Hooton, Ellesmere Port CH66 7NF |
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Thursday 17th Start Time 19:30 |
A tool maintenance evening. A chance to refurbish and sharpen the tools used for maintaining the park - a good social evening too. |
New Ferry Butterfly Park, Howell Road, Bebington |
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Sunday 20th Start Time: 09:30 (BBQ from 14:00) |
Scything and general maintenance followed by BBQ to celebrate 40 years of Wirral Countryside Volunteers. Parking at NFBP will be limited to Disabled Parking only as the park is open to the public. |
New Ferry Butterfly Park, Howell Road, Bebington |
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AUGUST |
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Saturday 2nd Start time: 14:00 |
Celebrating New Ferry Butterfly Park's 30th year. Bring along a food contribution to share |
Windsor Close Community Centre |
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Saturday 16th Start time: 09:30 |
Scything the woodland glade and other maintenance activities. At 15:00 there will be the unveiling the recently installed lectern display case (made possible by a legacy from the late Eric Jackson) inside the entrance to Thornton Common, a walk around the common and pond dipping |
Thornton Common, Thornton Common Road. Parking is Wirral Rugby Club car park |
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SEPTEMBER |
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Sunday 14th Start time: 11:00 |
Final day of the 2025 season for New Ferry Butterfly Park. Volunteer activities including scything the second part of the BBQ meadow and in Charlies Field. At 16:00, there will be a 'bring a contribution to share' closing BBQ. As with all NFBP Open Days, parking on site will be limited to Disabled Parking only. |
New Ferry Butterfly Park, Howell Road, Bebington |
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Wednesday 17th Start time: 09:30 |
Day 1 of 3: Hedgelaying at Beeston. There is approx. 50m of a mix of well established and relatively new hedging to be laid. Hand tools and chainsaws will be needed. |
Rose Cottage, Moss Lane, Beeston. CW6 9SU |
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Sunday 21st Start time: 09:00 |
Shocklach Hedge Laying Society: Shocklach Hedgelaying Competition - Cheshire style. Open and Novice classes, prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each class. £5.00 entry fee |
By kind permission of Mr & Mrs Jones: Moore Farm, Tilston Road, Shocklach, Cheshire |
More information and entry form available from Andy Brown brown.a.j@me.com |
Wednesday 24th Start Time: 09:30 |
Day 2 of 3: Hedgelaying at Beeston. There is approx. 50m of a mix of well established and relatively new hedging to be laid. Hand tools and chainsaws will be needed. |
Rose Cottage, Moss Lane, Beeston. CW6 9SU |
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OCTOBER |
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Wednesday 1st |
Day 3 of 3: Hedgelaying at Beeston. There is approx. 50m of a mix of well established and relatively new hedging to be laid. Hand tools and chainsaws will be needed. |
Rose Cottage, Moss Lane, Beeston. CW6 9SU |
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Saturday 4th |
National Hedge Laying Society event: The annual National Hedge Laying Competition. More detail will be available of the HNLS wesbite |
Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP18 0JH |
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Sunday 12th Start time: 09:30 |
New Ferry Butterfly Park workday: Hedge laying, turf removal and other maintenance tasks. Additionally there will be the annual 'Apple Day' and volunteers will help with collecting apples. |
New Ferry Butterfly Park, Howell Road, Bebington |
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Wednesday 29th Start time: 09:30 |
Hedge preparation - ahead of the training day we need to prepare the hedge, marking out sections, breaking in, distribution hedging stakes etc... |
Landican Lane near the Woodchurch Road end |
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NOVEMBER |
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Saturday 1st Start time: 09:30 |
WCV 21st Hedge Laying Training Day NOTE: please select the correct ticket for your skill level - TRAINEE or TRAINER |
Landican Lane near the Woodchurch Road end |
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Saturday 1st Start time: 17:00 |
Post hedge laying training day meal. Note, this is not funded by WCV. |
Seven Stars public house, Thornton Hough |
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Wednesday 5th Start time: 09:30 |
Post training day tidy up - finishing off any sections which were not completed during the training day, tidying brash, removal of unused hedging stakes, etc... |
Landican Lane near the Woodchurch Road end |
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Sunday 9th Start time: 09:30 |
New Ferry Butterfly Park workday: Hedge laying, turf removal and other maintenance tasks |
New Ferry Butterfly Park, Howell Road, Bebington |
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DECEMBER |
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Saturday 13th Start Time: 19:30 |
Pot luck buffet at Paul and Philippa's in Bebington |
Paul and Philippa's - details to follow |
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Sunday 14th Start time: 09:30 |
New Ferry Butterfly Park workday: Hedge laying, turf removal and other maintenance tasks |
New Ferry Butterfly Park, Howell Road, Bebington |
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From its beginnings WCV have held weekend tasks; much more recently these weekend tasks have been supported and extended by the “Intrepid Midweekers”, who have their own programme of tasks (though this often links to the main programme). Events are briefly described in the table below.
All events are fully assessed and the necessary Risk Assessments are completed and made available to all. All events are supported by the required support mechanisms, First Aiders, etc
