Visit the village of Bardney
July 10th 2010
Visit the village of Bardney
GUIDED WALKS: Bardney Development Trust launched its new Heritage Trail brochure, a booklet featuring two guided walks around the village.
GUIDED WALKS: Bardney Development Trust launched its new Heritage Trail brochure, a booklet featuring two guided walks around the village.
There is an ancient saying, deriving from local legend, which states 'the doors are never locked in Bardney'.
The saying relates to the death of St Oswald, whose body was brought to Bardney Abbey en route to his burial place. When it arrived at Bardney Abbey, the doors were closed and the monks refused to open them because of a long-standing dispute they had endured with the saint. During the night a beam of light stretched down from heaven to shine on Oswald's coffin. The monks declared it was a miracle and vowed never to turn anyone away again.
Centuries on, the village, 10 miles east of Lincoln, is preparing to welcome even more visitors.
Last weekend, Bardney Development Trust launched its new Heritage Trail brochure, a booklet featuring two guided walks around the village.
"We want people to come into the village," says Caroline Howe, a member of the trust. "And we want the people who live here to feel like they are part of the area. A lot of English villages have faded away as people have moved to the cities. Where many villages are dying, I can honestly say that Bardney is one that isn't and we want to keep it that way."
The heritage trails cover the highlights of the village of Bardney from end to end and take a few hours to complete. Visitors can follow the trails all at once or in regular bite-size chunks.
Sites of interest on the trail include the closed railway station, the penfold, a small, fenced area where lost animals were kept and cared for while their owners located them, several pubs and the last thatched cottage in the village.
"We had 40 to 50 people in attendance at the launch," says Caroline. "Some had travelled from other parts of the county to be part of the festivities. Age is no barrier to taking part in the walks. There were walkers ranging from two to 80 at the launch. Even if you are not much of a walker you can use the trail to look around the area. It just gets people out of the house."
The Bardney Heritage Trail has been developed by The Bardney Development Trust, a voluntary group that works to promote and improve Bardney and surrounding area. In addition to developing the trail, the trust are in the process of beginning another ambitious project.
"We are currently working on developing a Community Resource Centre," says Caroline. "We hope to build it to contain a toddler soft play area, coffee bar and relaxation area, computer and fitness suites. We also hope to provide facilities for the community to hire equipment such as garden rotavators and books."
The development trust hopes to raise money for this project through grants and fundraising activities such as the Bardney Gala, which will take place in the village on August 29.
To take part in the Bardney Heritage Trail, pick up a leaflet from Bardney post office or the Nags Head pub.
