VIDEO: Hailing the vision that led to Nene Park glory

The untold story of Nene Park is being brought to life through a new film which will look back on 25 years of memories.
Clare Freeman, head of landscape at the Nene Park Trust with conservation officer Chris Park looking over the new trail guide at Ferry Meadows EMN-160902-192801009Clare Freeman, head of landscape at the Nene Park Trust with conservation officer Chris Park looking over the new trail guide at Ferry Meadows EMN-160902-192801009
Clare Freeman, head of landscape at the Nene Park Trust with conservation officer Chris Park looking over the new trail guide at Ferry Meadows EMN-160902-192801009

Visitors to Ferry Meadows will be met with a new trail which will take them on a walk of discovery to 10 locations where they will be met with evocative photographs and quotes.

And local film-maker Martyn Moore has even produced a short documentary film entitled ‘Nene Park: the Untold Story’ which features some of the people who were involved in setting up and looking after the park in the 1970s, as well as members of staff and visitors from the past 25 years.

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Backed by nearly £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the film will be available to view on YouTube - and there will even be something for James Bond fans with everthing revealed from the time Octopussy was shot in the area.

Clare Freeman, head of landscape, said: “It’s about capturing memories of key individuals who set up the park and staff who have worked there for 25 years.

“We are the envy of parks’ departments up-and-down the country. The absolute genius was the fact that Nene Park Trust was created as a charity,

“This means other parks in the country are run by the local authority and they are subject to severe budget cuts. We can make more of our charity status with our funding.

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“We have done 13 recorded conversations and sat down with people from the Peterborough Development Corporation who have shared their memories on how and why the park was created.

“What came through was everyone’s absolute passion and enthusiasm to create a park which will continue that fantastic legacy across the region. It’s such an asset for Peterborough that I think people take it for granted.”

The 20 minute film is online now, while a free trail guide will be available inside the Ferry Meadows Visitor Centre. In addition, project partner Vivacity is hosting an exhibition in the café at Peterborough Museum to illustrate the park’s history.

The recordings of the oral history interviews are also accessible at the Peterborough Archives Service at the Central Library in Broadway.

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Fans of archive photographs can also visit the trust’s Facebook page where every week it posts a #memorymonday - photos from the past as well as past events, with some images dating back to the early 1900s.