Second party helps celebrate 40th anniversary of Peterborough's Ferry Meadows

Celebrations for the 40th anniversary of Ferry Meadows continued at the weekend with a second big event to mark the occasion.
40 years of Ferry Meadows..
Ferry Meadows, Peterborough
03/09/2018. 
Picture by Terry Harris / Peterborough Telegraph. THA40 years of Ferry Meadows..
Ferry Meadows, Peterborough
03/09/2018. 
Picture by Terry Harris / Peterborough Telegraph. THA
40 years of Ferry Meadows.. Ferry Meadows, Peterborough 03/09/2018. Picture by Terry Harris / Peterborough Telegraph. THA

Following on from the Cultural Festival at the end of June/start of July, the country park held an Activity Weekend last weekend which saw visitors offered the chance to take a ride in a helicopter and see the stunning scenery from above.

Sunday’s offerings also included a dog show, rides in a miniature railway or tractor, various climbing and cycling activities, fairground rides, food stalls on Coney Meadow and a pop-up skatepark at Lakeside, plus much more.

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Ferry Meadows, in Ham Lane, off Oundle Road, is managed by the Nene Park Trust.

Head of fundraising Adrian Oates said: “We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has joined us over the two weekends to celebrate 40 years of Ferry Meadows. It was great to see so many people come together to celebrate the wonderful park and enjoy it as they have done for many years.

“Both the weekend just gone and our first celebration weekend at the end of June just go to show how much we have on offer at Ferry Meadows and how there’s fun for the whole family – there’s something for toddlers, parents and dog walkers too.

“We are so glad we have been able to share our celebrations with members of the public and we hope that we are able to put on similar events in the future to continue to bring the community together and to enjoy the great outdoors.”

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The man with the vision behind Peterborough’s Nene Park was given a special helicopter ride to mark the 40th anniversary of Ferry Meadows.

Wyndham Thomas (94) was the head of the Peterborough Development Corporation which created the country park and handed it over to the Nene Park Trust.

And on Saturday the Westwood Park Road resident was invited to enjoy a spectacular bird’s eye view of the fine scenery.

While up in the helicopter Wyndham said: “How glorious to see the lakes so landscaped by all those big verdant trees. I never thought, when we were planning the park, I’d one day see that.”

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Wyndham described Nene Park as the “green jewel” of Peterborough, adding: “Two things impress me: the number of people who support it – that is, the sheer number of visitors – and the distances people are prepared to travel to it. What we planned as a city attraction has become a regional one.

“I didn’t have a clear draughtsman’s vision - just an idea of an open space for land and water-based activities - but I am hugely impressed by what Nene Park is now, surpassing anything I imagined when I arrived in Peterborough in 1969.”