Landscape Stories
Bringing the Stories of the Bowland Landscape to Life!
Residents in the Forest of Bowland are being asked to search out faded photographs, family stories and forgotten memorabilia as part an exciting new project being delivered by the AONB team. Landscape Stories is a community-led heritage project which aims to understand and celebrate the Bowland landscape we see today through discovering more about the people and activities that have helped to shape it.
Thanks to almost £50,000 funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and additional funding from Lancashire County Council and the Forest of Bowland AONB, over the next two years the project will work with local people and visitors to record, interpret and share information about heritage features and traditional rural industries.
From historic landscapes in Pendle and lime kilns around Slaidburn to chair making and cheese production in Chipping, volunteers will work alongside archaeologists, artists and other groups to build up a picture of the AONB through the ages.
The AONB team will be talking to people who live and work in the area to listen to their memories and see what reminders of the past may be lying forgotten in a cupboard. We will be working with schools, community groups and visitors so that all ages and interests have the chance to get involved.
Through guided walks and exhibitions, workshops and theatre, music and storytelling we want to bring all our discoveries to life!
And to make sure that the stories of the Forest of Bowland landscape are there to be enjoyed in the future, we will capture them in sound recordings and displays, local archives and school resources.
So, if you would like to find out more about the project, get involved or share a story with us then please contact the Forest of Bowland AONB team on 01200 426433 or email sandra [dot] silk [at] lancashire [dot] gov [dot] uk
To find out how the different themes are progressing, do keep checking the individual project pages as we will be adding new information all the time!