[R]avenglass Railway Museum has been granted support from NuGen to revitalise its main-line Signal Box exhibit and garden to encourage more visitors to visit the historic site.
The garden, which was opened in 1999 by volunteers from the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Preservation Society (RERPS), is fully accessible with wide paths and raised beds, and lies next to the former British Railways Signal Box which in November 2016 underwent structural and aesthetic restoration.
The financial support of £500 from the Nu-Gen ‘Green Grants’ scheme will allow the volunteers of the RERPS to extend this restoration to the garden, adding benches, wildlife feeders and interpretation boards describing local wildlife and the history of the signal box.
David Rounce, Project Manager of the Ravenglass Railway Museum said: “It is our hope that the project will increase awareness of the local environment, the wildlife in the area and provide a welcoming area for visitors to relax.
“In the future, we hope to develop this area into a sensory garden with a trail linking the railway with Ravenglass village, creating an inviting, accessible approach to the railway station.”
NuGen’s ‘Green Grant Scheme’ aims to support projects focused on environmental enhancement or sustainable improvements which benefit the environment and communities local to the proposed Moorside Site.
The Ravenglass Railway Museum has also undergone a major re-development over the last two years substantially funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Copeland Community Fund, Fisheries Local Action Group and Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Preservation Society. Due to open on next month, the new museum will have double the footprint of the old exhibitions and become home to thousands of artefacts and a research archive.
For more information about Ravenglass Railway Museum visit www.ravenglassrailwaymuseum.co.uk
