[D]arwin, the little eider chick is a bit scared. Newly hatched on the shingle beach at South Walney Nature Reserve, his brothers and sisters rush off to explore, but he’d rather stay in the safety of the nest. He doesn’t know what to make of the bigger animals surrounding him: “They make strange noises and some of them look frightening too, especially the black dinosaur bird on The Great Ocean.”
When Darwin plucks up courage to leave the nest and explore the island, he meets a striking bird with red legs, makes friends with Master Fuzz the hairy caterpillar, spies ‘sea pigs’ out at sea and eventually finds out what that ‘dinosaur bird’ really is!
Darwin is the diminutive hero of The Eiderling, an engaging new family story trail all about South Walney Nature Reserve. The easy-to-follow interactive trail is 5km long (including a short cut if little legs are getting tired!). It is available free of charge to all visitors at South Walney Nature Reserve.
Children visiting South Walney can now borrow a new Wildlife Watcher backpack too, complete with mini binoculars, a spotter sheet to record the wildlife they see along the way, a bug collecting pot, note book and pencil. It’s the ideal way to keep them occupied, as they see where Darwin’s adventures take him!
Amy and Iain Douglas from Newby Bridge visited South Walney Nature Reserve recently with their daughters Daisy, aged two and Pearl, who is five. The tale trail and Wildlife Watcher backpacks were a great hit with both youngsters, as Mum Amy said: “Having the spotter sheet gave us the opportunity to put names to things we have seen before and also look out for things we haven’t. The girls loved the tale trail and I really do think it’s great for keeping small ones entertained. We were looking forward to reading the story tonight when we got home, but this will have to wait until tomorrow as both girls were exhausted after their adventure!”
The tale trail and backpacks have been generously funded by Cumbria County Council. Councillor Helen Wall, Chair of the Neighbourhood Grants Panel said: “The Barrow Local Committee Neighbourhood Grants Panel at Cumbria County Council was pleased to support this project, providing opportunities for families to experience the wonderful South Walney Nature Reserve.”
South Walney Nature Reserve, near Barrow-in-Furness, is open daily from 10am to 5pm, there is a small charge for entry onto the nature reserve to non-members. Members entry is free, non-members £3.00 for adults, £1.00 for children. The nature reserve is home to Cumbria’s only breeding colony of grey seals, which can be viewed from the hides. Dogs are not allowed on the nature reserve, except assistance dogs. For directions go to www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk or contact 01539 816300.
