See It. Snap It. Send It
Text your news to 80360, start your message with KENEWS Click here for more... »
Plans to revive Ulverston factory
12:00pm Monday 14th April 2008
NEW life could soon be blown into a former glass factory in Ulverston if plans to introduce a new fashion outlet, craft workshops and museum on the site are approved this month.
Due to a significant rise in gas prices two years ago, Heron Glass: The Lakes Glass Centre at Oubas Hill in Ulverston was forced to close down and the building has been vacant ever since.
However, owner of the factory, John Thistlethwaite, hopes that the site, which used to be a popular tourist attraction showcasing distinctive local glassware, could once again contribute to the economic and cultural prosperity of the town.
Your sayYourCumbria
Add your comment
Register for a FREE The Westmorland Gazette account and you can have your say on today's news and sport by adding comments on articles we publish. The best comments may even get published in the paper.
Please register now or sign in below to continue.
In this section
- Get That Weekend Feeling
- Van fails to stop after collision near Ambleside
- Affordable housing campaign takes shelter in Kendal
- Councillors claim thousands in expenses
- Herbicide ban called for
- Kendal hospital ‘victory’ applauded
- Restoration work is underway
- Bay walks guide condemns route change idea
- Elected park authority members debated
- Ospreys deliver a surprise
Essential Links
Sponsored Links
Editor's Choice
Racing project gets national motorsport attention
A CUMBRIAN quest to find future Lewis Hamiltons has been adopted nationally.
Bay walks guide condemns route change idea
A REPORT looking into the possibility of changing the finish point of the ever-popular Morecambe Bay walks has been condemned by the Queen’s Official Guide to the Sands.
Prehistoric walk
The interesting brochure you can obtain from the car park at Foulshaw Moss says that more than several thousand years ago the Witherslack Mosses were part of an extensive wetland in what is now the Lyth Valley and on the flat ground west of the Kent Estuary. The Mosses - Meathop, Foulshaw and Nicols - are raised peat bogs brought about by sphagnum moss that draws up, acidifies, and holds water like a giant sponge, creating waterlogged conditions as it grows. Sphagnum grows from the tip, leaving the lower part to die. Waterlogging halts decay of these dead bits that build up and up over thousands of years, to form deep domed mounds of peat that are raised many feet above the surrounding ground. The Witherslack Mosses have dried out partly as a result of forestry and the invasion of scrub. Over time, drainage and peat cutting led to the loss of more wetland and now only significant fragments remain. Specialised peatbog flora and fauna have been unable to thrive because of the area being too shaded and too dry. Recently conifers have been removed and also masses of rhododendrons have been cleared. Hundreds of peat and plastic dams have been installed to bring about the ‘sponge’ effect of the peat. At Foulshaw, the remains of a 15ft to 16ft wide prehistoric trackway has been uncovered. This is believed to have been constructed in the mid-Bronze Age to allow people to cross the once huge wetland. Trunks of ash and birch were laid side by side and supported on logs. Foulshaw Moss is open to the public. Nichols Moss, a really squelchy one, is only suitable for a hundred yards or so before you encounter pathless very wet moss. It is a delight to stand and look ahead but as there is no walkway do not continue. Pause just on its edge from where you might spot red deer. Meathop is a lovely walk but only for those with a permit from Cumbria Wildlife Trust or if you are a member. The parking is difficult. After the first short grassy track, follow a wider track, left, that winds round right by a pasture and into fine conifer woodland. Beyond this a wide walkway takes you out some distance into the moss, from where you will spot all sorts of interesting lowly plants. To visit Foulshaw Moss, on the A590, it is best to approach the entrance from the direction of Kendal. If coming from the opposite direction continue on past the entrance and make use of the Levens underpass to make a U-turn and approach from the north. This avoids trying to make a right turn across a narrow section of the busy A-road. The entrance is not signposted until you have turned off the road. The entrance turn, a cart track, lies just before a large layby on a narrow section of the A-road. Just beyond the turn, stands a huge sign saying ‘Dual carriageway a mile ahead’. To approach the entrance, drive the dual carriageway at Levens until it ends. Continue a short distance along the two-way road and begin to signal your left turn. Watch out for the large sign ahead. If you reach the layby you have gone too far.
What's On Live Travel YourCumbria
Hot Jobs
Local Advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
