Path from Lancashire station to wildlife site framed by new archway

A walking route from Burscough Bridge station near Ormskirk in Lancashire to a nearby beauty spot has been enhanced with a beautiful, nature-inspired archway.

The archway marks the path from platform one at the station to the nearby Wetland Trust site at Martin Mere. The archway was created by Ormskirk-based community artist, Angie Thompson, working with Community Rail Lancashire (CRL) and the pupils of Burscough Bridge Methodist Primary School, who hope that it will encourage more people to use the path.

Earlier this month the whole school visited the station to view their creation and attend the official unveiling of their artwork. After the unveiling, the children proudly showed off their original artwork to the guests and families who had joined them for the celebrations.

Craig Harrop, regional director at Northern, said: “The artwork looks absolutely fantastic, and I'd like to thank everyone involved in this project.

“Our stations are gateways to other places and this artwork really celebrates this by highlighting the wonderful walk from platform one to Martin Mere.”

Stephen Benge, Chair of the West of Lancashire Community Rail Partnership said: “We're so pleased to see these fantastic pictures which I hope will draw people's attention to the footpath from Burscough Bridge station to Martin Mere Wetland Trust.

“With Martin Mere Wetland Trust being an important nature conservation site, it is good to encourage people to travel there by environmentally-friendly forms of transport – including getting the train and walking. Well done to everyone involved in producing this great piece of artwork and thank you to our funders with Community Rail Lancashire, Community Rail Development Fund.”

Train operator Northern, which manages Burscough Bridge station, is reminding customers that in line with the rest of the National Rail network new rail timetables were introduced on Sunday, 10 December. More information about customers local stations can be found on the ‘Check My Timetable' feature on the Northern website.