Sluice gate repair

The Sluice Gates at Tipkinder which are used to fill the Lake were getting a overhaul this week. Originally made in Crewe works they are generally working well but a few improvements are needed.

The Cafe is progressing with walls going up at a good rate of knots

The mud mountain near the main road has had bull dozers on it all week levelling it off and creating a slope into coronation walk thankfully the 3 million year old stone has now been removed from the walk into the office before someone through it away thinking it was rubbish

  

Its been a strange week with on one hand the Butterflies still out enjoying the flowers and what we think of as a winter visitor the Robin seen down by the lake

What is clear is that winter is on its way as Autumn comes to the park with the first trees starting to change colour the trees on the far side of the lake are the first to go. There will be some good pictures  in the near future as Autumn colour takes over

Park Meeting

This week we had the Friends meeting which was postponed from July and details can be found on the Friends of Queens park page

A lot of work has happened around the Cafe this week. The new steel work arrived and was put in place with a crane

As you can see the cafe is now taking shape  with the basic walls and steel work in place you can appreciate the size of it now 

 

The fence around the lake has been replaced between the two bridges and the gardeners have been seeding the slope so it can be fully opened once the grass has grown. But it does mean you can now take some pictures of the lake

Outside the park by the Golf Coarse the path has now been laid which will be part of the cycle track to Nantwich

 

Finally the bowls hut walls are starting to grow and this was one of the hot topics at the meeting as to prevent the project going over budget the hut will not now have any shutters on the windows

Lots of Work at the Park

The main drive is at its best with all the hard work the gardeners have done and everything is now in full bloom

The bowling hut is now getting underway again with the base concreted in

The cafe is beginning to take shape  as the wall near the lake is being built up

 

The metal fence near the lake has been removed between the bridges and you can now see the lake at its best. The duck were struggling after being used to going under it the plastic fence was keeping them guessing how to get under

Finally on the top near the bandstand were all the excess  mud  had built up they have bulldozers levelling it off so hopefully we will soon be able to use the new bandstand

 

Fencing Removed

The metal fencing around the lake was being removed to day and replaced with a nylon barrier which means you can see the lake better and take pictures of it now. The bank has to be grassed over to make it safe and they should start that this week. Up near the band stand the bull dozers were hard at work getting the top areas straight again

 

Big Balls in the park

A strange site for anyone entering the park today as giant balls were seen floating about. It turned out the local firm  Zorb it events

had brought the Zorb over for a fun day out so people could give them a try and there was lots of interest as the kids all wanted ago. The new play area was heavily used as well and the  official open is tommorow

More on the Play Area

Just to remind everyone there is no Procession this year for the Carnival

More pictures of the new children's play area they were just finishing painting the railings as I was there today. Its open but there will be an official opening on Tuesday

The Bowls hut is now back on track with the footings back in

Over near the main entrance the mud mountain by Coronation Walk had bulldozers levelling it out. It will give us a flat road so its safe for disabled and all so help to support the outside wall which was in danger of collapsing. It will be levelled off  and a smooth path down to the walk

The Cafe now has the floor in and a few bricks

New Children's Play Area Open

The fences down the main entrance have now been moved right back to the Coronation Walk  so there is a lot more grass for people to walk on now

At the picnic area the railings have been taken down and moved to the new children's play area to stop children running into the road

Next to the picnic area the new range of keep fit equipment has now been installed so there is no excuse for not keeping fit

The equipment includes steppers twisters and press up equipment

The big news is the new play area will be open from Friday 27th August ready for the carnival

The last minute fittings going in are the swings

The swirly thing above

Trampoline above

Another swing type of thing

 

The railing are being installed that were removed from the picnic area. The opening is just in time as the kids are still off school and I have no doubt there will be lots coming to try out the new area.

Next door the Fair is in town ready fro the Carnival

The Return of Dobin

All go this week as a crane was on site putting up steel work for the Cafe

You can now start to see something happening with the cafe as it slowly starts to take shape

I wondered what was going on with the bowls hut I could have sworn the foundation had been put in but its all gone. It turns out they had made an error and been 1.3 meters out so they have had to start again

New keep fit equipment has gone in at the rear of the bowls hut so now you can get down to the park and have a free work out. I am sure the Park manager will be there every morning leading by example

A long last an old friend Dobin has returned to the Queens Park play area It an old favourite of many children and was condemned this year and removed. But now its back having been restored back to its former glory and to bring pleasure to the next generation of young children in the new play area

The play area other equipment is going in thick and fast but there is a delay for the massive climbing frame which first need planning permission.

The trees that were cut back last week at the Tipkinder entrance have now been felled