12 Months of Ford Park - a snapshot of 2025

2025 was, as always, all about community, caring for our park, and a fabulous team of people, making it all happen behind the scenes. From winter repairs and springtime creativity to summer celebrations, autumn events (in all kinds of weather), and a sparkling December, here’s our month-by-month look back at life in the park.

January: A tough start (and a brilliant fix)

The year began with a wet start to winter and some early January snow - and then part of our wall collapsed. It was one of those moments where your heart sinks as repairs like this are very costly for a small charity, but community spirit kicked in quickly. A huge thank you to Keenanable, who stepped in and repaired the wall, making the wall safe so we could carry on welcoming visitors.

February: A special visit and exciting plans

In February, we were delighted to welcome the High Sheriff of Cumbria, Christopher Holmes, and his wife Sue Holmes, along with trustees from Cumbria Community Foundation. They met volunteers and trustees in the garden, then toured the park with our Park Director, Sam Ronson, who shared plans for the year ahead, including our exciting community room project using WikiHouse construction. It’s an innovative, community-built approach using responsibly grown wood, designed to be carbon negative.

March: New benches (and meaningful tributes)

March saw new benches starting to appear around the park. Thanks to generous funding from Ulverston Town Council, we were able to purchase 10 beautiful benches, creating more places to pause, rest, and enjoy the views, especially helpful for anyone who’s less mobile.

We also want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has sponsored benches in memory of loved ones. Those benches are more than somewhere to sit, they’re quiet, meaningful tributes that will be part of Ford Park for years to come.

April: Storytime Scarecrows in the walled garden

April brought the Scarecrow Festival to the walled garden, with local groups and charities creating the most imaginative scarecrows around the theme “Storytime.” Visitors enjoyed a stroll through the garden, children joined in with activity sheets and games, and many people chose to leave a small donation to support their favourite cause.

A big thank you to our volunteers too, thanks to them, the garden stayed open until 6pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays during the festival, making it perfect for an after-work wander with 4 legged friends.

May: Sunshine, art and classic cars

May gave us one of those proper feel-good Ford Park days. With Art in the Park and the Classic Car Show happening side by side, the park was buzzing. The marquee was filled with talented local artists, the field was full of classic cars and bikes, and families enjoyed the playground and open green space.

Best of all, it was a free community event, and it was genuinely lovely to see so many people enjoying the park. (We’re making it even bigger in 2026, so keep an eye on our socials and newsletter!)

June: Ulverston Open Gardens

June was all about Ulverston Open Gardens; a brilliant weekend that brought together garden lovers, curious visitors, and our local community. Thank you to everyone who opened their garden, visited, volunteered, and supported the event. And to Ulverston Town Band who came along and played for us, helping make it a really special weekend.

July: Green Flag Award (again!)

In July, Ford Park was awarded the Green Flag Award once again, officially recognising us as one of the UK’s best parks and green spaces. It’s a real nod to the care that goes into keeping Ford Park welcoming and well looked after, and it’s down to the hard work of our team and volunteers, week in and week out, come rain or shine.

August: New life cycle plaques and summer adventures

August was full of summer sunshine, families picnicking, children enjoying the playground, and little explorers taking on our trails.

One of our favourite additions this month was the arrival of our new educational life cycle plaques in the walled garden, helping children learn about nature in a fun, interactive way. The plaques bring the life cycles of ladybirds, butterflies, frogs, ants and bees to life.

A huge thank you to Barbara Bundy, one of our wonderful volunteers, for developing the idea, and to Moray for helping bring it to life.

September: Classic Car Show, Art in the Park - rain and all

September saw our second Art in the Park and Classic Car Show. The weather wasn’t on our side, but we still had a great day with lots of classic cars and bikes on the field and that lovely community feel that makes these events worth doing.

October: Apple Day, Storm Amy, and amazing community spirit.

October was Apple Day, and Storm Amy meant we had to shuffle things around. The Makers Market moved into the Williams Room, Master Composters and The Coro set up in the Garden Room, the Bake Off relocated to Base Restaurant, and SLOG apple pressing took place under the Garden Room canopy.

Wellies and big coats were definitely the order of the day, and the community spirit was amazing: apple pressing, lovely stalls, tasty treats, and plenty of autumn cheer. Thank you for not letting the storm spoil the day!

November: A new donations post in the walled garden

In November, we installed a new donations post in the walled garden! It’s big, green and hard to miss! A huge thank you to Simon, one of our fabulous volunteers, for installing it for us.

If you’re in the garden and want to pay for plants or shop items, or simply leave a donation to support your local charity-run park, you can now pop your cash straight into the post.

December: Santa, sparkle and festive memories

December was, of course, all about Meeting Sants. The garden sparkled with thousands of lights, Santa’s sleigh was ready for photos, and families came along to enjoy the festive atmosphere, crafts in the Elves’ Workshop, and that little bit of Christmas magic with the most beautiful Christmas Angel.

Thank you for being part of 2025

Whether you visited for a walk, came along to an event, volunteered your time, donated, became a member, or simply shared a post- thank you. Ford Park is a charity-run community green space, and it’s your support that keeps it open, cared for and enjoyed by everyone.

Here’s to a fabulous 2026 and everything that is still to come.