Mark Barker, Chair of Cheshire Best Kept Stations, was pleased to visit the 2022 winning stations on the Wirral along with the Mayor of Wirral, Councillor Jeff Green.
Macclesfield Railway Station is highly commended ….
Judie Collins, from Cheshire Best Kept Stations, was pleased to join the Mayor of Cheshire East to present the 2022 Chris Dale Travel Watch Commendation to Macclesfield Station.
Note the platform bench remembering the late Chris Dale who was Secretary of Cheshire Best Kept Stations.
Award is presented at Winsford Railway Station ….
Mark Barker, the Chair of Cheshire Best Kept Stations, was pleased to visit Winsford Railway Station and present our recent award to staff member Ruth and Vicky Cropper-Clarke, LNWR’s Community Rail Manager.
News from Goostrey Art Studio ….
Recently, Debbie Goldsmith has been leading creative workshops at Goostrey Scout Hut.
In March, she taught local scouts how to screen-print fun designs onto their own T shirts. In April, just before Easter, the cubs learned about paper engineering and designed their own pop out jack-in-the-boxes.
On Monday 8th May, professional artist Debbie Goldsmith will be marking the Coronation of King Charles III by running a free, hands-on workshop at Goostrey Art Studio.
She’ll be making and decorating clay stepping stones. Local residents of all ages are welcome to join her any time between 11am and 1pm – there’s no need to book.
You’ll be making tiles and using natural materials and letter shapes to create your own special message to commemorate this historic year. The Clay Studio in Manchester will finish the pieces in their kilns.
When they’re ready, Friends of Goostrey Station will be helping Debbie to install them in the gardens around Goostrey Station. This will be a permanent display, so you’ll be able to visit your work of art at any time.
No experience is necessary and all materials will be provided. If you have any questions about this project, please contact Debbie on goostreyartstudio@yahoo.com
This will be part of a national day called The Big Help Out when members of the public are encouraged to try volunteering for themselves. It’s an opportunity to make a difference in our community. During the workshop, you’ll be able to find out about the work of the award-winning volunteer group, Friends of Goostrey Station.
News from Friends of Goostrey Station ….
The Best Kept Stations Awards evening, the highlight of the Community Rail year in Cheshire, took place at the Grange School in Northwich on Thursday 16 March. Four Friends of Goostrey Station attended and were delighted to be presented with the award for the Best Unstaffed Station. This is the eighth award that FoGS has won in this competition in just 10 years – a remarkable achievement.
As a welcome sign of Spring, the daffodils and other flowering bulbs planted by local cubs and FoGS members are brightening the station entrances and platforms. Recently Craig Sidebotham added more nest boxes in the gardens around the station and he completed the latest survey of bird species, recording the results on a GIS map as usual.
Click here for details of the Bird Survey
FoGS volunteers continue to meet each month at Goostrey station. There’s a car park, but you could choose greener transport by walking or cycling (there’s a new rack for bikes). You may have noticed a smart new noticeboard at the entrance to platform one. It’s there to help us to publicise FoGS and Goostrey Art Studio more effectively. Recently Gavin Hollinshead and Debbie Goldsmith installed a new poster, which highlights our latest award from the Cheshire Best Kept Station Competition, the engineer William Baker and the free creative workshop planned for the Big Help Out on Monday 8th May. For more information about FoGS, please have a look at our website or phone Craig Sidebotham on 01477 544111.