Geograph - photograph every grid square

Silverdale Country Park was created on the site of former mineworkings. It is now owned by national charity The Land Trust, which manages the site as a public open space for people and wildlife. Day-to-day management of the site is vested in Groundwork West Midlands, which appointed a Ranger in April 2011 to oversee the site.

There are two main areas. The Void is a vast deep bowl with sparse vegetation, a large lake and some smaller pools, which resulted after the cessation of opencast mining from 1987-1994. Waste Farm Meadows is a plateau created from colliery spoil tips, and consists of carefully managed grassland. The two are separated by a band of woodland called Miners Retreat Wood. A pond close to the road adjoining Silverdale village, known as Furnace Pool, is leased by the Silverdale Angling Society. Much of the site of Silverdale Colliery, i.e. the deep pit, in operation from 1830 right up to 1998, is now occupied by a new housing estate called 'Heritage Park', while the old furnace site is now an 'enterprise park' of commercial and light industrial units.

Silverdale Country Park website is at Link.