Lancashire beauty spot to close for a month as works are carried out to make it "wilder"

Lancashire Wildlife Trust has announced that the woods will close most of its visitor facilities from Tuesday, January 4 so work can be carried out making it more attractive to wildlife and help people get closer to nature.

>>>Click here to read about the history of Mere Sands Wood.

The work includes upgrades to the visitor centre entrance, which will mean heavy machinery on site.

The Trust is also building a boardwalk and pond dipping area for local schools to use, along with the existing classroom facilities.

A spokesman said: "Thanks to funding from Lancashire Environmental Fund and Casey, we are extending the open water habitat around the entrance to the visitor centre.

"This will better support dragonflies and amphibians including common darters and newts, whilst allowing our visitors to get closer to nature. We'll be retaining as much of the existing reedbed as possible and enhancing the area with some additional marginal aquatic plants."

The car park, café and toilets will remain closed throughout January, while the nature reserve itself will still be accessible on foot, via public footpaths and the reserve trails. The hides will remain open too, so people can watch the winter ducks on the lakes.

The trust is hoping to re-open the car park after around one month.

Parking pass holders will have their passes extended by one month automatically.