25 walkers met on a sunny, but still chilly, Wednesday morning on the 12th March 2025 at Apedale Heritage Centre for the 5.2 mile walk to be led by Karen Newsome. The Apedale site was previously an open cast mine, and now forms the 454 acre country park. From the car park we walked through the wood towards and then past the new visitor educational centre, making our way to cross over the B5367 and enter Silverdale Country Park. Again this was created from the site of former mineworkings. We had a lovely sighting of pink and white blossom just appearing on trees here. We followed tracks which would lead us to a drinks break in an area known as The Void. This is a deep bowl shape, with a lake and smaller ponds. It is recognised as a Site of Biological Importance (SBI) due to the important wildlife habitats that have formed. After our break we continued to navigate paths around The Void, and there are fenced off areas, which have been given over to nature reserves, to give protection to ground nesting birds. On this return part of our walk we noticied an impressive new dry stone wall, which is being built alongside the commemorative Jubilee Stone which was installed to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jublilee. Finally we retraced our steps back into Apedale, walking uphill for a stretch to the cars. Several members then took the opportunity to visit the cafe for refreshments, after this pleasant walk.