SWAIN’S Lane Nature Reserve in Wellington basked in afternoon sunshine on Saturday as more than 100 visitors, including the Mayor of Wellington, Cllr Janet Lloyd, attended the open day held to celebrate its tenth anniversary.

Everyone had a good time, some bringing their own picnics and others enjoying the light refreshments on offer. Examples of wildlife from the pond, including two species of newt, were on display, and visitors young and old had an opportunity to try their hand at mowing with a scythe.

Comments included: “Very interesting and informative”; “aren’t we lucky to have such a lovely place in the town”; and “I know what it used to be like here – some people have done a lot of hard work to turn it into this.”

Afterwards, John Morton of the SLNR volunteers group, said: “We couldn’t have asked for better weather and are delighted at how successful today has been. I’d like to thank all those people who have given up their time to help run the event and I’m really pleased by the amount of positive feedback from visitors I’ve spoken to.

“With more people having offered to join our volunteers group, we feel there is a new momentum as we look forward to the next ten years in the life of the Nature Reserve.”