A walk around Rushcliffe Country Park
Originally the area was a boggy waterland. In the 18th century it was drained into a stream named Gibsons Dyke and transformed into productive farmland by Arthur Gibson after the Enclosure Act of 1767.
In 1940 Ruddington Depot[2] was built with a bomb factory and ammunition bunker. The site consisted of over 200 buildings and took 18 months to build. A total of 4000 workers were involved in the building work of a site that would remain for 41 years. A railway station Ruddington Factory Halt railway station was also constructed.
After being decommissioned in 1945 the site was used for auctioning redundant ex-military vehicles and equipment, with the depot finally closing in 1983. The auctions were known nationally and were held every eight weeks; each auction lasted for about a week and their popularity caused them to be advertised in the national press, which attracted dealers from all over the country.
The park is now situated on the site of the disused Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) depot. The buildings were reduced to rubble when the park was reclaimed and designed by Nottinghamshire County Council. The rubble was used to landscape the site, almost 140,000 trees were planted and a 70,000 m3 lake created. Some areas, including Fowemer Hill were raised by 7 metres.
Work began in 1989 and the park was finally completed in 1993 at a cost of £3.5 million.
Originally the site was to be used for housing but the district council were against the idea. It was then suggested that the site be used as a business park with landscaped surroundings. The Transport Heritage Centre was added as another idea to add greater interest to the site.
In 1999 a part of the play area was destroyed by an arson attack. The damage cost £14,000 to repair but is the only serious piece of willful damage to date.
It is now managed by Rushcliffe Borough Council with a team of full-time rangers and volunteers.