Today was a rare day spent with Alicia, our only grandchild, and as the weather was kind we decided to take her to Cotwall End. Our first surprise was that it has now been re-branded as Brockswood Animal Sanctuary
We had known it had changed hands from Dudley Council control some time ago and it had been a long time since we had visited, so long ago that to the best of my knowledge Emma had got chased by a duck and Adam had got butted by a goat he had been teasing 🙂 Happy Days. Back then you paid to park the car and entrance was free, now it is £4 for adults with children under four free. On a summers day it was possible to spend most of the day there with the children enjoying walking through the petting zoo area and finishing off in a considerable play area where they could run off any remaining energy. The main entrance is now through the cafe and shop which had a bizarre collection of overpriced toy animals that would be more suitable in a zoo. From the shop we ended up near the overgrown and neglected play ground that now looked like a fallow field with a few scattered swings and benches.
The air of decay was continued throughout the rest of the park. We had been warned that the park was officially closed and would shut to the public at 14:00 hours, and was very muddy. The closure time was not any problem as even a 18 month old child can keep up her enthusiasm for watching rabbits, sheep goats and a few bedraggled ponies for so long. They were not kidding about the pathways being muddy, it didn’t look like they had been touched since our last visit some twenty years ago. I can understand that without some government funding things get a little tight but, there was no shortage of labour and with the surrounding woodlands it should have been a doddle to collect  branches to turn into wood chip to cover the muddy paths.
The labour was provided by a large number of teenagers on two weeks work experience who, from what I could see, were being given work experience that would set them up to expect a lazy time in their future careers. When we arrived, about 10:30, they were all in the cafe having breakfast. When we left about 13:30 they were all there again having lunch. In between we had seen three girls trying to clean out one rabbit hutch. They were there for about twenty minutes and I don’t know about the rabbit but, I couldn’t see any improvement.
The safe area was round by the rabbits and wildfowl, which were by and large in cages set low enough for Alicia to walk about freely and see what was going on to her hearts content. To be fair most of the animals seemed healthy enough, with the odd chicken that had been plucked by rivals in the enclosure and sheep that looked like they needed a good trim. However, the excess mud meant a large amount of the woodland walks and duck ponds were out of reach of anyone without a 4 x 4 buggy and wading boots. The sole pig was lying on a bed of straw in it’s sty, probably not daring to venture out into the field of mud that was it’s enclosure.
So despite the fact Alicia was happy just seeing the few animals I felt obliged to record my findings. There is something seriously wrong with the management of this nature reserve now. I am damn sure that if they took the trouble to ask for volunteers to help they could easily repair all the path ways and put the play area back into shape. It wouldn’t even take a genius to provide a shelter for the pig in another empty field so that it could be rotated and give the grass chance to grow back in the other. In many ways I see it as the state of Britain at present. There is no clear leadership and so much that could be done if the funds were better controlled and an effort was made in place of the growing apathy.
If we go again I am sure it will be after along dry spell, but I suspect the way things are going it will not be open for much longer.