of rustic

charm

in town lRURAL crafts were all the rage when experts in the arts showed their skills down Astley Green.

Charcoal burning, bird box making and basket weaving were some of the features which the event one to remember at Whitehead Hall Meadow, off Lower Green Lane.

The millennium green event proved a real fun day and highlighted the value to the village of having such a facility on their doorstep. It gave locals the opportunity to view the conservation work which has restored to the comunity lost acres of the meadow after years of being hidden under colliery waste.

The green was constructed after a village campaign received National Lottery funding with input from Groundwork Wigan and Chorley, The Wildlife Trust, Virador Waste Management and The Countryside Agency.

Budding artist Catherine Dootson, seven, of Astley, is pictured, trying her hand at painting a tent (J1968/11)