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Burnham and Sea and Highbridge is fortunate in having a wealth
of open spaces and public gardens, as follows:
Apex Leisure and Wildlife Park In 1969 Burnham
District Council acquired land from Messrs  Colthurst
Symonds & Co, including disused and flooded clay pits and derelict
building and kilns. A scheme for the future use of the area was
proposed as a Leisure park to link the towns of Highbridge and Burnham-on-Sea.
To make the South Bank safe, extra land was purchased from Miss
Daunton of Highbridge and a plan was prepared to form the clay pits
into a large lake with shallow banks and to seed and plant the remaining
areas. The original buildings were demolished and turned into rubble
to form a car park.
The Highbridge Angling Association temporarily re-homed the fish
and the 49th Ordnance Squadron Royal Engineers removed a number
of bombs, mines and grenades. Messrs. Crotty bulldozed and shaped
the land into a car park and graded the landscape that buried all
the rubbish – creating Crotty’s island in the middle
of the lake. The park covers approximately 42 acres. Richard Berry
of Highbridge seeded the ground and planted trees – Ash, Cypress,
Sorbus, Elder, Hawthorn, Poplar, Birch, Willow, Oak, Maple and Sycamore.
In May 1973, G.L. Manthorpe was employed to create mounds and sloped
profiles. A new causeway to the River Brue was built, topsoil and
seed was spread over the whole site and an all-weather footpath
installed to enable people to walk through the park to the river.
Sedgemoor District Council took over the area in 1974, by which
time natural generation had taken place and it is now difficult
to realise it is man-made.
Swans, Mallards and Coots have taken up permanent residence and
many other birds can be found in the park. The pond is now said
to be one of the best fisheries in the SW and members of the North
Sedgemoor Association of Anglers regularly fish there.
In the 1980’s a group was set up under the guidance of S.D.C.
Parks Officer, Clive Stanley, to improve facilities at the park,
and the local Councillors, working with the group, were successful
in having the toilet block finally opened, the main path improved
and a higher path put in to avoid the low path (which was often
flooded). Picnic tables and chairs as well as waste bins were added
and the car parking area resurfaced. A cycle path was the last part
of these improvements.
Early in 2009, brand new fishing platforms were constructed around
the main fishing lake and two islands have been formed to protect
fish and encourage breeding in the lake.
Through the re-generation scheme in 2000, another voluntary group
was set up (now called Friends of Apex Park Improvements Group).
The group meet every six weeks to recommend more work to the Park
as well as organising events throughout the calendar year. Extra
seats and tables, information boards as well as waste bins and dog
bins have been added to the amenity and the main path improved for
the use of wheelchair- users and disabled people. Volunteers plant
bulbs in the park during spring. Anyone interested in joining this
hands-on group may email: foap@hotmail.co.uk
Web-site:- www.friendsofapexpark.co.uk
The children’s play area in Apex Park is set to have a £140,000
revamp that will see the play area transformed into a playscape
area. Sedgemoor District Council has appointed Landscape Architects,
Swan Paul Partnership, to design a larger play space for Apex Park.
The area identified for the playscape will see the replacement and
enlargement of the existing play area at Apex Park and should create
a flagship site that will be a visitor attraction for the entire
district. The project seeks to deliver a ‘natural play space’
in the park that will utilise the existing grassy mounds, make use
of natural materials, like sand, bark mulch and timber and combine
this with cutting edge play equipment installation to provide a
high quality play experience for residents and visitors to the area.
Marine Cove Gardens This secret garden at the north
end of the Esplanade was originally laid out as an Italianate-style
garden and given to the town in 1927 by Mr J B Braithwaite. The
current owners, Sedgemoor District Council, have submitted a bid
for Heritage Lottery funding to restore  the
gardens, and have also recently formed a “Friends of Marine
Cove” group. Anyone wishing to become involved with the group
should contact Sedgemoor District Council.
Manor Gardens is situated on the junction of Love
Lane and Berrow Road, Burnham-on-Sea. The prominent whitewashed
Manor House, surrounded by formal gardens is popular with all age
groups and park users. The formal gardens surrounding the Manor
House are of a traditional style with mowed lawns, floral beds,
bandstand, and with trees around the edge. A wall separates Manor
Gardens from its neighbour Crosses Pen, where Leisure plays a major
part, with a large play area and two Tarmacadam Tennis Courts. Manor
Gardens is also available for hire.
Background History Manor House and Gardens
were conveyed to Burnham Urban District Council in April 1904 from
George Bryant Sully at a cost of £3,407. Crosses Penn was
purchased at a later date in 1943.
In 1974 Sedgemoor District Council took over the ownership and management
of the House (which was used as offices) and the gardens. The House
was sold in February 2000 to the Ashfield Trust, but the gardens
remain in SDC hands.
A new bandstand was built in 1995 as part of the town's VE Day commemorations
and was funded partly by Public Subscription. The hexagonal bandstand
is positioned in the centre of Manor Gardens and was officially
opened by the MEP at that time, Graham Watson, and is regularly
used for events in the gardens.
Other Gardens include a grassed area and water fountain at the junction
of Marine Drive and the High Street in Burnham and the Town Green
in Highbridge (both completed to mark the new Millennium), Southwell
Gardens in Highbridge, purchased by the people of Highbridge in
1949 and set up as a charitable trust in memory of those who lost
their lives in World War II, and Jubilee Gardens by the roundabout
at the junction of Church Street and Market Street, originally developed
and cultivated by local volunteers to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s
Silver Jubilee (and hopefully soon to be renovated).
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