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20-460: California Country Park is a 100-acre (40 ha) country park covering Long Moor at California , Berkshire , England. It consists of lowland heath and bogland, including Longmoor Bog , a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Local Nature Reserve . The park is managed by Wokingham Borough Council and is open every day throughout the year. The country park is situated approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Wokingham and

40-403: A car park, toilets, maybe a cafe or kiosk, paths and trails, and some information for visitors. Some have much more, with museums, visitor centres, educational facilities, historic buildings, farms, boating, fishing, and other attractions. Many larger country parks organise entertainment for visitors, and are venues for firework displays, shows and fairs and other large, outdoor events. There

60-480: A country park is to provide a place that has a natural, rural atmosphere for visitors who do not necessarily want to go out into the wider countryside. Visitors can enjoy a public open space with an informal atmosphere, as opposed to a formal park as might be found in an urban area. For this reason country parks are usually found close to or on the edge of built-up areas, and rarely in the wider countryside. A country park usually has some more formal facilities, such as

80-420: A further area of scrub which was cleared to provide a site for a circus which operated each summer for several years. The Art Deco main building, built around 1937, included a sprung glass-floored ballroom over the restaurant. This structure was destroyed by fire in 1976. From the 1930s to the 1950s the park was home to a speedway track. The Reading and District Motor Club ran a series of meetings in 1939, on

100-508: Is bounded by Arborfield Garrison to the west, California to the east, the Nine Mile Ride to the south, and what was once Barkham common to the north. The site covers 150 acres (61 ha) features a six-acre (2.4 ha) lake. The park features a ferruginous swamp, Longmoor Bog, caused by a bacterium that deposits rust-coloured iron hydroxide . In 1931, it was established as an amusement park and zoo by Alfred Cartilage and

120-454: Is not necessarily any public right of access to country parks, and visitors are usually subject to byelaws when they enter the park. Some charge for car parking, some are free. These parks vary tremendously from one to another, and really have only their purpose in common: to provide easy access to the countryside for those living in the towns and suburbs . They do not necessarily have any great nature conservation interest, although often this

140-463: Is the case. In Hong Kong a large part of the territory's countryside is officially designated as country parks. Most of these are reservoir watersheds, serving the dual purpose of providing recreational facilities and contributing to Hong Kong's water supply. Countryside Act 1968 The Countryside Act 1968 (c. 41) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which enlarged

160-512: Is within the country park and now largely overgrown. The park has the following animals The park has the following flora: As well as offering walks and wildlife watching, especially around Longmoor Lake, there is a cafe, summer paddling pool, toddler swings and an adventure play area. A 5k parkrun started on 23 February 2019 and takes place every Saturday at 9.00am. 51°22′46″N 0°52′28″W  /  51.3795°N 0.8745°W  / 51.3795; -0.8745 Country park In

180-729: The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and made other amendments to the 1949 Act. It conferred upon water undertakers and the Forestry Commission powers to provide for public access and enjoyment in and around reservoirs and forests, and amended aspects of the Forestry Act 1967 , including provision for compensation in respect of the making of tree preservation orders . The Act gave powers and duties to highway authorities in respect of

200-622: The Act The Countryside in 1970 conferences held in 1963 and 1965 led to the publication in 1966 of a Government white paper called Leisure in the Countryside which proposed inter alia , the creation of country parks near to centres of population so as to ease pressures on wilder areas. The next year the publication of the report of the Gosling Committee recommended a suite of proposals concerning access to

220-587: The Countryside Commission to recognize country parks. Although the Act established country parks and gave guidance on the core facilities and services they should provide it did not empower the designation of sites as country parks, as it was left to local authorities to decide whether to endorse a site calling itself a country park. In England, country parks can be accredited by Natural England , and some also have Green Flag status. The purpose of

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240-871: The United Kingdom, the term country park has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated country parks in England and Wales attracting some 57 million visitors a year, and another 40 or so in Scotland. Most country parks were designated in the 1970s, under the Countryside Act 1968 , with the support of the former Countryside Commission . In more recent times there has been no specific financial support for country parks directly and fewer have been designated. Most parks are managed by local authorities, although other organisations and private individuals can also run them. The 1968 Countryside Act empowered

260-464: The buildings were used for the manufacture of munitions for the aircraft industry. Cartilage reopened the park after the war and set about developing the rides many of which were designed and built onsite, including the Snake Train. The railway was re-established as 18   inch gauge using a petrol-powered locomotive. His son, Norman, took over in the early 1950s and continued the development of

280-479: The conservation and recreation functions of the existing National Parks Commission and re-named it the Countryside Commission . It provided for the establishment of country parks and gave local authorities certain powers in respect of the management of common land and of the provision of camping and picnicking sites and provided for grants to such bodies for their establishment. It provided for

300-560: The dirt track laid out in a remote corner of the estate. Later from 1954 to 1956, a local speedway team, the California Poppies , rode on the track. In the early 1960s the amusement business was failing and the site obtained new owners who turned it into a holiday camp. Caravan and camping facilities are still available on site at the California Chalet and Touring Park but the main part of the original amusement area

320-413: The employment of countryside wardens and for the making of byelaws in connection with such facilities. The Act conferred powers on certain authorities to exercise control over boating on waterbodies within national parks and over the conversion of moorland and heathland to agriculture. It put in place provisions regarding ‘ areas of special scientific value ’ and access to ‘open country’ as defined in

340-413: The signing of public paths and in respect of the maintenance of stiles and gates on paths. It introduced provisions regarding the ploughing and reinstatement of public paths during agricultural operations and also provided for bicycles to use public bridleways. Further provision was made as regards traffic regulation orders in parts of the countryside. Certain other miscellaneous provisions were made by

360-401: The site. At this time, the original miniature railway terminus station was moved to the outer north-western edge of the extended play and rides area. The track was extended across the bog and had a point installed with the intention of constructing a loop. Trackwork was never completed beyond the apex of the loop, and it is here that after the park closed the last loco on the line was run off into

380-489: The swamp. The cleared area between the railway and the original rides was developed with extra rides. There was a small carousel , a full size chairoplane , climbing frame, swing boats , and a concrete oval track. The latter was initially intended for petrol driven go-karts but these were replaced by children's pedal cars of the Austin J40 and Pathfinder type. The removal of the original railway station opened up access to

400-485: Was called 'California in England'. Cartilage built the park so that he could use his Teddington -based Charabanc compan to take parties of people from London to the countryside. The miniature railway was initially laid out to ten and a quarter inch (260   mm) gauge but was soon changed to 18   inch (460 mm) and this lasted until the outbreak of the Second World War when the park closed and all

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