Brotherton Park and Dibbinsdale Local Nature Reserve

Friends of Dibbinsdale

Walled Garden

we held an apple pressing afternoon on 16th Oct

This year the crop of apples and other fruit in the walled garden has been very poor. But we had enough apples for some scrating and pressing.

This will mean there will be far less windfalls and fruit on trees for wildlife this winter. So there could well be a need to feed wildlife this winter.

There is a apple tree near Boddens Hay Meadow that last winter that had many apples through to February, this year not a single apple.

Have you seen any acorns this year?

The Friends of Dibbinsdale are all volunteers who give their time, labour and knowlege to a place they all love. We do get support in many different ways from many like minded people and organisations.

We thank The Brotherton Trust for a very generous donation to enable us pay for insurance and help with some of the costs of running events. Brotherton’s gave the Buildings and a large part of Brotherton Park to the Council many years ago but retain an interest in the area.

We also enjoy the great and longstanding support of Wirral Wildlife, who’s Chair Steven Ross of many years as just retired. https://wirralwildlife.blogspot.com/2026/10/thank-you-to-stephen-ross-our-retiring.html

Steven Ross helping plant a “Bramley” apple tree in the walled garden

Alison McGovern (MP for Wirral South) planting traditional Cheshire Apple varieties to mark 50 years of Wirral Wildlife. (L to R) Alison McGovern, Steve Yandell, Tim Ganicliffe, Stephen Ross (chair of Wirral Wildlife).
Wirral Wildlife local group chair Stephen Ross and Cheshire Wildlife Trust vice-chair Charles Neame planting a Holly tree. Woodslee Field
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The Fruit Trees of Dibbinsdale – a separate website

Brotherton Park and Dibbinsdale

Located on the Wirral Peninsula between the Mersey and the Dee on the eastern side, near the Mersey. Brotherton Park is the former parkland surrounding the site of a Victorian “Villa” named Woodslee. It has many fine exotic trees and a walled garden containing an orchard & tree nursery. Dibbinsdale is the valley containing the river Dibbin. Once the boundary between the Saxon South and the Norse North. It is now on the boundary between urban housing and farmland. It consists of an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), Ancient Woodland, reed beds and a meadow field.

Be aware that if it has rained heavily in the previous 24 hours some paths, especially the tunnel under the railway can be many inches deep in water & the path surface damaged.