THE call of the wild is easier to answer for visitors to a nature reserve which landed a grant to improve access.

Oakenshaw Community Association got £5,000 from The Banks Group, via its Banks Community Fund, to create a second disabled access to the Oakenshaw Community Wildlife Reserve, near Willington.

A new surfaced path and six benches have also been installed.

The 39-hectare site, opened by Tony Blair 20 years ago, is a mainly broad-leaved woodland with a seven hectare nature reserve with three ponds, a wildflower meadow, open glades and grassy areas.

It provides open space with an extensive network of footpaths into surrounding woods and is a haven for wildlife, from woodland butterflies to 100 varieties of fungi.

John Spencer, chairman of Oakenshaw Community Association, said: “The wildlife reserve is a highly valued community asset which attracts a lot of visitors from both within and outside the local community, and we work hard to make the very best of everything it offers.

“When the winter weather comes, conditions underfoot can naturally get a bit tricky, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t want to get out and about around the reserve, and having had comments from visitors with mobility problems about the issues they were facing, we decided we wanted to do something about them.

“It’s very doubtful that we would have been able to get this second path laid without the Banks Group’s contribution to the cause, and the difference it has made is clear for all to see.

“We’ve had a lot of positive comments on the areas of the reserve that are now being made more accessible to all our visitors, and we hope to keep welcoming as many people as possible right through the year.”

Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at Banks Group, said the reserve is a great example of former surface mine restoration.

He added: “Ensuring access for everyone to community assets such as this is an essential part of their operation, we’re very pleased to be supporting Oakenshaw Community Association’s excellent work towards doing so.”

For details of The Banks Community Fund call 0191-3786342.