Poppy Wood Park

The is a number of horses hacking around the bridle pathways around the outside of park today please be careful entering. Sport endurance hold this event each year in Ticknall and thank you for controlling your dogs near the horses.

Does anyone know who replaced the board at the entrance to the park by the side of the gate this weekend ?
This work wasn’t forestry commission employee’s so we wondered who did it.
If you noticed this work being done and by anyone please message us.

Good news !! It’s finally happened. I know a lot of you have been waiting for the grass to be cut. 😊

Please be aware a motor vehicle was broken into yesterday lunchtime around 1.30pm The suspected offender was seen in the carpark on a motorbike without a dog. If you see anyone acting suspiciously please call the police don’t wait for some else to do it. Please don’t leave anything in sight that could be considered valuable.

If you have visited Poppywood recently you may have noticed the posts set in the shape of squares as you walked up to the bridge from the carpark. The has been lots of speculation about what they are for and I can confirm it’s isn’t any of the things below. Plots of land being auctioned off. Alien landing site. Protected orchids area.... Mole capturing devices or in anyway meant to harm them or any other wildlife.
What it is Is in fact the corner posts for area’s with different types of trees inside each area. They will be planted inside the cordoned off area. You will be able to learn about these different types of trees on your walks once the project is complete.
So as you stroll past on your walk you will be able to read information about that particular type of tree in each zone this information will be provided by the forestry Commission. . Not a Alien in sight 👽
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We offer our deepest condolences to fellow dog lovers who have lost dogs at nearby sites sycamore Road Park, Stapenhill, Albert Village reservoir, over the past 48hrs. We offer a sharing of information and pooling of resources to anyone effected by this outrageous attack on what is our innocent family pets.
With the help of the public we can have this person brought to justice.
... If you have any information regarding either incident please send us a message we will make sure it reaches the correct people investigating this terrible crime. We understand up to 5 dogs have been killed and an unknown number suffered toxic poisoning symptoms.
This mirrors our attack in March that sadly left 2 dogs dead and 13 known cases of toxic poisoning.
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A lot of people have been enquiring about if we are reopening the gates to the carpark. In light of recent events the volunteer group has decided NOT to reopen the gate until further notice.
The park itself is Not locked and is accessible through the gates off the A514 or Breach lane.
... The group would like to advise visitors to be extremely vigilant if you are walking here in light of recent events. So we suggest. Do not allow anyone to feed your dog. Do not let your dog disappear out of your sight. Be aware of what your dog is eating at all times. We would ask you NOT to bring treats to the park or give anyone else's dog food of any kind. Be very aware of people who do try and give your dog treats if possible ( record images of that person) Lone female walkers should avoid the quieter outskirts of the park and should keep to the path area inside the park.
Please report anything that you think is suspicious to us via Facebook messages. All information will be followed up and treated in the strictest confidence. Any pictures would always be a great help. With your help we will make this park a safe place to walk again.
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It saddens the volunteers to publish this but on top of our poisoning problem we now have the added problem of a flasher who exposed himself to a regular walker at the park yesterday morning. This is the first time we have known of anything like this unless someone has other information?
We remind everyone to be vigilant at this time while the police conduct an investigation. You can help by sharing this post and if anyone has any dash cam footage of the A514 between Ticknall and Stanton by bridge between 9.45-10.30am yesterday 5th May 2017) to get in touch via Facebook messenger as we suspect the flasher will have used his car to get to the site and with the carpark being closed he will have to have parked on the road.

Poppywood park is never closed, only the carpark remains closed while the source of the poison is being investigated further. With everyday we move closer to locating the exact cause of this suspected Deliberate poisoning.
As soon as the volunteers are confident the source of this problem has been dealt with our normal gate opening times will resume.
... If you have seen anyone or anything suspicious in the last 3 weeks please contact us here by messaging this page.
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*** UPDATE*** The environmental Agency have taken water samples on the Thursday and Friday at the stream at Poppy wood and they have confirmed the stream water is clear of any pollution or poisons. The water had insects life in it that is not tolerant to even low levels of pollution indicating the suspected poisoning happened on the land.
The volunteers have decided against reopening the carpark at the present time as no source of the poisoning has been found, we feel it woul...d be wrong for us to encourage you to return thinking it is safe.
If you wish to return to The park it is open all year round only the carpark will remain closed.
We ask you to be vigilant and not allow your dog to be out of your sight or allow it to eat anything or pick up things that you did not bring with you to the park.
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Thank you for all those who gave up their time today and came to help the Forestry commition and volunteers Search Poppywood park for any traces of poison that could have caused the death of 2 dogs and may have caused 4 dogs to have fits and seizures, we have also been contacted by 5 other dog owners who's pets have become unwell between 17-27th March.
The site has been cleared of all litter thanks to the 40 strong group of forestry commission staff and volunteers made up of... the local community. While no poison was found on the site today, Items of interest have been removed and may be sent away for further testing.
The Environment Agency spent time taking samples of the water and have indicated they will contact the forestry commission with the results as soon as the available. We will be confirming the results & shared them on here as soon as possible.
The carpark will remain closed while we wait for the results of the Environment Agency.
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If you can help us this morning with our search of the grounds of Poppy Wood park. Please head to the carpark off Breach lane, Melbourne. The Forestry commition will be their and able to direct you on how best to help in the search.
We will be starting a search shortly after 9am today.
... If you are able to give up some of your time this morning It would be greatly appreciated.
Due to heavy rain over night we advise you to bring sensible footwear.
Please do not bring your dogs with you today whilst the search is in progress.
We thank you all for your support at this most difficult time.
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Thank you all for you support at this most difficult time. We have verified the facts and I been able to establish that 2 dogs are now confirmed to have died. 4 have suffered seizures 2 other dogs have been made very unwell after visiting poppy wood between the 18-28 March this year.
... So I ask the public to please spare us a little time on this coming Thursday 30th of March 9am ( meet at the carpark) off Breach Lane. If you can only spare an hour that would be wonderful to help the volunteers and Forrestry Commition staff to search the site for the poison that has been effecting all these dogs. If your SURE you can make it please comment in the box below so we have an idea of numbers.
Thank you all for your support.
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Thank you all for your enquiries and support. We are getting more information all the time and we hope to be able to update you around noon today with an update on the situation if you are visiting Poppywood or any open parkland in the area we urge you to keep your dog under control and in sight at all times. Do not allow it to eat anything whilst out exercising your pet and please seek the attention of a qualified veterinary practise if your pet shows any signs of illness. If we do have someone out their poisoning our pets the best form of defensive will be you the public to keep watching and reporting any suspicious behaviour to the police. Many thanks.

It has now come to light that 3 dogs have lost their lives at Poppy Wood Over the past few days. These dogs seem to have been poisoned. The volunteers had decided to withdraw from opening the carpark for the foreseeable future.
... The volunteers are unwilling to give you the impression the site is safe if it is not. All the volunteers are dog owners and are also concerned about the welfare of their own dogs and under the present circumstances we can give no assurances of the park is a safe environment for your Dog.
We will be working with the forestry commission closely to resolve this issue but please be very aware of what your dog is eating on site if you decide to visit.
We might be looking for volunteers to search the site for any traces of poison if you are able to give up any time this coming week please keep watching and we will ask you if the opportunity arises.
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Please keep your eye on your dogs at poppy wood just incase the poor dog that died ate it onsite. Should anyone know of anyone else who has suffered this problem please contact the park rangers. Or us here so we can make people aware of this problem. And take the appropriate actions. Many thanks... Simon.
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Please be aware with all the wet weather the gate at the bottom of the site is difficult to close and your dog could escape into the fields off breach lane.

Remembering All those who have given their life's so we can live in freedom.

As we change the clocks tonight. We change our gate closing times with the carpark from Sunday evening the new closing time will be 5pm until spring next year.

We walk here most days, and enjoy watching our dog playing off lead with the other sociable dogs who visit Poppy Wood. The gravel paths are good in muddy weather but you can also walk off the paths on grassy tracks. Thank you to the volunteers who open and close the car park.

We love taking Sandy our Labrador to Poppy Wood great and safe place to walk your dog off the lead! Only friendly dogs welcome ✔️

We go most days-our 2 well behaved dogs love being able to run about off their leads with many other dogs!

Manned by a team of dog-friendly volunteers, who ensure that the park is safe and secure.

Second visit to Poppy Woods and thoroughly enjoyed it again, of course the dog did too..

Pretty and safe for the older dog's and owner, easy walking fairly flat and fab for bird watching and such

Great place to safely work on my recall with my new rescue dog and let my old boy run free even though he struggles to hear me. It's great how people respect each other and check if it's OK to play before letting the dogs run up.

First time here today....loved it! Met some other friendly dogs... And dipped my paws in stream. Betsy and Laura and graham.

Fab place to take the dogs while still training with recall , no worry or stress that your dog will run off or get lost ,when you cant take them to the local park its the ideal place to go ( The gate could do with being a bit lower though as my dog got straight under it )

Ellie loves running around poppy woods with playful friendly dogs - happy dog = happy owner

Just don't forget to pick dog mess up please and use the bin by the car park gate !!

Came today ,let my husky Kai of the lead for first time ! Such a good place ,so safe lovely walk too

Beautifully maintained and enclosed park / ideal for walkers and dog walkers alike ! We've met lots of lovely people and their dogs there , it's helped my very nervous rescue dog get socialised and given me some great walking times

We walk here most days, and enjoy watching our dog playing off lead with the other sociable dogs who visit Poppy Wood. The gravel paths are good in muddy weather but you can also walk off the paths on grassy tracks. Thank you to the volunteers who open and close the car park.

We love taking Sandy our Labrador to Poppy Wood great and safe place to walk your dog off the lead! Only friendly dogs welcome ✔️

We go most days-our 2 well behaved dogs love being able to run about off their leads with many other dogs!

Manned by a team of dog-friendly volunteers, who ensure that the park is safe and secure.

Second visit to Poppy Woods and thoroughly enjoyed it again, of course the dog did too..

Pretty and safe for the older dog's and owner, easy walking fairly flat and fab for bird watching and such

Great place to safely work on my recall with my new rescue dog and let my old boy run free even though he struggles to hear me. It's great how people respect each other and check if it's OK to play before letting the dogs run up.

First time here today....loved it! Met some other friendly dogs... And dipped my paws in stream. Betsy and Laura and graham.

Fab place to take the dogs while still training with recall , no worry or stress that your dog will run off or get lost ,when you cant take them to the local park its the ideal place to go ( The gate could do with being a bit lower though as my dog got straight under it )

Ellie loves running around poppy woods with playful friendly dogs - happy dog = happy owner

Just don't forget to pick dog mess up please and use the bin by the car park gate !!

Came today ,let my husky Kai of the lead for first time ! Such a good place ,so safe lovely walk too

Beautifully maintained and enclosed park / ideal for walkers and dog walkers alike ! We've met lots of lovely people and their dogs there , it's helped my very nervous rescue dog get socialised and given me some great walking times