Pictures from the Big Lunch 2010

The first ever Big Lunch in Cuthill Park was a great success.

The weather was great right up until 4 o'clock when the rain came on.

East Coast FM staff and their families provided brilliant music for us and reportedly had a great 'team-building' game of rounders!


More sedate entertainment was provided by East Lothian Museums service who were on hand, in the shape of Debi and Julie Anne, to give a flavour of the type of fun that can be had at Prestongrange Museum.  We hope this can be the start of lots of joint iniatives with East Lothian Council.

The bigger kids were rounded up by author Annemarie Allan who thrilled them with tales of scary creatures set in magical forests!

And of course there was entertainment of the homegrown variety with guitars and frisbees and....running!  Lots of running.  Remember, there aren't any swings or other types of play equipment in the park, but there are lots of curves, slopes and rabbit holes which kept the kids happy for hours.

Notes for next time:
Everyone that was there came as a result of  having heard about the event from a handful of core volunteers/activists/supporters - proof that word of mouth works.  But why did the extensive advertising not attract a single person???  Are people simply community-minded or not?  Are they so disenfranchised from their communities that they no longer see this sort of event as being for them?  All questions to be answered another time...

People stayed in their own wee groups and there wasn't too much mingling but it was the first time anything like this has been tried.  Perhaps next time we'll have a mass conga or hokey cokey to break down a few barriers!

Geocaching in Cuthill Park

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.

Geocaching is a great way of discovering places off the beaten track or adding a fun element to an otherwise unremarkable walk.  You have probably walked past countless geocaches already!

Wherever you are in the world, you are never too far away from a geocache.  Prestonpans has several geocaches ranging from the quick 'cache and dash' variety to the multi-location puzzle-solving variety that take a couple of hours to solve.

Cuthill Park is currently home a geocache called "The Day the Park Smiled"- learn more at geocaching.com or watch the movie below:

Inspirational Community Gardeners

Isn't this brilliant?!  Wouldn't it be brilliant if we could do this in Cuthill Park?  Should we? Can we? YES, WE CAN!!!!!

How to create a community garden - More DIY How To Projects

Postcards from the Park 2010

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and BIG Lottery Fund (BIG) have again joined forces with parks charity GreenSpace to launch the ‘Postcards from the Park’ photo competition.



For your chance to win a trip to London and £1,000 worth of Jessops vouchers, enter at the Postcards from the Park website.

We think we know a perfect park to take your award-winning photos.  It has beautiful views across the Firth of Forth, plenty of flora and fauna and beautiful artwork.  Let us know how you get on!

Team Green Britain backs Bike Week

Being on route 76 of National Cycle Network, Cuthill Park welcomes cyclists and on today, Green Britain Day, we thought we'd share some bike news.

Team Green Britain has joined forces with Bike Week, the biggest cycling event in the UK, to create Team Green Britain Bike Week 2010.

Running from 19-27 June, Team Green Britain Bike Week aims to show how cycling can easily be part of everyday life. It’s a great opportunity to promote cycling as an everyday, healthy and practical lifestyle choice that can help the planet too.

By working together, we aim to make this year’s Team Green Britain Bike Week the biggest yet – encouraging half a million people to join in events, rethink their everyday journeys and switch to cycling as the most convenient way to get around.

Already Team Green Britain’s support has made a difference, enabling the funding of 13 workshops for event organisers, as well as new event organiser guides. Plus, in a new feature for 2010, Team Green Britain event sustainability consultant and professional ironman triathlete, Toby Radcliffe, will provide expert advice on how to minimise the environmental impact of your Bike Week event.

To find out how you could get involved today, visit www.bikeweek.org.uk - and remember to hold your event in Cuthill Park!

National Childminding Week - National Childminding Week

National Childminding Week

12 - 19 June 2010

National Childminding Week celebrates all that's great about childminding. What will your celebrations be - and will they include Cuthill Park?

Find out what it's all about here.

National Family Week - 31st May - 6th June

National Family Week is the UK's biggest annual celebration of family life aiming to highlight the importance of quality time together and promote the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle.

This year, thousands of record-setting, action-packed and fun-filled family events are taking place in every corner of the country so families everywhere can enjoy eating, learning, playing, exploring and getting out and active together.  Here's some ideas for celebrating National Family Week in Cuthill Park.


Monday:  Family Week Picnic - Mmm, enjoy the sunshine and take a few sandwiches and plenty of water.  Remember to take something to sit on too!
Tuesday: Family Week Film Day - Why not hire a movie We bet it's a while since you've watched Jurassic Park (Prestonpans Blockbuster, Prestonlinks Shopping Centre.  Tel: 01875 810891).  Alternatively, take a leaf out of the Nature Detective's book and make your own Minibeast Film in the park.
Wednesday: Family Week Story Time - it couldn't be simpler, take a book and make yourself comfortable.  Here a couple of our favourites: 

Thursday: Family Week Big Day Out - Why not join us with other families and go for a walk around the area.  Bring a dog!
Friday: Family Week Games Night - Take Jenga or a chess set to Cuthill. 
Saturday: Family Week Sports Day - Rounders or Swingball anyone?
Sunday: Family Week Feast - Round off the week's events with a barbecue and dream of the day when Cuthill has it's own clay bread oven!

More info: http://www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk/