Brockholes

Coordinates: 53°35′49″N 1°46′11″W / 53.5970°N 1.7698°W / 53.5970; -1.7698

Brockholes is a small village in West Yorkshire, England, in the administrative area of Kirklees Metropolitan Council and Holme Valley Parish Council. The village of Honley borders to the immediate north of the village and Holmfirth lies to the south. Brockholes is within the Postal district of Holmfirth.

Community

According to the 2001 census, Brockholes had a resident population of 1,861 in 764 households.

Central to the village is a small green set back from the A616 behind terraced housing, and overlooked by a church, a chapel and the village hall, formerly the village school. The village hall on Brockholes Lane was built in 1837 and is a Grade II listed building. Further Grade II structures are the Gothic Revival St George's Church of England parish church, built in 1861, the 17th- or early 18th-century Bank End farmhouse and barn on Bank End Knoll at the south-east of the village, and a late 18th- to early 19th-century single-span bridge over the River Holme on Smithy Place Lane.

Brockholes (nature reserve)

Brockholes is a nature reserve near Preston, Lancashire, England, just off Junction 31 of the M6 motorway. It is owned by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside. Situated in the flood-plain of the river Ribble, it has the UK's first floating visitor village.

Brockholes was previously a major quarry extraction site. The land was bought by the Trust in January 2007, and the reserve opened to the public at Easter 2011. It has been regenerated as a mosaic of key habitats such as pools, reedbeds and woodland. The reserve is aimed less at dedicated bird-watchers and nature lovers than the general public of the big cities. The riverbank is covered in steaming ferns and rampant Himalayan Balsam.

Brockholes offers a wide range of events throughout the year and over 250 acres of trails and hides. It has already seen record numbers of breeding wader birds along with visitors such as osprey, otter and bittern. Brockholes' floating Visitor Village has won multiple awards and is the first of its kind in the UK. It houses shops, an exhibition area, an activity room for schools and community groups, a restaurant and a conference centre.