Stockton Borough Council has been successful in securing a £45,800 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for an exciting new arts project at Wynyard Woodland Park in Stockton.

The Project will be a series of scultures created by Sunderland based artist Colin Wilbourn, who was also responsible for such artistic masterpieces as 'Watching and Waiting' and 'The Red House', both at St.Peter's Riverside in Sunderland.

The new arts features will be divided into 3 main elements - The Story-Teller's Chair, Woodland Seating and the Celestial Kitchen. The Sculptures will enhance opporunities for environmental education at the Woodland Park and will help to interpret the natural history of the site, the astronomical work undertaken at the Planetarium and the railway heritage oof the area. Collectively the pieces will provide a unique representation of past and present uses of the site in an innovative and creative way.

The sculptures will be installed during the summer of 2005 and promise to contribute towards the continuing development of the countryside destinations.

The Story-Teller's Chair, Thorpe Wood

This ingenious design will at first glance appear to be no more than an old-fashioned luggage trunk, possibly the property of a traveller making his journey along the Casle Eden branch in days gone by. Visitors will be able to rest awhile on the trunk during their exploration of Thorpe Wood, where this first sculpture will be located.

The turn of a special key kept by the Countryside Rangers, will however, reveal the mystery of the trunk, transforming it into an amazing Story-Teller's chair which will provide the focus for woodland tales, environmental education and public events.

Woodland Seating, Brierley Wood

Hewn from huge pieces of locally grown turkey oak, these carved wooden seats will provide a resting place for visitors to Brierley Wood at the northern end of the Woodland Park.

These seats will be decorated with intricate carvings of plants and wildlife that can all be found in the Woodland Park.

Carved items of clothing will also decorate the new benches, a reminder that the site is today managed for both people and wildlife.

The Celestial Kitchen, Stoney Field

A giant table top might not be the first thing you would expect to find in a Country Park, but look a little closer and you will be amazed by this ingenious sculpture!

This unusual and unique design will help to interpret the important and fascinating astronomical work undertaken at Wynyard Planetarium.

Visitors will be able to view the north star on clear nights, by looking through the directly aligned holes in the two spoon handles, and night-sky constellations will be replicated in the holes of the different utensils.

The Cellestial Kitchen also provides a link with the agricultural history of the area. The crucial turning points of the season, the spring equinox, mid-summer and the summer equinox, were vital for successful agricultural planning years ago, and can be seen by the shadow of the sun on certain points of the sculpture.

The sculpture is located in Stoney Field, a short walk south from the Visitors Centre and directly off the A177 in Thorpe Thewles.