AS celebrations go, it’s a big one. That Moors Valley Country Park has been open for 25 years this year is reason enough to crack open the champagne.

Seeing how far it has come in that time is quite another.

Back in the mid-1980s, all that stood on the land were some dairy cows, a couple of farms and forest owned and managed by the Forestry Commission. Today it’s the third most visited country park in England, hosting 500 events and attracting 800,000 visitors every year.

East Dorset District Council originally purchased the farm land to provide a facility for the people of East Dorset. And come people did... from near and far.

“In the early days we would have to turn people away at the gates as it got so popular and we didn’t have the facilities to accommodate everyone,” explained countryside interpretation ranger Katie Davies.

“People would say, ‘But I’ve come all the way from Portsmouth, or London!’ and all we could do is sadly tell them to come back later. But the council’s partnership with the Forestry Commission gave us room to grow with a shared vision to develop Moors Valley into a valued resource for the local community.”

Embarking on a healthy journey of nostalgia, rangers at the park are inviting people to share their memories and photos of the last quarter century.

The images will be available to view online and a selection will be chosen to be put up on display boards.

Katie added: “We are looking forward to seeing more photos. It will be a marvellous way to see how the park has developed and will help us record the life of the park for future generations.”

Perhaps you’ll have memories of the Park officially opening? (It all started with a charity golf match in 1988).

Or TV’s Esther Rantzen opening the Play Trail in 1991 with her trademark grin? Maybe you scampered over some of the now-gone play equipment, or remember the visitor centre itself being built?

The current barn, which is home to the visitor centre and Seasons cafe is in fact an 18th-century timber building bought from a Wiltshire farm. Each piece of timber had to be labelled and colour coded and meticulously placed back in its original form.

When visitor numbers grew, a second barn was purchased from the same farm and added at right angles to the original.

Recycling seems to be high on the agenda here as the popular railway – a seven-and-a-quarter-inch miniature narrow gauge scale ride-on steam train – came originally from Tucktonia in Christchurch.

Much care has gone into continuing to improve facilities throughout the 1000-acre site.

The golf courses, car parks and footpaths have all been extended. Lakes have been built. Single-track cycle routes have been put into place. The play equipment has a rolling programme of development. The number of events and healthy activities have been added to year-on-year. Health schemes have been launched and copied elsewhere in the UK.

(Though some things have remained relatively unchanged, including many staff members; manager Clare Gronow, for example, has been on board from the word go.) The 25th anniversary party is an on-going one with 25 wildlife-themed events being held throughout 2013. It’s fitting considering that the two-legged variety aren’t the only creatures who love the area.

Rangers skilfully balance the needs of the visiting public with those of the incredible array of wildlife here. The park is one of the best sites in the UK for dragonflies for example, and in recent months there was a successful water vole reintroduction programme. Other wildlife sightings include the great bustard, all six species of British reptile and even a Chilean flamingo...

On July 7, acoustic buskers will be welcomed to Moors Valley for a recreation of the park’s first-ever event 25 years ago and now the hunt is on for 25 buskers to take part.

The official anniversary weekend is July 20-21. There will be a lot happening including a fully costumed Gruffalo (the Gruffalo trail is open throughout the summer holidays), a free den building day, quirky history walks and much more.

You can also get involved in the celebrations by adding your vote to an list of your favourite things about Moors Valley Country Park and Forest. The top 25 will then be published.

“Moors Valley means so many different things to so many people. We have people who have met and married here, people who came when they were young and now bring their own children.

“We’re continually looking forward, but this year it’s nice to be able to look back, too.”

  • Upload your old photos of Moors Valley Country Park or events held there them to the dedicated group www.flickr.com./groups/MV25years. Or drop actual images into the Visitor Centre.

Visit www.moors-valley.co.uk