Told by Jane Lambourne

This story is a well-known old English folk tale. People have been telling the story for hundreds of years. In this telling the story is set 200 years ago when the landscape of Rushmere Country Park, between the villages of Heath and Reach and Great Brickhill, would have looked quite different.

This was a time before the country park existed. Horse drawn carriages, not cars, would have been driven along the driveway up to the big house past where the visitor centre and the sculpture trail are now. Much of what is now woodland would have been open heathland grazed with sheep and cattle.

As the landscape and habitats have changed, so have some of the place names too. Rushmere’s Oak Wood was then known as Warren Heath. The Greensand Trust is working hard to recreate some of the heathland that has been lost to provide homes for some of the wonderful plants and creatures that would have been more common in Jack’s time.

Download and listen as you explore Rushmere Country Park:

7.9MB_version_Lazy_Jack.mp3

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Terms and Conditions

The ‘Stories on the Greensand’ have been recorded on behalf of The Greensand Trust to raise awareness about the Greensand Area. They are not for commercial use and should not be used, altered, copied or replicated for other media. If you wish to use this material for public /non-profit benefit other than personal use,  please contact The Greensand Trust for permission and required acknowledgement details.

Find out more about our heathland re-creation work at the park here