ILKLEY'S Nell Bank Centre is celebrating the continuation of a long-term link with Ilkley and District Round Table by delivering a £14,000 education project that will benefit thousands of children of all ages and abilities.

When it officially opens in September 2015, the Nell Bank Round House – at the centre in Denton Road – will provide children with interactive history lessons with the opportunity for them to learn how early people lived. They will also be able to excavate for Roman coins and artefacts.

Nell Bank centre manager, Bruce Fowler, said: “The idea of a Round House for a Round Table was fully embraced by the guys from Ilkley and District Round Table.

"We have a long history in supporting the local community and particularly Nell Bank throughout the 21 years I have spent at the centre.

"It’s fantastic that in true Round Table style, they continue to provide muscle, as well as funding, and it is always fantastic fun to work alongside them. They truly are a special bunch of people.”

Mr Fowler added: “As with all activities at Nell Bank, the facility will be totally accessible to children with physical or other disabilities, and all activities emphasise that learning can be fun.”

Although the exterior and interior appearance of the Early Peoples Settlement will be authentic, the ‘hidden build’ is of a specification capable of withstanding thousands of children throughout the year.

Nell Bank is one of Britain’s leading outdoor learning centres. In excess of 25,000 children, their teachers and parents visit the centre on an annual basis, surrounded as it is by the moors, the River Wharf, a dairy farm and outstanding oak and bluebell woodland.

Nell Bank is nationally significant in outdoor learning provision for children with additional needs, featuring access to day and residential accommodation and activities with innovative adaptations for those with physical disabilities. These include accessible assault and adventure playgrounds, raised ponds and tracks to enable all visitors to participate in many exciting education activities.

However, it wasn’t always like this. When Mr Fowler arrived in 1994, Ilkley and District Round Table stepped in with the first donation of £500 to purchase ‘Nellies wellies’, meaning children could visit throughout the year, whatever the weather.

The organisation provided the muscle and £2,000 of funding in 2003 to help build a sensory garden, which has featured in a breathtaking piece of film by the BBC where a blind child demonstrated the value of being able to enjoy the sensory experience activities at Nell Bank.