THIS is the first look inside a new £10million tourist attraction at Samlesbury.

Yesterday special guests at Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Nature Reserve, near junction 31 of the M6, were given a sneak preview of the work so far.

This included seeing the under-construction wooden ‘pontoon’ floating visitor centre.

It will open next spring.

The complex, which is made of English oak and will ‘sit’ on the site’s lake, will include a shop, cafe, education centre, conference centre and exhibition space.

Bosses behind the scheme hope it will attract nature lovers, passing tourists, schoolchildren and business guests to a reserve which boasts a variety of birds and mammals.

Project manager Ian Selby, from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said: “We are hoping that a wide section of people will come along.We will welcome dedicated wildlife lovers but the site is ideal for people who are just curious and want to come along.

“It is only a few miles from Blackburn, Preston and other places, and is right beside the M6.”

The trust hopes that the wooden pontoon building will be ready by the end of the year, with the site open to the public from spring 2011.

Among the variety of birdlife at Brockholes are migrating species from Europe, including the whimbrel.

The site also has native badgers, deer, foxes, hares and various wild flowers.

Mr Selby added: “There is a great variety of wildlife here, and this is a very important site for all kinds of birds.

“Brockholes is rated by bird enthusiasts as one of the most important areas in the country for migrating birds from outside Britain.”

Among the special guests at yesterday’s preview event were Adam Khan, the London-based architect who designed the pontoon, and Steven Broomhead, the North West Development Agency’s chief executive.

The project was part-funded by £8million of NWDA cash.

Click on the link below to view more pictures of the nature reserve.