![](http://www.alamy.com/thumbs/6/0CE07CD9-A81C-408A-991F-10207F9DC327/CPERJN.jpg)
Red eyed albino ferret in a cage at the dog show in Marbury Park, Northwich, Cheshire
Marbury Country Park is a park in Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of Northwich Community Woodlands, an integral part of the Mersey Forest. Former industrial land is gradually being transformed to create a rich and green environment stretching from Marbury to Northwich. Many of the features of the Country Park, including the lime avenues and the arboretum, are a legacy of the days when Marbury was a grand estate. The last Marbury Hall, built in the 1850s, was a fine looking house modelled on the French chateau at Fontainebleau, with an imposing carriage drive entrance. Originally owned by the Smith-Barry family, the hall became a country club in the 1930s, and then a camp during the Second World War. After this the hall served as a hostel for ICI employees during its considerable post-war expansion and some of the camp huts persisted as accommodation for the workforce. By the 1960s the hall had fallen into disrepair and had to be demolished. The history of the hall was told in a community play in 2002. The Friends of Anderton and Marbury (FOAM) are an active group who get involved in looking after both parks and have a busy programme of walks, talks, conservation tasks and events. The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur. They have an average length of 20 inches (51 cm) including a 5 inch (13 cm) tail, weigh about –4 pounds (–2 kg), and have a natural lifespan of 7 to 10 years. The history of the ferret's domestication is uncertain, like that of most other domestic animals, but it is likely that ferrets have been domesticated for at least 2,500 years. They are still used for hunting rabbits in some parts of the world today, but increasingly they are kept simply as pets.
Size: 5184px × 3456px
Location: Marbury Country Park, Comberbach, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 6AT, England
Photo credit: © John Hopkins / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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