Frost and ice

The thermals are most definitely on! It's crisp and beautiful out there, and walking around the park hearing the crunch of your footsteps and seeing your breath fog the air is one of the reasons I love this job. The wardens have been keeping busy as usual; the last week has seen us hedge laying, shifting timber, building a prototype shelter for approval from our curators, delivering logs, taking a huge Christmas tree to St Chads in Shrewsbury, taking steps to protect the ground on the approach drive and heeling in 10,000 hedge plants ready for planting. And it's only Thursday. Phew!

The hedge plants are made up of hawthorn, blackthorn, holly, field maple, hazel and guelder rose, and will be used to fill gaps in existing hedges as well as new plantings. Our lovely volunteers have braved the cold and dug out trenches for the whips to rest in, then we back fill and loosely pack the earth down to protect the roots from the frost. Once it warms up a little we can get cracking with the planting out again.

Buffy, Bob, Milly and Martin - and 10,000 young hedge plants
 

Dog walkers will be pleased to hear that the meadow in the middle of the Mile Walk is now open again, and well-behaved dogs are allowed off the lead inside. Please make sure that any mess is cleared up though - the tenant farmer that allows us use of the meadow in the winter months has his cattle on there the rest of the year and diseases can be spread to them via dog waste. And when its icy or wet, take care around the pond! The boardwalk can become slippery. Max likes to scramble across it but I prefer to take the circular route around. Speaking of Max, I took him up to Carding Mill Valley last weekend for his first walk in the Shropshire Hills - fantastic! It was bright and sunny that morning and we followed the 5 mile pink route up the valley to Pole Bank and down Townbrook Hollow. Highly recommended, but remember your hat and gloves.

 

If you come and see the deer being fed at Attingham this weekend or during the week before Christmas, you might spot a few new characters - we have elves feeding them from our festive sleigh! Photos to follow soon. Stay warm!