Signs of spring

The snowdrops are past their best now, though they are still an impressive sight blanketing the woodland floor. With the warmer weather the daffodils and crocuses have come out all around the mansion and riverside, and as you walk down to the back of the mansion there are primroses and fritillaries on the wildflower bank to your left.

Spring at last!

Student Henry has been working on a new natural play area with our Sports Co-ordinator Lucy and as you walk from the Bothy towards the suspension bridge and deer park you will see some of their work with log bridges across the ditch and stepping stones in the stream. There is still a bit of work to do on the bridges but the stones are firmly in place and being enjoyed by our younger visitors (and my dog!) already:

Max enjoys the stepping stones - and the off-lead zone

Speaking of dogs, there is an updated dog policy available from Visitor Reception which outlines the responsibilities of dog walkers around the park, explains where the dog bins are (including a new one) and maps out where dogs must be on short leads or are allowed off lead. We have noticed that some visitors are not putting their dogs on leads where they should, including in the deer park, and recently a child was bitten by a loose dog that should have been on a short lead. I am asking my fellow dog owners to please adhere to the rules to keep everyone safe and comfortable. If you do spot someone ignoring the signs then please inform our staff, with a description if possible, so that we can have a word - we don't want the few to spoil it for the many. Attingham is such a brilliant place to bring your dog for a walk and to socialise with others, we want to keep it that way!

With spring on its way we are finishing off our winter jobs of hedgelaying and planting and are on schedule to complete them in the next few weeks. We have planted apple and damson trees to form a small orchard on a piece of ground at Wheathill farm, and will finish the orchard at Duncote next week, along with some maintenance work with replacing tree guards and mulching. We are continuing to tidy up from the storm by moving the fallen trees and brash as the ground is drying up and we can get the tractors in without creating too much mess. The deer are still being fed but not as often, as the trees are starting to bud and the grass is growing. The final cull is taking place this Saturday so if you would like some venison next week may be your last chance! There may be a final selective cull in a few weeks but after that, the season ends and we will not cull again until the end of the year.

Some of the fruit trees we have been planting