Countryman Diary - April 2011
Hopefully, spring is in the air as you read this diary — it certainly wasn’t while I was writing, here in Yorkshire. For me, spring is the start of a new year and (once again) my resolution is to get out and about more, do more exercise and enjoy Nature as it bursts back into life.
I understand that the National Trust is planning a few changes, too, as their new season gets under way. Perhaps known by many as being purely curators and saviours of old country houses, the charity is also the owner of thousands of acres of countryside.
The trust is planning a major shift in focus, and aims to help more people like me enjoy the outdoors and get closer to nature by promoting a range of activities on the land it looks after, including walking, mountain biking, kayaking, surfing and camping.
“For too long it’s felt that outdoor spaces have been the trust’s best-kept secret,” director-general Fiona Reynolds explains. “Over 100 years ago one of the trust’s founders, Octavia Hill, argued that quiet, air and exercise, and the sight of sky and growing things, were human needs common to all people. Over a century later we still don’t seem to value enough the physical and spiritual refreshment we get from our surroundings.”
The main focus in 2011 will be walking. Working with local communities, the charity will create 100 miles (160 km) of new walking routes as part of a major outdoor celebration planned for 22nd-30th October.
It’s hoped that the public will be involved in helping design local paths, clear undergrowth and tread the walking routes for the first time.
The outdoors celebration will also include mass-participation events, giving people the chance to explore autumn colours, and will launch the trust’s commitment to create a target 1,000 miles of new trails by 2020.
During 2011 there will also be a series of seven cycling challenge rides on trust property. There will be a cycling festival in July, including a community bike ride at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire and a children’s On Your Bike weekend at Scotney Castle in Kent.
The trust currently has more than fifty campsites on its land — many run by tenant farmers — and plans for this year include creating a network of new, simple campsites in stunning locations.
In Snowdonia the trust has just launched green yurt holidays and will promote thirty bunkhouses as great places to base walking weekends.
Help save Castle Drogo
Staying with the National Trust, I see that the charity is looking to raise £1.5 million to safeguard the future of one of the country’s most iconic twentieth-century buildings, Castle Drogo in Devon.
The castle has suffered major structural problems, resulting in serious leaks. If extensive conservation is not undertaken, the castle will become inaccessible and a national treasure will be lost forever.
Castle Drogo is the last castle to have been built in Britain, between 1911 and 1931, by the renowned architect Edwin Lutyens. It was built for Julius Drewe, a food retailing magnate, whose dream was to have an imposing granite fortress that would appear to have existed for hundreds of years.
By contrast, the inside offered the ultimate in modern living with all the technology and comforts of the age. This will be conservation on a grand scale. To install a new roof system, 2,355 granite blocks weighing 680 tonnes will have to be removed and then returned. Some 900 windows containing over 13,000 panes will be refurbished and over 190,000 feet (60,000 m) of pointing will need to be replaced.
A key aim of the project will be the involvement of local people. There will be opportunities for learning new skills such as masonry and joinery, and ways for volunteers to take part in their local heritage.
The full cost of the conservation project will be £11 million over five years and the trust is making approaches to various funding bodies to reach the target. However, a successful response from the public appeal will allow the first crucial stages of work to get under way.
To support the campaign, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/drogo.
Look out for a special feature on the castle in July’s issue.
Long lost farmstead revealed
Scrub clearance work currently being carried out at Devon Wildlife Trust’s Knowstone Moor nature reserve has uncovered a long-lost farmstead hidden from view for decades.
The 300 acre (120 ha) reserve near Rackenford is a mixture of grassland, heathland and bog, split by the A361 Devon Link Road. It was known that the ruins of Little Comfort Farm existed at the site, but work this month to remove scrub as part of the GrantScape-funded Culm restoration project has unveiled a large area of walls and foundations thought to date back to Elizabethan times.
Ian Chadwick, the nature reserves officer in charge of the work, tells me:
“We knew there was supposed to be a farmstead in the area, but until now had never had the funding to really get on top of the thick scrub in the area and fully discover it.”
Along with opening up this ruin, the conservation work is due to benefit a wide range of rare species that exist on the nature reserve.
The charity is now interested to hear from local historians who may be able to shed more light on the ruin.
Make 'em laugh
Humour’s a strange animal. What makes some people roll about in laughter causes others to recoil in disgust, as we discovered with one short comment in last month’s magazine — our apologies to anyone who was offended.
It reminded me of the time last autumn when I pulled up the car at a local beauty spot. In my rush to get out of the motor I clipped the doorframe and fell headlong into a puddle. While my ‘friend’ guffawed uncontrollably in the passenger seat, a dear lady some twenty-odd years my senior dashed from her own car to offer me some assistance.
The lady certainly didn’t see the funny side of my accident and gave my ‘friend’ an real old-fashioned look. In my embarrassment I never did show my gratitude properly — so if you’re out there, thank you for not descending to my colleague’s depths.
The Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage (EH) are releasing more than £15.7m to support urgent repair work to 153 Grade I and II* listed places of worship across England. It means that since 2002, almost £140m of grants have been awarded for more than 1,500 projects to help congregations to care for their buildings.
Despite the challenging economic climate, HLF and EH have been able to maintain the funding for the current financial year. The HLF has provided an extra £9m to maintain the £25m value of the total grants budget for 2010-11 and also confirmed that it will continue its increased level of support in future years.
This means that despite EH having to withdraw most of its contribution, the scheme can continue in its current form. There will be no reduction in expert advice English Heritage staff.
Competition Winners
Gillian Cansdale, Chelmsford, Essex
Mr J C Lowe, Malton, North Yorkshire
S P Evans, Cockett, Swansea
Thank you to everyone who entered.
Paul Jackson
Editor
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