illegal 4x4s

4x4s and motorbikes driving where they are not authorised is a real menace to us, and legitimate users of the forest who are looking to enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the forest- as well as doing damage to sensitive habitats and access routes and posing a risk to people and pets.
We have had a number of sightings recently, and have been able to record registration plates. Being able to gather this sort of info significantly improves our chances of being able to do something about these unwanted visitors as every reported sighting with a registration plate gets passed on to the police.
We are working with the police on their pathwatch scheme, and so as well as reporting illegal 4x4s to us, you can also report them to the police direct at www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/community_safety/pathwatch/

Forests for the future in Dorset

To begin promoting The Crown Estate's new Forests for the future education pack, we visited the Bryanston estate in Dorset on tuesday the 29th November, where the forests are managed from Dunster, and invited 32 children from local schools to join us for a day of forest fun.

Working with George and Maggie Yeomans of Mountain and Bushcraft ways (http://www.guidingonskye.co.uk/) the children built shelters from natural materials, learnt about fire lighting and discovered the importance of trees in toaday's world by playing a number of activities in the pack.

The day was a great success, and provides a template for other events that will follow in the new year- to accompany the offical launch of the resources pack and soon to be completed forests for the future website. The pack is designed to provide teachers with ideas and resources to help teach pupils about trees, wood and the value that they provide to us. Further details on where to obtain a forests for the future pack will follow shortly.

signs of mice

Dunster Estate volunteers Brian and Caroline have found signs of habitation in dormouse boxes erected earlier this year in one of the estate's woodlands, but the rodenty residents are not the intended ones we were hoping for!
Wood mice are making best use of the boxes, with many showing signs of nest building, and four with mice in them at the stime of survey- one with two in!
Birds nests have also been found in the boxes, so, although not dormice, we are very pleased that they are being used, and who knows if it is good enough for wood mice, we might find dormice in there next year?!

Heath Fritillary butterflies found on new site!

We are pleased to report that two more sites on the Dunster estate have been found to be home to healthy populations of the endangered Heath Fritillary butterfly. Rodhuish common and Black Hill, which are managed by one of our tenant farmers, Malcolm Westcott, have both been found to support very healthy populations of this iconic species.

This is especially pleasing as nationally the species is under real pressure, but here at Dunster it seems that we are able to buck the trend and even add new populations. We hope that ongoing coppice management in Withycombe Scruffets native oak woodland, next to one of the sites, will encourage this butterfly, also known as the 'Woodsman's Follwer' back into the wood, as would have been the case up until the end of the first world war, when widespread coppicing ceased across Exmoor.

Volunteers build wildlife hide

Dunster Estate volunteers have been busy building a new widlife hide over the summer, deep in the forest, so that people can better enjoy seeing deer, badgers, birds of prey and all the other wildlife on the Dunster estate. The hide is being constructed using materials taken from the forest, and should be a simple but effective way of viewing wildlife- certainly we have seen plenty of Fallow deer as we have been building it!

It is not yet ready for unveiling so watch this space for more details of how we are getting on, and where you can find it.

Summer Holiday fun in the forest

It's been a busy summer so far with plenty going on- much of it with a bushcraft theme! We have had 60 young people out in the woods with CLOWNS nursery of Minehead's summer school learning how to build shelters, friction firelighting and making their own films.

The Exmoor National Park and Crown Estate Big adventure day in the forest was a great success this saturday the 6th, with around 300 people joining us for a day of forest based fun.

Dunster Fair was also a great success for us, with George and Maggie Yeomans of Guiding on Skye bushcraft company joining us and encouraging passers by to have a go at friction firelighting.

There is plenty more to come too, so keep an eye on our events page for more details of upcoming events (www.dunsterestate.co.uk/events)

You may have noticed works being carried out in the Park Lane area, this is to allow us to transport the timber being felled for the heathland restoration project around Bats Castle and the Deer Park.

Lowland heath is an internationally important habitat that has become greatly fragmented over the last three centuries as land has been converted to other uses, The Crown Estate has converted almost 10ha of conifer plantation back to heathland on the Dunster Estate within the past six years.

Please be aware timber lorries will be using the track untill the end of the summer.

Surveying of rare butterflies on Hopcott

Over 20 people turned out despite dubious weather forecasts to take part in Heath Fritillary survey techniques training today- organised in partnerhsip between Butterfly Conservation, The Crown Estate, Exmoor National Park, and National Trust.

The day kicked off with instruction from Jenny Plackett on survey techniques, and the importance of this butterfly- one of the rarest in the world, but has a stronghold on this part of Exmoor National Park.

As you can see from the picture, I not only got to see some, but managed to get a photo for once!

Part of the reason these butterflies are so rare is that they are quite exacting about the sort of habitat they require, and to keep the habitat in suitable condition takes a serious effort and expense- that is a debate to be had another day, but there are events being planned for the future to promote the work that goes on to keep our heaths in good condition for all sorts of wildlife, so keep and eye on our events page for details of upcoming events and training, and as ever to get involved in management for these, and many other key species, do contact us on info@dunsterestate.co.uk for more information.

Volunteers brave the rain- again!

Dunster Estate volunteers have had another enjoyable day- despite the odd soaking!.. We have been clearing pathside vegetation around Conygar Wood to keep it open for visitors. It is satisfying to see that our efforts are gradually paying off, as after each time we visit Conygar the vegetation comes back a little less vigorously.

After Conygar we also carried out checks on Dormouse boxes that were erected earlier in the year. Though we drew a blank on Dormice we have found about half of them containing blue tit nests, so a result none-the-less! We will continue to monitor and keep you posted.

Volunteers are a vital part of the team here at Dunster, and carry out vital conservation, recreation and monitoring work across the estate.

Please feel free to contact us to get involved with the volunteers on 01643 821309 or email info@dunsterestate.co.uk.

Nutcombe signs attacked

Signage and facilities at Nutcombe Bottom Car Park were attacked sometime on or around the 24th/25th May. Black paint was sprayed all over the info boards and pay and display machine, tall trees trail info boards at Nutcombe and tall trees trail were damaged.

Fortunately Dunster estate volunteers were able clear much of the mess, and new signs will replace the ones damaged, but costs of the attack are at least £500.

Anyone with info about the incident should contact the estate office on 01643 821309.

Visitors on the increase!

Half term is upon us and we are pleased to see so many people enjoying the forest- no matter what the weather is doing!
The Tall Trees Trail, adventure play area and new walking trails are proving particularly popular, and visitor numbers appear to be up on last year so far.
There will be a number of events coming up during the summer so keep an eye on our events page also.

Walk it off walk- Exmoor Walking festival

10 people enjoyed a hearty Dunster breakfast on Friday the 6th May- sampling the best the estate has to offer- care of Nick and Melinda of Townsend Farmhouse B&B (http://www.townsendfarmhouse.co.uk/) before setting off on an 8 mile walk led by Andy Player, Countryside Manager.

The walk took in parts of the estate that visitors don't normally get to, as well as some of the more popular attractions. Views of Exmoor, Dunster and the spectacular west Somerset coastline were enhanced even more by the amazing weather!

The walk was such a success that we will be planning some more Walk it off walks in the future so keep an eye on the events page of the website.

Bluebells- catch them while you still can!

Spring has sprung on the estate, and indeed has been far warmer than we have been used to of late. This has meant some spectacular displays of bluebells, but the bracken is beginning to take over so you will need to hurry if you are to catch them!

The picture was taken today in Withycombe Wood (grid ref ST021415), and shows Bob the dog enjoying the bluebell s there. Withycombe Wood is situated just off the A39, and there is a footpath that bisects the wood, and a circular route that goes round it. Cars can park in Withycombe.

There are some great stands of bluebells all over the estate, and you can see them on most of our woodland trails, so it is not too late to catch them, but hurry as they won't be here for much longer!

Forest Fires and BBQs

Now that spring has sprung and the sun is shining over the Dunster estate it is very tempting to bring a BBQ out into the woods or to make your own fire from bits of deadwood lying in the forest and cook up a few sausages.

As understandable as this is, we ask that you leave the BBQs at home, and to not start fires. It will not have escaped your attention that the hot, dry april has led to extremely dry conditions all over the country, and Dunster is no exception. The huge heath and forest fires raging across the county as I write this demonstrate how little it takes to start a major fire- many of these will have been started by simple BBQs or camp fires.

Forest and heath fires can do great damage to habitats and wildlife, and the costs can spiral into millions of pounds- just from one spark!

By all means bring a picnic, enjoy our walks and the shelter of the woods, and save the BBQ for when you get home!

Forest operations diversions- Hats Wood

The felling operations in Hats Wood have now finished, so the diversions have been removed for now. Please be aware that there will be forestry works ongoing throughout the summer, and details of when and where will be posted shortly. There are no planned closures of trails or footpaths, though there may be some local disruption on some routes due to felling. Thank you in advance for your co-operation.

Hats Wood Circuit diversion

Due to Forest operations we will need to divert the beginnings of the Hats Wood, Longcombe and Black Hill circuits. Diversions will remain in place until further notice. Apologies for any disruption.

Tall Trees Top Ten!

Following the recent loss of the tall tree at Lake Vyrnwy in Wales, Dunster's tall tree- measured in 2009 as the tallest tree in England- may be even higher in the top ten tallest trees in the UK.

The replacement tall tree that was found at Lake Vyrnwy, and was shown on BBC's Countryfile programme, was measured as being only fractionally higher than the Dunster douglas-fir, which was measred at 60.05m in 2009.

We will be checking with the Tree Register where the Dunster douglas sits in this lofty competition, so watch this space!

To celebrate our tall trees we have installed an all abilities trail in and amongst them and called it the Tall Trees Trail- for more information see our website http://www.dunsterestate.co.uk/dunster_wood.html

spring has sprung- for now!

Spring is here at last- leaves are starting to appear on the hedgerow trees, birds are starting to sing and lambs are playing in the fields... Sights and sounds like this make it even better to walk on our new waymarked walking trails which have been completed over the winter.

Trails leaflets are to be available from a range of outlets locally- including B&Bs, visitor centres and camp sites- and on our website of course!

Scrub bashing for biodiversity

Crown Estate staff and volunteers have been busy controlling scrub on our heathland at Hopcott recently. We had a successful day on friday the 4th march where 60 people, including pupils from Minehead Middle School and members of the local community joined us on a joint Exmoor NPA, Butterfly Conservation, National Trust and The Crown Estate scrub bash event.

The good work was continued on sunday the 13th march, when we were up there again, this time with Avon Outdoor Group, for an Exmoor National Park help a ranger day.

Both days were enjoyed by all those that joined us- possibly due to the presence of jacket potatoes and marshmallows!.... For details of volunteering see our website, under 'what to do'.

what a start to 2011!

Sorry it's been a while since our last post- it's busy start to the year! so far we have planted 500 native oak trees in Dunster Forest with 70 members of the local community, established a committee of local people to manage the community orchard and arrange events, built owl boxes with volunteers, the forestry commission and hawk and owl trust, installed a brand new network of waymarked walking trails in the forest, and hosted the first of a number of bushcraft courses that will run over the spring and summer.

There is plenty more in the pipeline as we get ready for what we hope to be a busy visitor season, so watch this space!