xmas tree oh xmas tree

It is that time of year again, and we have been involving local school children in our xmas trees. Last friday we showed students from the West Somerset Community College around one of our xmas tree plantations and they were able to select a nice 14ft tree for their main assembly hall. Today we were out again with pupils from Minehead Middle School on the annual 'xmas tree pull', whereby an entire year group form the school walk from the school up to Hopcott heath and help us to manage some of the invasive conifer trees that take root there- and they get to take home the trees they collect. Lots of smiling faces, despite the prickles!

We are also selling xmas trees again from our new office this year, so come and get yours quick! Call the office on 01643 821309 or visit us at Sea Lane, Dunster Marsh near Minehead.

ash dieback info for visitors

Following recent outbreak of ash dieback please take note of the points in the poster attached when visiting to avoid risk of spreading disease. Thank you

Volunteering on Dartmoor

I have recently volunteered as an army cadet civilian assistant in my spare time. This means that I get to help lead expeditions and bushcraft sessions for the cadets, but don't have to attend regular drill nights. This last weekend I was able to take some time off from my usual Crown Estate duties to help take a group of cadets from Minehead and Cannington Platoons to Okehampton Camp on the edge of Dartmoor to do silver Duke of Edinburgh and 2 star expedition training. We spent 2.5 days doing navigation, camping, hill skills and a bit of camp craft thrown in for good measure. Though we had an enjoyable but challenging 27K route planned to take in some of the higher tors, we had a couple of injuries, and so had to cut it short to just 15K. We had two relatively dry nights of camping however, and, despite it feeling like mid-winter on sunday, as you can see from the picture the sun shone for at least the start of the walk! Though this is an extra-curricular activity of mine, The Crown Estate allows staff a couple of days a year to undertake a range of volunteer activities- some people read with school children, others run football teams- I choose to get wet and tired on the moors of the south west! Andy Player

New Office update

New office move date: 3rd-5th July.

Forest operations 2012

We have now finished any large scale forest ops on Croydon Hill, and have now moved on to Hopcott, to the south of Minehead. As with our other harvesting, we are undertaking a mix of clearfells and thinning. Please observe any on site notices and directions given and keep dogs under control in these areas.

walk on the wild side

Today has been a day for spotting wildlife on the Dunster estate. We were out with our volunteer bird ringer, Denise, this morning checking on our owl boxes, and despite a disappointing show from the owls, we did get to ring three Jackdaw chicks. As you can see, not exactly going to win a beautiful baby competition, but great to see none-the-less. Then, I spotted what appeared to be a large cat paw print up in Dunster forest.. Could it be the beast?!?!...... Probably just a large dog, but you never know!...

Office move update

As the build phase is nearing an end we have been getting all geared up for our move.... until, that is, we found out that we can't get our phones and networks installed until the middle of June! So close but yet so far! The building has really come on, with much of the essentials now installed- even got a log burner in there. We will start migrating across once the contractors have finished the basics, with a final move in date of the weekend of the 15th June. We'll get there in the end!

Andy Player

Where's spring gone?

As we are told here in the south west that we are in drought, the Dunster estate, and surrounding area has been subject to some of the highest rainfalls on record. As a result we have had flooding, trees down and ditches and streams that have been dry for many years, are now flowing rivers. As you can see, Nutcombe Bottom Car Park and play area are lucky to still be in place!
The brief lull in the weather has helped levels to drop again slightly, but with more rain to come we are not letting our guard down too much.

Regardless of this, when the sun has shone, it has been positively spring-like, with the wildflowers starting to put in an appearance- despite probably not knowing what season it actually is, and many of our walks are bordered with bluebells, violets, and primroses.

more signs of spring...

Now things are really getting going.. The impressive annual display of colour that is Withycombe Wood's bluebells is as impressive as ever. They come out in carpets of purple, and are really worth seeing. You can access Withycombe Wood via Withycombe village, and walk up through the newly planted Myra's Wood, to be opened at the end of the month, and dedicated in memory of a resident of the village. The trees are also starting to flush, and I have seen hazel, rowan, horse chestnut and beech with bright green leaves starting to poke through. A great time of year for sure and Bob the dog is enjoying the sun too! Andy Player

Felling in the forest

More intrepid visitors to the forest may have noticed that we have been felling up on Croydon Hill recently. This has unfortunately been necessary due to the stand of Corsican Pine falling victim to red band needle blight ( http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/INFD-6ZCKAE), which basically stunted the trees' growth, and could have spread to other stands. One interesting feature of this is that it has opened up some amazing views of Conygar tower and the coast- that won't have been seen for 40+ years. This area will be restocked with conifers that are more resistant to the ever increasing sweet of tree diseases that we need to manage around nowadays. The views, however, will remain for a good few years yet, so do make your way up the hill to enjoy them, and the nightjars that may well inhabit this area now it has been cleared. Andy Player

More signs of spring

As well as having the tallest tree in England (a 60m tall douglas fir), we also have growing along side it the tallest magnolia (25m). One of the signs that spring is really getting going is that it flowers an impressive bright pink (if you like that sort of thing!), and it is currently in full flower. Its neighbour also flowers white, straight after the pink has begun to go over. Both are well worth a look, but hurry as the whole spectacle only lasts a couple of weeks- just in time for easter holidays! Andy Player

signs of spring

when out in our semi natural oak woodland, Withycombe Scruffets recently I stopped to watch wood ants building a nest. It was fascinating to watch, and surprisingly noisy as they went about their business of moving first the Queen and the grubs, and then the workers building the colony around them. It is just one of the first signs of spring that I will be reporting back on over the next few weeks, and thanks to the glorious weather that we have been fortunate enough to be enjoying- lets hope that this is not our summer! Andy Player, Countryside Manager

New office update

The new office is really starting to take shape- the shell is nearly complete and electrics all plumbed in (if I can use that term!). We should be abel to start the migration across in a couple of weeks so at long last we are nearly there! watch this space for more updates.

New Forest Office update

The ball is well and truly rolling with the new Dunster estate forest office! Wedgewood Buildings, our contractors have been on site for a couple of months now doing the ground works, but in the last week or so the buidling has started to shoot up. This photo was taken yesterday, and I suspect by the end of the week that the roof will be on and possibly even tiled- very rapid.

Forest Operations Feb 2012

We are currently thinning the woodland in the Longcombe area of the forest- see map. Thinning enables the remaining trees to grow bigger, and lets light into the forest floor. It also generates timber to go to UK timber mills for making a wide range of wooden produce. Please observe any signs or directions given on site, keep your dog under close control at all times when near a work site and do not get too close to working machinery.

Wassailing returns to Dunster after 60 years

Wassailing, the traditional blessing of orchards, returned to Dunster after an absence of 60 years, on the 17th January. In the morning pupils from Dunster 1st School joined us for a mini wassail, where bread soaked in apple juice was hung from some of the trees, we read out the Dunster wassail song, and then made lots of noise to scare away evil spirits!

In the evening, we returned to the orchard for the main event, and over 100 people joined in the festivities and helped us to ensure a healthy crop of apples for the following year- not bad for the first attempt!

Due to the success of our first wassail, it will form a regular part of the estate events calendar, so keep an eye on this (at www.dunsterestate.co.uk/events) for more details.