CHRISTMAS events on National Trust properties in Somerset are not just spectacular lighting shows or period decorations. There are also out door events at Fyne Court, on the Quantocks, and the opportunity to ramble on the beautiful Holnicote estate on Exmoor. Carols under the stars at Fyne Court, on Saturday 14th December, from 4.30 to…
CRANBORNE Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty has officially become an International Dark Sky Reserve – the first AONB to receive this formal designation and only the 14th reserve across the globe. The Chase, which extends from Dorset into Wiltshire, Hampshire and a small area in Somerset, joins an exclusive club of International Union for…
THE National Trust has announced plans to release Eurasian beavers[at two sites in the south of England next spring to help with flood management and to improve biodiversity. The beaver reintroductions will be the Trust’s first, linking to its ambitions to create priority habitats for nature and to increase the diversity of species and wildlife…
DECEMBER with Dorset Wildlife Trust continues with on Monday 30th December, with the Holes Bay stroll, 10.30am to 1.30pm, to view the salt marsh surrounding Holes Bay. Visit to Upton Country park and tearooms. Meet at Upton House car park. Contact Ken Yeates on 07947 141539. Pictured: Geese and other waterfowl on the edge of…
LANDSCAPE designer Piet Oudolf, whose innovative creations include the Oudolf Field at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, at Bruton, is a leading member of the New Perennials group, particularly noted for his naturalistic planting in swathes of grasses and perennial plants. His work at Hauser & Wirth’s Durslade Farm galleries and arts centre is described in…
IT may have come a bit late, but the autumn colours at Stourhead are attracting plenty of visitors to enjoy the spectacular show around the garden and wider estate. Alan Power, the National Trust’s head gardener at Stourhead, says: “Every autumn at Stourhead is strikingly distinct, with different types of trees changing at different times….
THE impact of this year’s Festival of Light at Longleat is almost overwhelming – astonishing larger than lifesize silk lantern displays of Greek gods and heroes, Chinese dragons, Norse warriors and mythical beasts and monsters. The festival includes more than 3,000 lanterns, crafted using 50,000 LED lights and 30,000 metres of silk. And for the…
AUTUMN is peak apple season and the National Trust team at Hardy’s Cottage, near Dorchester, is celebrating the nation’s favourite fruit in October and November with an invitation to visitors to taste the fruit from Hardy’s orchard and have a go at apple pressing and see cooking demonstrations. The team has been delving into Hardy’s…
HAUSER & Wirth Somerset will be celebrating the bounty of autumn with the annual Pumpkin Festival at Durslade Farm, Burton, on Sunday 27th October, from 11am to 4pm. Have you grown your own pumpkins, squash or gourds this year? If so, bring along your homegrown veg and enter the grand pumpkin and squash competition. Renowned…
A NEW scheme by the National Trust aims to return rivers to their natural path to reduce the impact of climate change, flood risk and to make space for nature, including the endangered water vole. Allowing rivers to meander like ‘the branches of a tree’ rather than along a single channel will slow river flow,…