Hedge laying

During the last few weeks here in Ullswater we have been laying a hedge that we planted 15 years ago. This work involves cutting back some of the side branches and then cutting most of the way through the stem of the tree and laying it down flat on the ground and from this lots of new shoots will grow up to create a new hedge. This hedge consists of Hawthorn,Blackthorn, Hazel and some Willow and once it is layed it will provide great habitat for nesting birds.

  The hedge before we started

Laying in progress

Close up of a layed hedge.



The finished job.

Aira Force in full force

Aira Force is a popular tourist attraction but most visitors come during the summer when there is little water in the beck. So here is a clip of the water fall in full force after a lot of rain and a quick thaw of snow off the fells. It is the highest I've seen it!

Aira Force in full cry!

The Grand Fir of Skelghyll Woods

Our Rangers in the Lake District have discovered the tallest tree of its kind in England growing in one of their woodlands. The Grand Fir, which stands at 57.8m high, has now been crowned the tallest tree in Cumbria and the tallest Grand Fir in England. 

The Grand Fir of Skelghyll Woods

Officials from the Tree Register, the body which keeps a record of the UK’s notable and ancient specimens, have confirmed the Fir’s giant status. Lead Ranger John Pring had called in specialist arboriculturists to help him measure the tree’s dizzy heights - and also decided to capture the experience on video, with the help of Dreamtime Film, an award-winning Cumbrian film company.

The Grand Fir was planted in around 1860 as part of an arboretum at the Wansfell Holme country estate. The area is now known as Skelghyll Woods and is a mixed oak woodland with the addition of a small selection of conifers. John said: “A survey 20 years ago suggested that some of these trees were going to get really big. We decided to get them resurveyed this year and Toby Fisher, a local forestry consultant, kept coming back with the same figure for this tree. We knew it was something special and decided to get it more accurately measured. “It really is a rather splendid specimen so it was great news when it was confirmed as the tallest tree of its kind in the country, as well as the tallest of all the trees in Cumbria.”

Mark Sigrist and Mick Lupton of Aspen Tree Management scaled the tree, then used a long badminton pole to reach the top of the tree’s highest branches where they weren’t able to climb. They also placed a camera at the top for some time-lapse photography and to record the amazing views across Windermere and beyond. John said: “I’ve worked with Mark and Mick on numerous occasions and they are used to me asking them for weird and wonderful things!  Not so long ago I sent them to the top of some lime trees armed with a freezer bag and a pair of scissors to snip the top shoots, known as ‘sun leaves’, for a research project. They’re more used to carrying chain saws up trees than little pairs of scissors!”

At 57.8m or 189.6ft, the Skelghyll Grand Fir is higher than Nelson’s Column (51.59m) and taller than a dozen double decker buses stacked on top of each other.

If, as thought, it was planted in 1860, that was the year Charles Dickens published his first installment of Great Expectations, Britain produced 20% of the world’s output of industrial goods, JM Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan was born, and the Pony Express mail delivery service was launched in Missouri.

The Grand Fir, or Abies Grandis, originated in Canada and is widely seen across North America. The tallest tree in the whole of the UK is a Grand Fir, located in Argyll, which stands at 211ft (64m).

See the film footage of the measuring of Skelghyll’s Grand Fir

Exciting news

Today marks the beginning of an exciting new venture for the National Trust and the Central & East Lakes Team. We are now the proud owners of the Stickle Barn Tavern in Great Langdale.

The Tavern is situated next to the National Trust car park near the head of Great Langdale and will, no doubt, become a welcome sight for many walkers returning from a fabulous day`s walking on the Langdale Pikes and surrounding fells. With popular walks to Stickle Tarn, Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle, we hope the Tavern will become the gate way to the Langdales for many.

Good food, great local ale and a fantastic atmosphere, we hope to welcome our visitors time and time again.

We will be updating the blog with news from the tavern over the coming weeks. So why not call in and say hello.

The Return of `Gallop Girl`

Running in sync` (pardon the pun), Miranda, our intrepid volunteer is blogging her account of her preparations to take part in the Grasmere Gallop 2012.

Check out Miranda`s training blog at http://www.grasmeregallop.co.uk/training-blog/

A brilliant read.

Gallop girl in GG2011

For more information and online entries please go to www.grasmeregallop.co.uk

Rohan interview

Neil Winder Area Ranger for Grasmere & Great Langdale has recently been interviewed by outdoor clothing specialists Rohan.
Paul Russell manager of Rohan Ambleside and author of microview, the popular series on the Rohantime web-site conducted a series of interesting questions to ask Neil about the work of a National Trust Ranger.
The full interview can be seen by clicking the link below.

http://rohantime.com/26059/microview-neil-winder/

Grasmere Gallop 2012 Saturday 9th June 2012

So, here we go again !  The National Trust Grasmere Ranger team are already busy  preparing for GG2012. Thank you to all of you who helped make our relaunch of the Grasmere Gallop in June 2011 such a success. We are really looking forward to welcoming you, and hopefully many others, back in 2012.

We want to build on the success of last year and make this years event bigger and better. Please click on the link http://www.grasmeregallop.co.uk/ to take you to our gallop home page where you will find more information and our on line entry page. Grab your running shoes and get active, we want to see you on Saturday June 9th, fun for all ages. Come along and help support the fantastic work of the National Trust in this beautiful location.