Investigating what works

Ahead of taking on a woodland I am researching how I will care for and nurture it. I will need to respond to the land I take on but meanwhile I will investigate plots that have been cared for differently to the usual farm land in South Lakes. I have discovered plots of land which give open access in a sea of farmed land or small woodlands in an ocean of pastures. Some are relics of the past while others are more recent attempts to move away from the monoculture that has become the norm in Cumbria.


Barktooth Lot SD 418 909

Now owned by Cumbria Wildlife Trust 27 hectares donated in 1975 by Mrs Sheila Caldwell.

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/barkbooth-lot


Visiting on a wild day (Storm Frances) - I disturbed a deer grazing and a tawny owl hunting in the middle of the afternoon.


The land has been allowed to be wild - a lot of bracken and not many trees. Cows grazing. Oh and a tiny frog. There are 2 ponds - one mature and lovely, the other in development. It was a wild day


Low Fell Plantation SD 42023 90757
Next door to Barktooth Lot there is another plot of land which I found & visited a few days later on a calm evening with a touch of autumn in the air. The bracken is on the turn giving the Lake District its distinctive colour. This  does not show on the OS map as open access and is wooded & like its neighbour is also owned by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust who allow access. This is beautiful woodland with ponds and a variety of mature trees. Light penetrates the canopy creating an exciting undergrowth which catches the sunlight. Around the pond was constant bird calls but nothing to see as they were deep in the undergrowth.



Back to Barktooth on this sunny evening and the trees and shrubs around the pond was full of birdsong but apart from the flit of a small bird nothing I could identify apart from pigeons and crows passing overhead.

Eskrigg Wood SD 54351 86268

Small woodland , open access. Lovely mature trees - oak, beech, sycamore. Looks like this is an old wood on a right of way that has been allowed to remain while surrounding fields are now grazed by sheep. The sounds of insects made the land feel alive. Some large birds were there - wood pigeons and crows but no small ones or bird sound. Undergrowth with limited low greenery and little light penetrating to the floor so not flourishing here.


The farming environment with grass and hedging only

Eskrigg wood


Mature trees creating dark floor 


Lovely canopy


Common Mire Land OS Grid Ref: SD 52992 85482

Hedgerow on August 27th


Walking back from Eskrigg Woods I followed Common Mire Lane which only serves the farm. The hedgerow was full of summer flowers and autumn berries

  • Hazel, Alder, Oak trees making the hedge
  • Elderberries
  • Blackberries
  • Honeysuckle
  • French Willow
  • Fern - bracken & polypodia Bulgaria
  • Wild rose
  • Fox glove
  • Red campion
  • Meadow Cranesbill
  • Mountain geranium
  • Vetch
  • Thistle
  • Nettles






















New Park next to Lily Mere and Killington Reservoir SD 60721 91363


Open access land with bracken and heather; boggy with bog asphodel. There are woodlands dotted about - but all enclosed with no right of access. The larger one surrounds Lily Mere where there are walkways to access with 'private keep out' signs and you can just glimpse what looks like a lovely tarn through the trees. There was an abundance of birds (swallows and house martins)  feeding here on insects while the more open areas just had crows flying over. The trees were mostly conifers (Norwegian pines) with some lovely mature Scots Pines. The ground got more boggy and with no hope of seeing the tarn I stopped exploring. Old Park is next door with no right of access but covered in trees. I want to find woodland which is open access (like Eskrigg above but with more light reaching the floor) as a model I can learn from. When exploring Killington Reservoir opposite I met a mole emerging from the ground - he retreated when he was aware I was there - I felt sad to disturb him as he emerged to the daylight. The land around Killington Reservoir just had a family of geese. No trees here.



A peak at Lily Mere through the trees and gate with 'no entry' sign



Autumn colours beginning to show


Killington Reservoir


Swallows and house martins feeding




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