Just a bump in the night? or something more sinister?

Do you believe in the paranormal? Would you be willing to spend a couple of hours in one of the most haunted properties in Nottinghamshire? 
If so, join us on one of Ruffords Ghost Tours this winter. The Northern Ghost Research and Investigation Team - UK (NGRIT) will be conducting their investigations around the Abbey ruins and surrounding area on Thursday 20th October and Tuesday 20th December.

Patrick Firth, founder and lead investigator for NGRIT said: “Rufford Abbey is one of our favourite locations for research, it is extremely paranormally active and one of the most fascinating sites we regularly like to investigate, we are delighted to be hosting another ghost walk here.

Tickets on sale in Tourist Information 10:30am-4:30pm 01623 821338

£10 per person, No under 16's, Pre-booking and payment essential.

Tree of The Week

SWEET CHESTNUT - Castanea Sativa

It was thought that the Sweet Chestnut was first introduced into Britain by the Romans, but today it can be found in large areas of woodland and coppicing plantations which the timber is used for fencing.

• Look out for the purple-grey bark which develops deep ridges with age. They can grow up to 35m tall and 700 years old.

• The leaves are glossy green and grown up to 25cm long. They are toothed around the edge, with a center line and finish with a tipped point at the bottom of the leaf. Green spiky shells also appear on the branches, these are the fruits which have been pollinated. 

Moth Recording

Moth Recording 
Here are some of our recent findings at Rufford. Poplar Hawk Moth, Bordered Beauty, Yellow-barred Brindle, Coxcomb Prominent, Angle Shades, Canary-shouldered Thorn and a cheeky Bush Cricket.

From setting up a basic moth trap (seen in the picture below) with a light fixed in the centre and empty egg cartons (where the moths shelter) in the wooden box, we can draw in the moths over night and record our findings in the morning. During this process no moths come to any harm and are all let free. 

Friends of Bestwood Country Park

Here is a link to a great website by the Friends of Bestwood Country Park.


They were formed in late 2007 and focus on activities in Bestwood Country Park.
"The group’s aim overall is to promote the interests of our big beautiful park, its habitats and flora and fauna as well as its many human visitors and its historic buildings, and to serve as an active means of communication and co-operation between all users."

Friends of Bestwood Country Park

Teamwork makes the dream work

Recently we all undertook a Lantra approved 4x4 training course, destination Bestwood Country Park due to it's challenging terrain.
Lots of things were covered including; failed hill start, winch rescue and working as a team to navigate through dense woodland.

We undertake these courses to better understand the vehicles we use on site but also so that we can apply the skills learnt in everyday running of a Country Park.

We used both our site vehicle and the trainer's Landrover to test the differences, and to see which one was better for different reasons. Both did very well on all tasks with the Ford Ranger just pipping the Landrover to be crowned the best all rounder. 

Operation Bestwood

Recent goings on at Bestwood include;

• Building steps down a Horse Trail so the riders can descend safely
• Meadow sweeping to see what lies in the grasses of a Bestwood
• Tree felling to open up light into existing pathways
• Ragwort pulling on the Pit Top so this species does not invade too much space

Fox caught on camera again

Once again the Fox has been up to lots of shenanigans, seen here playing with a ball possibly???