Ohh Deer

Bambi was spotted walking around Rufford last month.

Rufford and Bestwood springing into life

Currently at both Country Parks signs of Spring are all around us. Daffodils along Rufford's main drive again flowered early, Brimstone and Comma butterflies were spotted yesterday in the midday sunshine and the first frogspawn was seen in a small pond at Bestwood.

Alongside all the signs of Spring work has been relentless as usual, clearing up windblown trees after Storm Doris hit and making the Parks safe was priority. Volunteer groups at Rufford helped with this as well as reprofiling an area which will eventually be an artificial Kingfisher bank......pics to follow.

The Volunteer groups at Bestwood have also been very busy and have spent a great deal of time creating a fantastic hedge which they have laid, staked and bound.



Storm Doris

As you might be aware, Rufford Abbey Country Park was closed yesterday due to the onslaught of 'Storm Doris'! 

Operational staff were on hand to monitor the park and discourage the hardy dog walkers. Woodlands can be very dangerous in high winds. 

This morning the Ranger Service and the Janitor team came in early to do a site inspection and assess the damage. Areas with a high footfall are prioritised - this includes all the main paths, commercial outlets, gardens and lawns. 

There were a few small trees across pathways but these were quickly dealt with. Amazingly the umbrellas outside the restaurant survived! 

One larger tree in the gardens had fallen and obscured the gate to the maze. We used the chainsaw to fell this tree safely. The trunk and branches will be cut into logs and, once properly seasoned, will be sold in the Courtyard. 

Luckily, our Conservation Volunteers will be in tomorrow to help with the remainder of the clear up. 

Spring on it's way......

Here at Rufford the flowers and wildlife always seem to think that Spring comes earlier each year.

The Daffodils that were out early last year are even earlier this year and we have already had 3 ducklings spotted in the Wetland Conservation area.

Most of the wildlife is now pairing up, including the Great Crested Grebes on the lake, soon they will be doing their beautiful courtship display.

Whilst over at Bestwood the staff and volunteers have been doing a sterling job on laying a hedge.

Christmas Storytelling

Here are a few images from the recent Christmas Storytelling at Rufford Abbey Country Park.

 

 

 

It was a great success, with thanks to the scouts, story teller, Ranger Service and all volunteers!!

Autumn finally coming..............

Here is a melee of photos taken recently at Rufford, the leaves are finally starting to drop and frosts are upon us.........

Tree of the Week

HAZEL- Corylus Avellana

Hazel can be found throughout the UK, commonly seen in the understory of lowland oak, ash and birch woodland as well as in hedgerows. It can often be confused with Elm, as they have similar looking leaves, however hazel are a lot smoother.

• Hazel is often coppiced and can live for several hundreds years but when left to grow, it can reach a height of 12m. Hazel was grown in the UK for large-scale nut production until the early 1900s. Cultivated varieties (known as cob-nuts) are still grown in Kent, but most of our hazelnuts are now imported. 
•  It's bark is smooth, grey-brown, which peels with age. Leaves tend to be more oval with a pointed tip, hairs on the underside and toothed on the edges.

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???

New beginnings

As May turns to June Rufford Rangers are having to change the way they operate. From the 1^st of June our colleagues from Bestwood Country Park will be joining us here at Rufford to run both parks together from one base so we hope you will join us in offering a warm welcome to Steve, Rob and Steve. The next few months will be interesting as all the team get to know one another and settle in to their new surroundings and new routines. There are many differences between the parks so it will take some time for them to get to know the areas, habitats and wildlife.

Tree of the Week

LIME - Tilia x europaea

Native to the UK, the common Lime is a hybrid between Small-leaved and Large leaved Limes. Common lime is most often seen as an ornamental tree in large parks and estates. Here at Rufford, the lime trees make up what was once the old driveway, from the Western gates main entrance (A614) to the Abbey's grand doors.

(During the war, lime blossom was used to make a soothing tea).

• Look out for the heart shaped leaves. Usually 6-10cm,  toothed on the outer side and dull green in colour.
• The bark is a grey-brown, with ridges appearing on more mature trees and large burrs (abnormal growth) at the base of the tree.

Cygnets again.

Good news again this year, the Swan has had 7 cygnets and they are all in good health.

Also seen on site today was a female Orange-Tip Butterfly on Red Campion.

Here is a close up of one of the cygnets.

Tree of the Week

HORNBEAM - Carpinus Betulus

The Hornbeam, horn meaning 'hard' and beam 'tree' in old English, is traditionally used for furniture and flooring due to it's hard wood, as it's name suggests. Native to Britain it is a deciduous (leaves fall in winter) broadleaf tree, growing up to 30m tall and 300 years old.

• Look out for it's smooth grey bark, often developing  vertical fissures (cracks) as it ages. The leaves are oval and pointed with serrated edges and grows 7-12cm long. In Autumn the leaves look particularly attractive, turning yellow through to orange and then a reddish- brown. 

•  In the Autumn, Finches and tits along with small mammals will eat the seeds. The plant is also food for caterpillars of many different moth species, including the nut tree tussock.

Tree of the Week

SYCAMORE - Acer Pseudoplatanus

Sycamore is a fast growing and sometimes invasive tree, it tends to dominate woodlands blocking other species out. It can grow up to 35m and live to 400 years old. The timber is used for making furniture and kitchenware as the wood is strong and does not taint or stain the food. 

• Look out for the bright green leaves in spring, they can often be mistaken for maple. They have five lobes (called palmate leaves) with spikey edges.
• The bark is a grey like colour, broken up by numerous fissures (cracks) revealing an orange texture underneath.

A few recent happenings

The swallows have arrived back!! They have returned from Africa and taken up residence in last years nest. Kingfisher cam caught.....no Kingfishers but instead this appeared. It is a Female Sparrowhawk.

Whilst waiting for contractors to arrive on site I also took these, copper Beech leaves and a panoramic of the Abbey.