Ongoing Restorations
Work has been ongoing preparing the Parklands for the arrival of the Lincoln Red Herd. Fencing has been repaired and electric fencing has been built in. In addition, water stations have also been set up for them. The cattle, who truly are handsome beasts, are due to join us very soon. They are not really used to people yet, so may be a little shy of the walkers going through the Parklands at first, but we are sure the public will be sensible and admire the local pure bloodstock from a distance. The four bulls; Puzzle, Sooty, Prospero and Squire will be accompanying the cows and their calves too.
At the Hall, repairs are continuing on a small and larger scale. Craig, our Hall Steward, has been busy fixing some of the tiles in the West Wing top floor bathroom and Russ and his team from Pearce Roofing have continued clearing the moss off the roof and putting in the French drains. French drains work by a trench being dug with a pipe that had holes in the top being laid in it. This is then covered by gravel allowing the water to pass through the gravel into the pipe to run away from the Hall. We have also had some new downpipes installed.
The Hall is looking more elegant now that the scaffolding has been taken down and the grounds are looking greener and prettier as spring emerges and we enjoy longer, brighter days. Daffodils have sprung up everywhere and the trees are starting to show buds and blossom. Craig is taking advantage of the good weather and keeping the lawns smart and trimming back the hedges. Friday was a beautiful day fora nice long walk around a section of the Estate Boundary Walk. Paul Barnes, our new Estate Manager, was shown around 15km of estate border and is getting a good understanding of our landscape.
Jacqui’s tortoise has come out of hibernation. ‘Tort’ is over one hundred years old and originally belonged to her grandmother. He was placed in a box of straw over the winter and put in the cellar. He finds his way to the bottom of the box and sleeps there. This week he slowly made his way to the surface symbolising the end of his winter hibernation. He doesn’t eat straight away but will soon be munching on his favourite foods; cucumber and dandelions, and then he can move to his pen in the garden.
Improvements have been carried out up at Foreman’s Cottage ready for the new tenants, Alan, Amy and their family to move into. It had already been given a new bathroom and now it has new windows. The chimney stack has been repointed and surveys have been undertaken for the work on outbuildings which will house a distillery for their gin business. Cheers!
