Prince Charles visits Langdale
Prince Charles about to enter Langdale Village Hall on 31st. March with the Press in force to the right. Hillary Benn, Secretary of State, 2nd left of Charles. The event was arranged by Mitre Housing Association who currently provide 140 properties for rental and leasehold sale throughout the county, managed by Eden Housing Association of Penrith.
Howe Bank, Chapel Stile, features 5 three bed and 2 two bed rental houses completed in September 2001 by Mitre, with initial arrangements by Home Housing. The households here work locally in farming, tourism and retail; only two properties have needed re-letting. The occupancy agreement restricts the use to local people and their families with a direct link to Chapel Stile and Langdale.
National Trust News by David Wilkinson
My last article in our Autumn 2007 edition mentioned a couple of projects that were underway or were planned for the near future, so I would like to start with an update of these.
As planned, the management of Silverthwaite car park near Skelwith Bridge reverted to the Lowther Estates, the owners of the “common land” within Great Langdale, on 1st. November last. Lowther have entered into an agreement with RCP Parking Limited and this national company are now managing this site and the two car parks at White Moss near Grasmere. At both sites Lowther have also taken back the management of the surrounding nearby land, at Silverthwaite this includes the roadside trees and the quarry face at the rear of the car park.
The planned widening of the riverside footpath Elterwater - Skelwith is now completed, with much of the work being undertaken by the National Park Authority’s estate staff, helped by our staff and fencing contractors. The winter floods have done some damage, which is being repaired, but to date there have not been any problems with the new bridleway status.
Our plan to recreate some of old fashioned flower rich meadows of the 1940’s Langdale has continued throughout the winter with a review of the Middlefell Place scheme and tentative plans being made for another meadow on another farm’s land near Elterwater. Following last year’s replanting we are assessing the acidity, nutrient balance and species mix of the meadows and we are going to spend some time over the coming spring and summer ensuring the correct balance of species are present so they can settle down as a sustainable community of plants.
A project not mentioned previously is just over the watershed into Grasmere, has led to some feedback for us this winter. We have been thinning Deerbolts Wood, this is the semi-natural ancient woodland above the lake and below the Red Bank road. This woodland has many native species alongside some that have been introduced over the years, they generally have been under woodland cover for at least four centuries, and only 20% of woodlands in England are both semi-natural and ancient.
As woodlands are dynamic, then over time, the balance of species and the amount of light getting through the canopy changes and in recent years the canopy at Deerbolts had closed. With less light getting to the woodland floor plants and shrubs like wood sorrel and hazel, which are an important part of the ecosystem, struggle to survive. The seedlings from native trees like oak and ash also struggle in the shade. However, the locally non-native sycamore and beech seedlings are quite happy in these conditions, so if the canopy was left to close, the native trees and shrubs would be squeezed out and we would be left with a beech and sycamore woodland. This would impact on the native plants, invertebrates, animals and birds as well as changing the appearance of the woodland.
So our forestry team has been working hard to thin the wood, felling some non-native trees to open up the canopy and let light through to the plants and shrubs on the woodland floor. The felled timber has been left in the woodland as it forms an important part of the ecosystem for fungus and as the wood rots down many beetles and insects arrive. The work was carried out under the guidance of the Government’s Forestry Standard and was approved by the Forestry Commission and Natural England. We are concerned that trespassing sheep and the roe deer that live in Deerbolts might threaten some of the naturally occurring seedlings from the native trees, so to make sure we get enough “new recruits” we will be planting some young oak, ash and hazel and protecting them with tree shelter tubes.
We are also planning to plant some trees on a couple of our farms to create new orchards using traditional north country species of apples and plums. These orchards will not only help sustain these traditional species of fruit but also provide a valuable source of nectar for insects in the spring. Our annual tree safety inspections have recently been concluded. This involves “zoning” all our trees in terms of their risk level with those trees near houses, campsites and car parks a priority. Don’t be alarmed if you spot small silver number tags on some of the trees, this is just good practice to identify individual trees and does not necessarily mean that there will be any imminent changes to the tree. If you have any concerns about National Trust trees please give Dave Almond our Forester Warden a ring on 015394 37131.
A number of local fell paths are due to have improvements undertaken over the next year under the “Fix the Fells” partnership project. These include continuing to improve the pitching towards Esk Hause beyond Angle Tarn and to pitch extra sections below the zig-zags on Rossett Pass. Both sites have recently had bags of stone delivered by helicopter. Outstanding landscaping work above Scroggs on Loughrigg and at Stickle Ghyll will be completed in the spring, together with some tree planting at the latter site. If we have time, some drainage work will be undertaken on the Huntingstile path between Elterwater Common and Grasmere. Further information is available on the dedicated website, www.fixthefells.co.uk.
Finally, we have agreed a wall rebuilding scheme beside the road close to Copt Howe with the County Council which will involve the rebuilding of quite a high retaining wall below the road. The project is not yet confirmed, but we have been assured that the Council will try and undertake the work when the road is not too busy as there will be a need for temporary traffic lights. The low roadside wall between Skelwith Bridge and Halfway House will also be repaired in the next few months and will also require traffic lights. So, sorry in advance for the temporary inconvenience.
As ever , if anyone wishes to discuss these or other matters further, please do not hesitate to contact me on 37663, by email david.wilkinson@nationaltrust.org.uk or by post to High Close, Loughrigg, Ambleside LA22 9HH
David Wilkinson National Trust Property Manager
