As we enter the last few weeks of 2015, we still have plenty to do before we relax over the festive season!
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| Our volunteers hard at work. |
Our volunteers worked extremely hard to finish our woodland management programme of the coppicing work. A relatively large area of the wood has been transformed! Not only were the Hornbeam trees coppiced successfully before the Christmas break, but a wonderful dead hedge was constructed with the smaller brash materials from the work. This is to dissuade visitors from entering the coppice, as well as to act as a barrier to our deer, who would graze and eventually kill the trees!
Brilliant work!
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| One of Santa's naughty elves! |
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| Looking for a cuddle |
It wouldn't be December without seeing Santa! In his busiest time of year, Father Christmas took a break from sweaty shopping mall grotto's to relax in our woodland grotto! He met lots of our visitors (some of which admitted that they may have be bordering the good list, but which were told there were a few days left until Christmas and that if they tried, they could get safely on the good list!). Our visitors even helped Santa to gather his naughty elves up by finding out which ones had run into the forest with our Elf Trail.
Now because the reindeer needed to save their strength for the work on Christmas Eve, Father Christmas brought some lovely Donkeys along for the weekend. We're still not quite sure who was happiest, the younger visitors to be able to get up close and stroke the Donkeys or the Donkeys to have a stroke constantly throughout the weekend!
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| The big man himself! |
With the warm winter we've so far experienced, we have noticed some unusual sights for this time of year. Some of our wild Primroses are starting to bloom (usually an early spring flower!) as well as some blossom spotted within the reserve! Will winter arrive in early 2016? Only time will tell but we do hope that, if a cold snap does occur, it doesn't dessimate our wildlife who all seem to be a few months early!
