A Week on the Estate: Spring Arrives, Stock Pics & Venerable Trees

In the Walled Garden, Charlie bravely took some eye-level pics of our Lincolnshire Buff chickens; they tend to peck first and ask questions later. He also caught the Buffs thoroughly enjoying a big bag of straw. Who knew there was this much pleasure to be had from dried grass?

Do you love getting active in our gorgeous corner of the Lincolnshire Wolds? Do you treasure our precious flora and fauna, and want to see it flourish now and for generations to come? If you haven’t already discovered the South Ormsby Conservation Club, the weather’s getting warmer and now’s the time.

Our growing band of like-minded volunteers will be delighted to welcome you. We work hard, enjoy the lovely Wolds and always find time for a brew and a chat. Aimed squarely at adults, the Conservation Club meets twice a month. Our next get-together is on Friday 22nd March and we’ll be focusing on tree conservation.

If you find trees half as interesting as we do, there are wonders galore at South Ormsby Estate. While ash dieback has taken its toll, we’ve invested heavily in new planting, from the 7km of new hedgerow laid-down since 2019 to the 2,500 English oak saplings planted by Andy Hope and his team in 2020.

Our most venerable trees have centuries of stories to tell. If you enjoyed one of our Snowdrop Walks, you may have seen the cedar planted to celebrate the Anglo-Prussian victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Our veteran tree search made some remarkable finds a couple of years ago. We have one of the largest beech trees in the British Isles, with a stem of 2.01m and a girth of 6.31m. Christened ‘The Massingberd Beech’, this old man of the woods may also date to the 15^th century and could have been a sapling when Henry VIII reigned.

An exceptionally large pedunculate oak – christened ‘The Ormsby Oak’ – was also found by our tree search. This oak’s stem diameter of 2.24m and girth of 7.04m indicates an age of over 560 years, making the tree contemporary with the early battles of the Wars of the Roses. While the tree has been split down its vertical axis by the sheer mass of its own crown, remarkably it remains upright, healthy and, thanks to expert intervention, able to support life for centuries to come.

To sign up for the Conservation Club or to ask any questions at all, drop Gemma a line: Gemma.Kedzior@southormsbyestate.co.uk

We’ll see you out there.

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