Shropshire and Staffordshire National Trust Volunteers

In order to make up for a workday lost to recent stormy weather, SSNTV squeezed in an extra Saturday workday at Shugborough, making it two consecutive weekends of end-to-end working after Christmas weekend at Dudmaston. …And yes, it was more trees, trees, trees…

It’s all systems go around the surroundings of the Walled Garden, as from 2022 site layout changes will in short, mean that the back becomes the front and vice versa – so there is lots to do, to start working on that changed layout.

Visitors might not notice but there’s an historic stone ha-ha around the whole of the walled garden complex.  Head Gardener Caroline thinks there were also circular walks beside it – only thing is as we arrived on Saturday, as we know, only the portion beside the Sher Brook is visible (or at least it was) so our task was going to be to remove the overgrown trees and shrubs and make visible what is underneath.

Most urgently as was explained, someone is coming before Christmas to survey the wall, a boundary of large stones, kept in place just by their weight, the banked up soil and dry ditch, to keep the historically manicured gardens separate from the meadows and grazing animals.  So there was an urgent need to remove the sizeable trees, most frequently holly which were trying to push through the top of the wall and which were successfully blocking off the Walled Gardens from the wider Estate.

Starting from the “back” near the Outdoor Education centre buildings and apparently site of previous hospital structures, James and Caroline explained what would happen to the spaces we were trying to clear.  So it was that a small SSNTV advance party, together with the wheelbarrows of the Shugborough volunteers set about creating some gaps and fire #1 was soon glowing orange to keep the volunteers warm and burn up the cut brash.

Sunday saw the massed ranks of SSNTV’ers arrive for their last workday of 2021.  Fire #2 from the end of the Saturday gradually came back to life and #3 in among the spaces newly created in the trees was able to quickly suck in all the brash the volunteers could haul up over the ha-ha onto the slightly higher ground.  The all day mist and cold meant we should have paid more attention to reinvigorating centrally positioned fire #1, as with no sun in sight, everyone sought some warmth at lunchtime.

Then some clever person pointed out the ha-ha ran quite a lot further than all could easily see – and it turned out the biggest tree of the weekend – no John, even way too big for your bowsaw – was now blocking the way.  Hence it quickly became attack from both ends as the young public visitors, braving the weather in the outdoor play area, saw people with bowsaws and lopers marching past to find gaps in the holly and brash dry hedge to fight a way in. 

With the boundary fencing narrowing the gap there were no passing places along the ditch and so the cut material was initially stacked where it was felled, but as darkness came, it mean that only c. 50m of the whole accessible loop was left uncut – so leaving something for the Shugborough volunteers to finish.

On both days as a thank you for our efforts across the Estate during the year, Caroline had organised welcome hot drinks, cheeseboard, cake and mince pies at the end of the day.  On Sunday this was admirably topped up by SSNTV’s Leela, with excellent home made quiche. (Ed.: I can also recommend the artisan camembert, cranberry & rosemary loaf.) Only thing missing was Derek’s custard tart!  SSNTV numbers were high, as a few recovering group members made it out for the year’s last workday; or just turned up in the afternoon to sample the cakes! Thanks to all for those!  We also welcomed – four, yes four new visitors – Deb & Rob, David & Tom all mucked in, surviving the cold and brambles – well done!  Rob doing a passable impression of long-server JW in another long high-vis yellow jacket.

With that…., it’s just the Christmas weekend’s festivities to survive before the 2022 programme restarts with what’s scheduled as a trip to Wightwick Manor, to check up on the yew hedges which the Group has trimmed there in the past; and meet new-ish Head Gardener James.  Some SSNTV’ers don’t think it can come quickly enough!