Chorleywood House Estate

Free Yoga sessions were again held on the Estate during Sunday mornings in August 2010.

Full details in this PDF poster.

Here are some photos provided by the session organisers

Hover your mouse over a picture to pause the display

For the last 7 years sheep have been grazing on the Estate in Chorleywood Dell and Dell Field for about 6 weeks at a time. This year is no different and on 28 July we welcomed 24 sheep – 7 in Dell Field and 17 in Chorleywood Dell.

Most of the flock are Hebridean (black) and Jacob (speckled) – see photos below. They will be staying until 8 September (a total of 6 weeks). Robin Harman is the grazier of the sheep.

Local people have been recruited and trained as volunteer ‘watchers’ who will keep a regular eye on the sheep on behalf of the grazier and site owner, TRDC.

Chorleywood Dell and Dell Field are located in the centre of the 160 acre estate and consist mainly of flower rich meadows and some scrub and trees. Sheep grazing brings benefits for wildlife by stopping scrub and trees from invading grassland habitats and helps with the development of a variety of vegetation heights and species.

N.B. Dog owners should be aware that they have a legal responsibility to keep their dogs under close control at all times. Please keep your dog on a lead.

Sheep being delivered by Robin Harman

Come on you lot, hurry up!

… and, best of all, Les Mead’s YouTube video. Les is a Lib Dem District Councillor at Three Rivers District Council.

For more information, see this poster or contact Petrina Llewellyn, Countryside Management Service Projects Officer on 01727 848168 or by email.

On Saturday October 17, from 11am to 3pm, the new Community Orchard held its first Apple Day – in the Summer House near the top tennis courts close to the entrance to Chorleywood House Estate. For further details see the Community Orchard website.

The “Flying Flock” came to Dell Field on Wednesday, 16 September 2009, and will be resident on the Estate until after Christmas.
If you are walking your dog in the area, please keep it on a lead.

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, like many other conservation organisations, keeps its own flock of sheep to graze its grassland nature reserves. During the last few decades a large proportion of our flower-rich grassland has been lost due to reversion to scrub and then woodland. It is therefore vital to save the heaths, commons and downs that still survive.

Grazing is the traditional form of management but the number of commercial flocks and herds continues to decline. The alternative is cutting but this is a drastic and sudden process that tends to decrease the species diversity of the grassland. Furthermore, the cuttings have to be raked off afterwards, which is a tedious and back-breaking job disliked by most volunteers. Grazing is a more gradual process as the sheep eat some plants and leave others. They don’t flatten anthills like mowing machines but their hooves do create small bare patches where seeds can germinate. They also return some nutrients to the soil in the form of dung.

The Trust’s “Flying Flock” consists of about 40 Shetland ewes. The island breeds are used because they are hardy, people-friendly, and better at controlling scrub than the more modern breeds as they will browse bushes as well as grazing the grass. They are very thrifty and can survive on low fertility systems, i.e. grasslands without fertilizers. They are also much more intelligent than domestic breeds.

The free Yoga sessions held every Sunday in the grounds of the Estate during the summer holiday passed by very successfully, with up to 40 participants on one day. Thanks to Monty (a resident in the main House) who took the photo.

The Chorleywood House Estate has this summer been granted the prestigious Green Flag Award as one of the best green spaces in the country. Inspectors visited the site in June, and were impressed by the ease of access, the presence of such variety of areas – formal parkland, open meadows and mature woodland leading to the River Chess. They felt that Three Rivers District Council together with the Friends of Chorleywood House Estate were maintaining and improving the grounds for the benefit of the community. They mention also the community groups which use the estate, such as the Youth Football and Tennis Clubs.

To learn more about the Green Flag awards, visit their website www.greenflagaward.org.uk. Chorleywood is in the Eastern Region.

This year’s event took place on Saturday, 11th July, on the Common near the cricket ground. Once again we were pleased to take part and be amongst all the many stalls and activities of the day!

On Sunday June 14th there was a remarkably successful conducted walk round the Chorleywood House Estate, led by Petrina Llewellyn from the Countryside Management Service. At the end of the walk, Eleanor Clarke served some of her very refreshing elderflower cordial, made from elderflowers picked from the estate. Here is Eleanor’s recipe:

Mid-June, and the elder bushes are in flower all over the estate. You will recognise their big clumps of white flowers, particularly along the borders of the big fields. Choose a fine sunny day, take a pair of scissors and a clean bucket, and maybe a walking stick with a curved handle so you can pull the branches towards you – gently so you don’t damage the trees. You will need:

• 15 large heads of elderflower. Using scissors, trim off excess stalks when you get home.
• 900 g castor sugar
• 1 lemon, sliced thinly
• 40 g tartaric or citric acid powder (available from pharmacies)
• 500 ml water

Put everything except the water into a large clean bowl, bring the water to the boil and pour it over, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let it cool a bit, then cover (I use cling-film) and place it somewhere shady and cool.Stir it once a day; after 4 days taste, and see if it has enough zing. You can leave it one more day, then strain it through a fine mesh sieve, or a muslin-lined colander. Put it in clean bottles and store in the fridge. Drink diluted with cold water. Fizzy water is nice with it, and maybe even a slug of vodka.

Earlier this month (3/4 March), a group of volunteers cleared scrub from round a felled holm oak tree in the parkland that the contractors had not touched! Pupils of the Montessori school – and the general public – can now enjoy playing round the massive fallen trunk.

Before

After