As you may imagine, finding the trousers that I left that pesky cheque for 4 Million pounds in, is proving a little illusive, so each year Charlie and I have to make serious choices as to where money gets invested around Dunans Castle estate.
Two years ago we hit a wall of water, almost literally, when a section of the ravine and the paths we had lovingly created to give our member’s access, were washed away, over a warm, wet summer, monsoon like conditions produced an intense and relentless volume of water. Over our decade plus, as custodians of this beautiful landscape, we really have seen increasingly extreme weather conditions, which mostly boil down to big and prolonged rains, warmer winters and bigger winds, the impact on this ancient landscape is in a word, devastating.
The rains make the grounds softer, washing away huge chunks of land and top soil, causing both soil and newly made mud to constantly move about, clogging up drains and ditches, and placing unwanted pressure on an extremely sensitive landscape, including undermining the massive man-made flat platform, that the Castle sits on.
For the last couple of years, weather conditions have forced planning and landscape consolidation to become an absolute priority, as the ground beneath our feet is quite literally, and slowly shifting. However to mimic the late, glorious Frankie Howard, ‘Panic ye not’, there is a plan.
Last year we created an area of boulevard parking along the edge of our driveway, allowing visitors to get out of their cars without sinking knee deep into mud and, more importantly, controlling the impact that vehicles have on the site. By creating a supported, well-drained space, that cars can drive to without creating more muddy trenches or crushing fragile drainage systems. We also have begun an extensive programme of ditching, dyking and clearing, creating area’s of natural hedging, improving and recovering banking, and the really big one, removing huge swaths of the massive invasive Victorian Rhododendron that has for over 200 years, dominated the landscape. Lovely when managed, a nightmare when wild.
When we first arrived here the place literally looked like ‘Sleeping Beauties Castle’, all knotty undergrowth and mad trees, with derelict turrets peeking out from the gloom. Restoring, and recovering this once immaculate, designed landscape is a painstaking and necessary task and there is so much more that must be done before the Castle can move forward, which as ever takes time and resources, saying all that, we are really looking forward to opening for our 2017 season to show off our progress.
For those members who want to see the Castle move forward, do believe me, hand in heart and shovel in wheelbarrow, so do we. The sooner we can whip that building into some kind of usable shape, the sooner we can make the site actually start to earn its keep, to become viable on its own, to really live again. Rather than exist as the huge, love-hate money pit that dominates, pretty much everything that we do. The short truth is that if we do not continue to improve and invest in the land around the building, then the building will become unstable and we cant have that, can we? So doggedly each year our team, including, Granny, Grandma and the children, plod on. Every blessed sunny day, out we go, to chop, strim, plant, clear, dig, blah, blah, blah…
I am delighted to report that over the last few weeks with the help of our Grounds man Stuart and Graham Togwell of Graham’s Gardens, we have at last, with our Lairds and Ladies generous support started the rescue of the HaHa, which sits as the base support around the site of the Castle.
Pictures attached, where you can see the bowing of the stonework, where it bulges, which is a tad alarming, but what is wonderful, is we can at last see the stonework and save it. Vast amounts of Bracken root-balls have been painstakingly evicted from between the stone (without the aid of chemical compounds, naturally) and repairs are underway and if you visit us this year you can walk along and admire, or just think, ‘isn’t that supporting wall lovely’, as one does! Bartie, our Castle Hound models the space beautifully. It will make for a lovely walk, so do come and enjoy!
Excellent Local Landscaper: www.grahams-gardens.co.uk
Useful Article on the origens of the HaHa: http://www.oxoniangardener.co.uk/ha-ha-confused-laughter-31/
Love the way you started this! You have a fabulous sense of humour. I really enjoy reading your blog.
Thank you very much Nicole – it has to be said that humour is much needed requirement for restoring a Castle, its either that or cry! Thank you for the kind words x
Having read your critics views,who obviously have no idea what things cost. Who also don’t realise that preparation is he key to success and it’s the work that isn’t obvious that costs the money. Keep up the good work for many in your position would have thrown the towel in by now and let the castle crumble. I bet Noah had the same critics when he was building the Ark and we all know how that ended.
Dear Ken & Marcia – how very lovely of you to take the time to comment, we both appreciate it, sadly we have experienced some negativity, I think that anyone doing something a bit left of field or different always will, however we rise above it and stay true to the work we are doing, with the wonderful support of our members. I love the Noah analogy, sometimes with all this rain, that is closer than we think. Thank you again.