Sheep shearing on Whipsnade Downs

Our resident flock were rounded up for shearing this week so that their heavy winter coats could be removed leaving them to enjoy the summer sunshine and work hard at their job of ‘woolly lawnmowers’!

Rounding them up into pens was a great time to have a quick check of their general health before channelling them along in an orderly queue to be shorn.

Shearing was done on a raised platform with spring loaded doors for letting the sheep out of the corridor to the shearing area. They were then speedily relieved of their fleeces by a couple of experts with electric clippers and let free into the field.

The fleeces are then spread out and dirty sections removed before they are tightly rolled and bagged. These bags of fleece were packed as tightly as possible with the assistance of several  young helpers!

The bags are then sewn closed to be taken for sale. Unfortunately the fleeces are currently only worth about £1 each which doesn’t quite cover the cost of shearing but the sheep are much happier ( as is the sheepdog which was chilling out in the sunshine and getting fussed over!)

A night camp with the Rangers.

Checkout that sunset!

As part of the 50 things to do before you’re 11 and 3/4 we invited some families to come and camp on Dunstable Downs with the Rangers. After getting all the tents up I was in charge of cooking the chilli, good wholesome food to keep us warm throughout the night, and even better that it was cooked on the camp fire. You cant beat alfresco dining !

The families first task (well after they’d put up their tents, which I must add were all put up very expertly) was to walk barefoot in the grass. The mums and dads were a bit reluctant at first but they soon let out the big kid in themselves and thourghly enjoyed their stroll in the sunshine. Myself and Ranger Tom stayed behind to look after the food and managed to squeeze in a best of 3 on the giant connect 4!! It was a competition I lost , but great fun.

Squelch!

Once everyone had been fed and watered it was time to work it all off with a night walk. We left just before sunset, and what a beautiful one it was. Ranger Rose had great fun rolling down a hill with the children. That’s the great thing about being a Ranger it means we get to be big kids everyday . Ranger Jon pointed out some of the rare orchids and other plants that love chalky grassland and we had a treat of seeing a kestrel getting its supper before going back to roost. There were plenty of slugs as well, of all different colours(!) which the kids loved. After our walk back up a very steep hill, (which didn’t diminish the kids energy) it was breakfast time for the bats. So armed with our bat boxes (these enable us to hear the bats, as they’re call is too high pitched to be heard by the human ear) the boxes change the sound to a frequency we can hear. We heard and saw quite a few pipastrelle bats which was amazing. Both the little and big kids enjoyed the experience!

Ranger Jon at his best.

Back to camp and it was time for toasted marshmallows and hot chocolate, which certainly went down a treat. Overlooked by a fantastic night sky, I think that’s one of the best parts of camping, especially when its a lovely clear night like we were blessed with.

After one of the best nights sleep ive had in ages it was my duty to cook all the happy campers their breakfast - it certainly woke me up cooking over the roaring fire! We were treated to a unexpected talk about a steam roller called Jenny and the Junior Rangers got to feed the pigs their breakfast and see where the chickens live. Then they were taken on a little tour of the Downs in our vehicles, great fun going over the lumps and bumps allong the way. The mums and dads were very grateful for more tea and coffee and the warmth of the campfire.

Happy piggies.

We were very lucky with very good weather and a great time was had by all, I could’ve quite easily camped another night! So could the kids, but I think Mums and Dads were definatly looking forward to sleeping in their own beds that night.

Another experience I’ve been very lucky to be involved with during my time as an intern, it was great to see the children loving the great outdoors and eager to learn everything they could. After all they’ll be the ones looking after it all in the future and they’ll do a fantastic job of it to.

Behold beautiful butterflies this serene, sunny Saturday…

… with astronomic amounts of alliteration!

Ahem…

We have had a rather bitterly blustery week in the North Chilterns, getting drenched several times as we mowed and tidied all of our ten car parks once more ( a task which we will be doing every two or three weeks until October now). Our lovely teams of volunteers mowed miles of footpaths across Sundon Country park and Sharpenhoe Clappers and also found time to strim the banks around the Chilterns Gateway Centre to keep it looking smart.

We also mowed several areas of chalk grassland Whipsnade Downs which are becoming swamped by raspberry. This tasty weed grows in thick mats, choking out all other species and reducing the diversity of the grassland so we cut it several times each summer which is more effective (and friendlier) than weed killer in weakening the raspberry plants and restoring the balance.

(c) Tony Margiocchi

Fortunately the weather is forecast to improve tomorrow (Saturday) as one of the Rangers will be leading a guided butterfly walk searching for interesting species on the Downs. There are still some places available on the walk which will run from 11am to 1pm (from the Chilterns Gateway Centre) this Saturday 25th May. It will be a two hour stroll across the slopes, unsuitable for pushchairs but little ones in backpacks or older children that are accustomed to walking are welcome to come along. (tickets are £2, call 01582 500920 to book).

Next months orchid walk on Saturday 15th June has already sold out so we have added a second walk on Sunday 16th too (hopefully the weather will warm up before then and the orchids will all come into flower on time!).

There are also a few days left to apply to join the ’50 things’ overnighter. The Rangers have set ourselves a challenge to help families complete as many as possible of the ’50 things’ in one go including cook on a camp fire, go on a nature walk at night and camp in the wild. This wild sleepover will be from 5pm on Friday 31st May to 10am on Saturday 1st June. It costs just £25 per family (including dinner and breakfast cooked on the campfire… what a bargin!) but places are very limited. If you think your family is ready for this adventure please send an email to rose.roberts@nationaltrust.org.uk explaining why we should pick you! You could also write/send a drawing (with your contact details on) to:

The Rangers, Chestnut Cottage, Chute Farm, Whipsnade, Beds, LU6 2LN

All applications must be in by Sunday 26th May.

Family adventures on Dunstable Downs

Have you heard about the National Trust’s ‘50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4′? In response to the Natural Childhood report written by Stephen Moss we are promoting the 50 best activities to encourage kids to get outdoors and closer to nature.

The Rangers on Dunstable Downs have been leading free family walks on the first Sunday of every month to help families find the best places to build dens, climb trees, track wild animals and lots of other great activities from the list. However – we have set ourselves a challenge to help families complete as many as possible of the ’50 things’ in one go including cook on a camp fire, go on a nature walk at night and camp in the wild.

The first ’50 things’ overnighter will be from 5pm on Friday 31st May to 10am on Saturday 1st June. It costs just £25 per family (including dinner and breakfast cooked on the campfire… what a bargin!) but places are very limited. If you think your family is ready for this adventure please send an email to rose.roberts@nationaltrust.org.uk explaining why we should pick you! You could also write/send a drawing (with your contact details on) to:

The Rangers, Chestnut Cottage, Chute Farm, Whipsnade, Beds, LU6 2LN

All applications must be in by Sunday 26th May.

A walk with the dawn chorus.

A lovely morning up Dunstable Downs

On Sunday morning I was very lucky to take part in the Dawn Chorus Walk, led by Mick from the RSPB. I must admit I’m normally more used to going to bed at 3.30am, not getting up, but it was definitely more than worth it.

It was very surreal arriving at the Chilterns Gateway Centre at 4.15am to a rather large group of happy people. The sun was just popping his head up over the horizon as we set off towards Chute Wood. As we got nearer to the woods, you could tell the birds were getting warmed up for they’re full song. First off was the distinctive call of the carrier crow, and for such  small birds the Great Tit, Blue Tit, Nuthatch, Bullfinch and Robin they can certainly make themselves heard! To the human ear it just sounds like beautiful bird song but for our little feathered friends its there way of telling other birds ‘yay we survived the night, I’m still here and keep off my patch!’.

Before heading off past the woods we were extremely lucky to see a Hare investigating the mornings offerings.

Morning!

Our next unexpected spot of the morning was a pipistrelle bat, making his way back to roost before the day took hold.

Night!

Onwards past the woodland, and the chorus is in full song now including Tree Creepers, Blackbirds, Goldfinches, Sky Larks and even the odd Muntjac had something to add as well. In fact it was the first time I’ve actually seen a Sky Lark, you hear them everyday up the Downs, with their lovely song but there normally so high and so small you cant spot them.

A Sky Lark enjoying breakfast.

Not only was the chorus amazing so were the views and Ivinghoe Beacon could have easily been in the Alps as the cloud level was so low. I think its safe to say I’ve seen the Downs at all times of day now . We finished our walk with breakfast at the Chilterns Gateway Centre, which was very well recieved and greatly needed. A big thank you to Mick for a informative and very enjoyable walk. I would thoroughly recommend The Dawn Chorus to anyone, its a great way to start the day.

Family Fun on Dunstable Downs

This weekend there will be a great range of family activities on Dunstable Downs. We will be helping kids to do as many as possible of the ‘50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4‘ including geocaching, den building and rolling down really big hills (we have plenty of those!). Dunstable Downs has been listed as the best place in the UK to fly a kite and we will have a stall outside the Chilterns Gateway Centre where you can make your very own kite.

Even Chris Evans has been raving about the National Trust’s ’50 things’ for this sunny bank holiday weekend so why not round up your young adventurers and head for the great outdoors. You can collect your FREE scrapbook and stickers from the Chilterns Gateway Centre or most other National Trust properties.

ALSO this weekend the Rangers will be leading their monthly FREE ‘Run Wild’ adventure session. Just be at the Chilterns Gateway Centre by 2pm on the first Sunday of each month and you can join the Ranger team exploring the countryside. (we walk at approximately 7yr old pace between 2 and 3.30pm – please ensure you are dressed appropriately for the weather as you can always trust the Rangers to walk through the mud instead of around it!)

Filming fun on Orford Ness

The National Trust stands for beautiful and historic places.  We look after a breathtaking number and variety of them – each distinctive, memorable and special to people for different reasons.  Our job is to understand and keep the spirit of each of these places alive, for ever and for everyone. In order to share our passion for the special places we look after we use a wide range of media, from our own website to twitter and youtube. Last week I was lucky enough to go on an intensive course on how to make short films – led by the National Trust’s expert Press Officer, Lisa Gledhill. The course took place on Orford Ness – a stunning countryside site which I have been wanting to visit for some time.

A visit to Orford Ness feels special from the start as access is only possible by boat.

This remote shingle spit is the largest in Europe and was given to the National Trust by the Ministry of Defence 20 years ago after many years of use as a ballistics testing facility. It is now a nature reserve and the diverse range of birds that nest there don’t seem to mind the odd patchwork of concrete pads, dilapidated shells of buildings and rusting bomb casings.

The coastline is constantly changing as the loose shingle shifts and another relic from Orford Ness’s past is threatened as the land around the lighthouse is swept away by the sea. The access track used for bringing sheep onto the reserve has recently crumbled away and it may not be long before the lighthouse is gone too.

We spent some time exploring Orford Ness, getting footage to edit together a short film. The media team from the East of England office made an entirely sensible film about the top five things to do on Orford Ness and some of the local rangers were making clips explaining their work. Andrew (the National Trust’s only Shepherd) and I may not have been entirely serious as we highlighted some of the 50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4 with the help of ‘Rosie Ranger’ – a rather silly finger puppet!

Gathering the film footage was rather more fun than editing it but you can see the results below! We will hopefully have more films on here in the future showing some the sites that the Bedfordshire Rangers look after and how we go about it. In the meantime here is the (somewhat silly) film from Orford Ness