Help
Hornsea Community Woodland Walk
| Published: 26th July 2009 13:42 |
Local Farmer John Hepworth at his Prize Winning Woodland Walk
Courtesy of www.farminguk.com
An acorn of an idea that led to the creation of a vibrant community woodland earned an East Riding farmer Yorkshire's most prestigious forestry prize.
"John Hepworth, who farms 56-hectares (140-acres) at Rolston, near Hornsea, is this year's recipient of the John Boddy Rose Bowl, awarded by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and adjudicated by the Forestry Commission and The Royal Forestry Society.
The prize was granted for the outstanding farm woodland created or expanded in the past five years, backed by grants from the Forestry Commission. Nearly 400 schemes were considered. The trophy will be awarded at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate on 12 July.
John Hepworth first linked-up with the Commission in 1989 and planted five acres to drain boggy land. Encouraged by the impact on wildlife, he branched out with further plantings, culminating in 12-hectares (30-acres) of woodland, brimming with plants and wildlife, including grey partridge, barn owl and brown hare. Meanwhile, other habitats have also been created, including ponds and wild flower meadows.
Mick Hoban, from the Forestry Commission, said:
"John has proved that small really can be beautiful and has balanced woodland creation with other habitats, while running a working farm. He really has shown the way ahead. Not only is he passionate about the environment, but he's shared his achievement by granting an exceptional level of public access. And all this has been done in one of England's least wooded areas, making a terrific contribution to wildlife."
John was a founder member of the East Riding Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) and now farms crops and livestock. Six years ago 7.5-hectares (19-acres) of his new wood, planted with species like oak, ash, hazel, was designated as Hornsea Community Woodland, complete with waymarked walks, interpretation and bird watching hides. An RSPB survey found over 60 nesting bird species on the farm. Meanwhile the rich interplay of wood, wetland and meadow has lured water voles, butterflies and dragonflies.
John Hepworth added:
"Without a lot of help from other people and organisations, it would have been impossible to get this far. This award is also a tribute to their efforts. It's been marvellous seeing the wood develop and witness the enjoyment it gives local people and the boost to wildlife. Tree planting is a long term business, measured in centuries, so getting it right has been very important."
Previous winners of the John Boddy Rose Bowl include the Colne Valley Tree Preservation Trust for restoring a Pennine woodland and Wickersley Parish Council for exemplary management of a Rotherham wood."
Hornsea Community Woodland Walk
Rolston - Near Hornsea, East Yorkshire
A walk for the energetic opened on Tuesday, 1st May 2001 with funding from the Forestry Commission.
Access is via the Public Footpath or Public Bridleway giving a 3 kilometre long circular walk through 16 acres of different age Woodlands with Ponds and Picnic Areas.
In totally unspoilt and newly enriched woodland this walk has to be seen to be believed. Open in all seasons of the year your walk will be well rewarded by seeing what nature can achieve with a careful helping hand over the last 21 years.
Dogs are allowed if kept on a lead.
A hand-drawn plan of the Woodland Walk
Hornsea Community Woodland Walk has benches/seats every 400 metres for resting and watching, allowing you to enjoy the beauty and peace in a quiet part of East Yorkshire. The Royal Forestry Society Excellence in Forestry 2009 has awarded 1st prize to Braemar Farm Woodland.
It is a long beautiful walk so please pick a fine day, bring a picnic and see what nature can do for you.
You can park in Rolston village and go up the Public Bridle path or Public Footpath. The Rolston access gives a circular walk.
This woodland walk has been so enjoyable that the Council have had to make a Car Park for the extra visitors.
All the trees are from Castle Howard Tree Nursery. The design of the interwoven blending of 29 different types of trees and shrubs is tanks to Mr. C. Huxley. This makes a more interesting mixture of colours and types and ages. Some name plaques can be seen to help our next generation see how quickly a tree or wood can grow if treated carefully.
This also gives access to a very successful pond designed by Mt. Trevor Ball in 1984, which helped this farm win the local Silver Lapwing Award in 1991. The number of Damsel Flies and Dragonflies make it a recording site of regional importance.
We have tried to use trees and flowering bushes to make it more interesting and a place for birds to feed naturally all winter, where RSPB recorders have noted over 70 bird species.
Now adjacent to 27 acres of Willow to be cut for Biomas burning at Drax Power Station to produce green energy.
The paths are cut and well signposted so you can visit frequently to witness the different seasonal changes or just rest on the many benches provided, so you can take it all in.
The Public Bridle Path is locally known as Muddy Lane! As it can be wet most of the year.
Report this article as inappropriate
Comments
You need to log in before you can do that! It's only a quick registration process to join the AMA network and completely free.
Loading...
Help