As of today, all Areas of outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England and Wales have been renamed as National Landscapes.

The new name reflects their national importance; the vital contribution they make to protect the nation from the threats of climate change, nature depletion and the wellbeing crisis, whilst also creating greater understanding and awareness for the work that they do.

This is a significant milestone for the UK and the next step in fully realising the National Landscapes’ vision to be the leading exemplars of how thriving, diverse communities can work with and for nature in the UK: restoring ecosystems, providing food, storing carbon to mitigate the effects of climate change, safeguarding against drought and flooding, whilst also nurturing people’s health and wellbeing.

Eastnor Estate sits at the foot of the former Malvern Hills AONB and this will now be known as the Malvern Hills National Landscape. Every National Landscape has a new logo, sharing a similar look, and we’re thrilled that the Eastnor Obelisk appears in the Malvern Hills National Landscape logo. Inspired by an image of a dog walker on the Malvern Hills, the new logo displays the distinctive earthworks of British Camp as well as the Obelisk.

Photo which inspired the new Malvern Hills National Landscape logo New Malvern Hills National Landscape logo

It was a day of celebration at The Woodshed yesterday as the new toilet block was officially opened!

The Woodshed, sitting in the entrance to Eastnor Deer Park, has been open since July 2021 and has become a great community hub with regular events and a fantastic relaxed atmosphere. It also provides facilities for those walking in the Park and the Malvern Hills beyond.

The existing toilet facilities needed upgrading and we were fortunate to have been given a DEFRA grant aid for some new facilities, provided through the Malvern Hills AONB Joint Committee under the Farming in a Protected Landscape Scheme. The toilets were officially opened yesterday afternoon by Sebastian Bowen, former Chairman of Herefordshire Council.

The new toilets were built on the site of former storage sheds and mirror the construction of The Woodshed itself; the work was undertaken by estate staff and local specialist contractors.

James Hervey-Bathurst from Eastnor Estate said: “We are delighted to have been able to add these facilities to enhance the experience of The Woodshed Café customers and for the benefit of walkers in Eastnor Park. Our team has finished the project to a very high standard and the extension fits in very well with the older building it serves. We look forward to welcoming more visitors to the Park and the café as a result.

 

It was our great pleasure to welcome the Malverns District Scouts to plant a lime tree at Eastnor Deer Park yesterday to contribute to the Queen’s Green Canopy project, marking Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee later this year.

The Queen’s Green Canopy is a unique tree planting initiative which invites people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”.

Everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates are encouraged to play their part to enhance our environment by planting trees during the official planting season between October and March. Tree planting will commence again in October 2022 and run through to March 2023.

With a focus on planting sustainably, the project will encourage planting of trees to create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the Nation, which will benefit future generations. 

Eastnor Deer Park has a long and proud history of scouting groups planting trees. Three oaks were planted in 1937 at the Scout Jamboree held in the Deer Park; this jamboree was held at the invitation of Lord Somers, then deputy Chief scout and owner of the Eastnor estate, and was attended by Lord Baden-Powell. For the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, a Camp was held in the Deer Park for all Scouts in the Malverns District and a 4th Oak tree was planted.

James and Lucy Hervey-Bathurst attended the tree planting this morning alongside Pauline Richardson, District Chair of Malvern Scouts, and Nat Hone, a Deputy Lieutenant of Herefordshire.

James Hervey-Bathurst, who is the Hereford Chairman of the Green Canopy Campaign, said “We were delighted to welcome the Scouts on Sunday. My grandfather succeeded Lord Baden-Powell as Chief Scout in 1940 so we have a long tradition with the Scouting community which we hope will continue into the future”.

We look forward to seeing the new lime tree grow as it settles into its Eastnor home!

The Woodshed at Eastnor Deer Park is officially open!

A walk in Eastnor Deer Park became much more appealing this morning as we opened The Woodshed by the old Woodyard Entrance.

Open daily and serving take-away hot & cold drinks, delicious freshly-baked cakes from Home Farm Kitchen in Eastnor village, ice creams and light snacks, The Woodshed is a great place to stop for refreshments before or after a walk in the Deer Park or the Malvern Hills.

It’s also the perfect spot for meeting friends for coffee and cake or for a pit-stop on a bike ride. There’s sheltered seating as well as outdoor picnic tables and logs to sit on. 

 

Eastnor Deer Park

Eastnor Deer Park sits across the road from Eastnor Castle and spans over 300 acres, leading onto the Worcestershire Way and the Malvern Hills beyond. Walkers are very welcome, as are dogs!

We’ve detailed some suggested walks on a sign at the entrance to the Deer Park; these picturesque trails vary in length and lead on to some popular Malvern Hills walks.

A 45 minute walk will lead you to the 90ft high Eastnor obelisk which was put up in 1812 and can be seen for miles around. The obelisk is a memorial for various distinguished members of the Somers Cocks family and is a Grade 2 listed monument. 

So keen are we to provide a connection between Eastnor and the Malvern Hills, we’ve even included the profile of the Malvern Hills on The Woodshed logo!

The Woodshed History

The rustic Woodshed building was constructed over 100 years ago and was used by the Eastnor Estate Forestry Team for sawing and storing firewood; it was also used for making and selling chestnut fencing stakes. The in-house forestry operation ceased about 25 years ago and the building has stood empty ever since. 

Aware of a need for this local provision, plans to turn The Woodshed building into a ‘Gateway to the Malvern Hills’ have been in the pipeline for around 15 years so today’s opening is a big day for the Eastnor Estate, not least for the present-day Estate Works Department who have worked hard over the last few months to turn The Woodshed building back into a habitable state.

Dog Friendly

We’re a dog-friendly estate and love to welcome dogs of all shapes and sizes! As well as a great place for local dog walks, we’ve thought about the needs of our 4-legged friends and have fitted a dog wash to The Woodshed building to ensure muddy paws can be cleaned before a car journey home! We’re also selling Waggy Doggy Ice Cream so your dogs can have a post-walk treat!

Sustainability

In a bid to keep our carbon footprint low, we’ve ensured as many materials as possible have been recycled from the estate, especially the wood. We’re using compostable packaging and sourcing our produce from the local area as much as we can, keeping our food miles to a minimum.

Facilities

Keen to ensure The Woodshed and Eastnor Deer Park is accessible to as many people as possible, we’re providing free car parking, free wi-fi and toilets. A bike rack, litter bins and a dog waste bin are also available.

We look forward to welcoming visitors to The Woodshed and hope it continues to serve the local community for many years to come!

We have been restoring Clencher’s Mill, a watermill near the edge of the estate off the Glynch Brook. It was bought in about 1700 and has medieval origins. It was modernised in 1812 and redundant after 1939.

Most of the original mechanical equipment has survived and has been put back into working order with the help of a number of grants, referred to in more detail in my earlier blog, but one vital machine was missing, namely the bolter, perhaps not unexpectedly given one alternative meaning for its name. When in place, its job is to separate the meal ie the ground wheat that comes out of the millstones and consists of flour and bran. Some mills just supplied wholemeal ie the mixture, but there is clear evidence that we had a bolter at our mill as certain elements remained.

Rather than have a new one made, we looked for an old one. Alan Stoyel from the SPAB: https://www.spab.org.uk/spab-mills-section/ identified one at Wormbridge Mill, near Hereford, which had closed in about 1900. It was still in place, and the owner, a good friend of ours, was happy to part with it as all the rest of the equipment had already been removed, probably for scrap. It did not quite fit through the door and needed quite a bit of wood replacing, which was undertaken by John Churchill of Burns & Churchill in Ledbury. It was also narrowed to fit.

 Eastnor Grounds workers

The images show John, with Steve Howick, our project manager and dedicated volunteer, and Adam Marriott, our millwright, taking a break from fitting new parts and talking to Norman Walker, a retired gamekeeper who used to live at Wormbridge Mill and who remembers the bolter and rest of the mill machinery in place. He was glad to see it being restored and put back to work, though there is some way to go before fine bolted flour is available for baking.

We have also recently had the benefit of a visit by John Brandrick a great expert in the matter of recording mill structures and machinery. His skills in the art of technical drawings are clearly evident in the picture below which allows us to see in one view all aspects of the mill.  John’s work is of exceptional quality and more can be viewed on his very informative website at   https://milldrawings.com/

The team has made excellent progress and seems to have enjoyed the job so far. We hope to be ready when the mill has an open day on 14th May at 10.30am.

JH-B
21st February 2016

We are lucky enough to have a lot of weddings at Eastnor.  They are usually very happy occasions, though making all the arrangements can sometimes be quite demanding as every ceremony and reception is different.  Proposals and engagements are inevitably more private affairs, and if any couples get engaged at Eastnor, we rarely hear about it.

 

So it was wonderful to learn of the engagement of Gareth Roberts & Rachel White at the recent Midland Rovers Owners Club rally in the Park.  The MROC have been coming to Eastnor for over 40 years, but this part of the programme was a first.  Gareth persuaded Rachel to drive to part of the park where there is a good view of the Castle and where Land Rover Experience drivers often take a coffee break.  He said they were to collect a piece of equipment left there earlier in the Rally, and when they could not find it, he suggested they should wait there for a while and take in the view. Shortly afterwards, the convoy shown in the image appeared and the answer to his question was “Yes”, although the words read from right to left.  He gave Rachel a conventional engagement ring supplemented by a special ring in the form of a hexagon nut as Rachel is a Land Rover enthusiast too.

It was all recorded on video and can be seen on You Tube.  We wish the couple every happiness, and many more rallies in Eastnor Park.  The MROC should be back for the annual Memorial Trial in memory of my father next autumn.  I wonder if others will follow Gareth’s romantic lead?

Many thanks to gareth and Rachel for agreeing to this blog and to Russ Brown, Clubs Editor, of Land Rover Owner International for the background information!

JH-B
23rd June 2015