Spring 2018

Holnicote, Looking after , Bossington, Horner Wood and Webber’s Post and over 12,000 acres of Exmoor National Park for ever, for everyone.

Our work Wildlife spotting

When you head out to spot Holnicote’s wildlife this spring, you help us keep their habitat healthy. Keep your ears out for the sounds of returning summer birds like the chiff chaff and look for skylarks and pipits rising high on Porlock Marsh. By May, Horner Wood will There have been big changes at Horner Farm recently. be alive with dawn chorus birdsong. Our rangers have been replanting the orchard with local fruit varieties and reseeding fields to create herb-rich pasture, which is great for the farmer and wildlife. Butterflies will also add some colour to your visit. With an aim to increase the wildlife habitats on the Striking peacock butterflies, as well as the holly blue farm, thousands of metres of fencing have been put up butterfly will be out to greet you on your woodland to widen hedgerows and grow wildlife corridors. This walk. links up woodland habitat and provides shelter and food for small mammals, butterflies and beetles. We also aim During spring deer start to have their young. Please to create new priority habitat by planting broadleaf watch deer from a safe distance and keep dogs under trees like oak and hazel. Creating areas of wood pasture close control. will promote wildlife benefits such as better habitats for If you do spot a deer casualty, call deer ranger Charles bats and barn owls and allow the farm to flourish. on 07970 595967, who will be able to help.

Horner Farm also has a new scrape (temporary pond), created in a woodland corridor. This makes a great habitat for the frog population, and swallows have been spotted using the scrape’s wet mud to make their nests.

We have used grants from the countryside stewardship scheme in order to make many of these environmental improvements. The scheme has helped support the 700 metres of hedgelaying that took place over winter. This will support the local dormouse population. Creating a new pedestrian access through the farm is on the horizon, soon opening up the area for all to enjoy.

What’s on? Looking after places

Coffee, cake and clean-up people live Saturday 24 March, 10am-1pm, Bossington Have a go at conservation and help our rangers clean up The Holnicote estate includes over 160 houses and the beach cottages, spread across six villages. These cottages, over 100 of which being Grade II and II* listed, are Cadbury Easter egg hunt painted every seven years and rendered properties Friday 30 March, 10am-2pm, Selworthy painted in the familiar lime ochre wash. We rely on our Stomp through the woodland looking for clues about tenants to act as custodians to these very special and wildlife to earn your reward often quirky homes. As you explore Holnicote, keep an eye out for our in- house maintenance team practising traditional building Festival of Nature skills. Saturday 5 May, Fyne Court, Quantock Hills Kick off a month of celebrating nature across Somerset

Stay a little longer… Where next?

Explore Exmoor from the newly refurbished Old Periwinkle Cottage tea room, Selworthy Gateway Cottage, sleeps 6. Settle into village life and tuck into a tasty cream tea in the heart of Holnicote’s vale Search availability at nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays

Dunster Castle (7 miles) An ancient castle and comfortable country home with dramatic vistas and subtropical gardens

Watersmeet (15 miles) A river gorge, ancient woodland and tea garden in a stunning surrounding

Selworthy waymarked wander

Selworthy village is a timeless rural landscape, nestled in the vale of the Holnicote estate. This walk incorporates some of the finest views on Exmoor, with a steady climb through Selworthy woods towards the memorial hut. This is a moderate walk. Start in the car park at Selworthy, TA24 8TP.

nationaltrust.org.uk/selworthy, nationaltrust.org.uk/horner-wood #nationaltrust nationaltrust.org.uk/bossington, nationaltrust.org.uk/webbers-post

Images: Paul Camp, Mike Henton, Paul Harris. © 2018. The National Trust is a registered charity, number 205846.