ROYAL SCOTTISH FORESTRY SOCIETY Visit to BOLTON ABBEY Monday 13th – Friday 17th May, 1991. at the invitation of the Royal Sorestry Society of , Wales & Northern Ireland by kind permission of The Duke of Devonshire. Agent: John M. Sheard, FRICS Forest Manager: John Cumberland, BSc., FICFor.

SYNOPSIS

In 1988, the RFS (EWNI) and the RSFS held a memorable, joint, three-day meeting based at Inverness. The RFS is glad to be able to reciprocate that kind gesture by its senior, northern counterpart and organise a similar event this May based at , North .

Whilst the joint excursion is officially only for the first three days, the RFS hopes that many RSFS members will stay on for the whole of the week which forms our 1991 Whole Society Meeting. The programme for the week is as follows:

Sunday evening 12th May. Mr. Andy Neustein, Forestry Commission Conservator for Northern England, will give an introductory talk in the Crown Hotel, Harrogate, at 8.30 p.m .

Monday 13th May. A whole-day excursion to Bolton Abbey in Wharfedale, will look at management of woodlands in the increasingly important context of conservation, landscape, and recreational pressures. There will be inputs from the North Yorks Dales National Parks, RSPB, and English Nature (ex Nature Conservancy Council).

At 4 p.m. in Bolton Abbey Village Hall the RFS Annual General Meeting and RSFS Annual Business Meeting will be held.

Tuesday 11th May. (Morning) Management of afforestation on water catchment areas and the whole theme of forests and water are very much in the public limelight. Our joint morning visit to the YORKSHIRE WATER Plc RESERVOIRS in the Washburn Valley will look at management constraints and objectives for that situation. There will be a short talk by Dr. Adrian MacDonald of Leeds University on research work on water quality in relation to forestry.

Tuesday 14th May. (Afternoon) The projects to establish Community Forests have been in the news recently. These are an important existing feature in several western European countries. The joint excursion to CHEVIN FOREST PARK, OTLEY, will look at an area which was established for the public good some 40 years ago - well ahead of its time and before the term Community Forests had become common coinage in Britain. Much of what we see and learn from Chevin could have direct implications for new community or urban afforestation. Tuesday 14th May. (Evening) The Annual Dinner of our joint societies will be held at the Crown Hotel at 8.15 p.m. By kind invitation of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, there will be a pre-Dinner Reception at the same address at 7-30 p.m.

Wednesday 15th May. (All day) Sycamore will be the theme of our visit to BOLTON HALL, Wensleydale. This species has excellent potential for producing quality timber, especially in northern England and parts of Scotland. Bolton Hall was one of the first sites where commercial production of sycamore was pioneered, and our visit will look at relevant aspects of this. Whilst popular with foresters, sycamore is not always liked by conservationists. This aspect will be developed during the course of the day, and there will be a presentation by English Nature (ex Nature Conservancy Council).

In the late afternoon, we will visit the local DUFFIELD SAWMILL to hear their views on sycamore and hardwoods in general.

Wednesday 15th May. (Evening) The Department of the Environment's ETSU Group are at the forefront of investigating and evaluating alternative, or non-traditional energy sources, including wood. They have a prominent role in the programme, such as we will see tomorrow, of growing trees for biomass, and have offered to give members a talk on "Wood as a Fuel" at the Crown Hotel, at 8.30 p.m.

Thursday 16th May. (Morning) Another current topic receiving wide public interest is growing species such as poplars and willows on a short-rotation, coppice system (biomass). At INGERTHORPE HALL, we will visit an important field trial growing willows and poplars to look at various stages in its cultivation. There will also be a static display by the Department of the Environment on their work in this field.

Thursday 16th May. (Afternoon) The Whole Society Meeting traditionally visits at least one arboretum. The 1991 visit is to THORP PERROW ARBORETUM, near Bedale, which has been described by Alan Mitchell as one of the nation's most important tree collections. We will also plant a commemorative tree there to mark the Society's visit to .

Friday 17th May. (Morning) Trees and the landscape will be the underlying theme of our visit to HAREWOOD ESTATE. Although the Whole Society Meeting officially ends at lunchtime, an alternative programme has been arranged for the afternoon which will include the possibility of seeing round the House itself.

MAP

WOODLAND IN NORTH YORKSHIRE

Introduction and History

The new county of North Yorkshire stretches across two fundamentally contrasting halves of England - the highland or north-western zone and the lowland or south-eastern zone. The boundary splits the county running from Scarborough along the southern fringe of the North York Moors and thence south along the eastern foothills of the Pennines.

Basically the lowland zone is an area of relatively young sedimentary rock formations, low elevations, low rainfall, more extremes of summer and winter temperatures with much arable and pines the most important conifers. On the other hand, the highland zone tends to older sedimentary and igneous rocks, mountains, and a humid mild 'Atlantic’ climate with mostly stock and sheep farming and spruces the most important conifers.

With examples of nearly all the country's most important types of relief, rock formation, climate, vegetation, and land utilization represented, there is a wide and comprehensive range of woodland site types in Yorkshire.

Historically, the story of Yorkshire's woodlands is in step with the broad story of England as a whole. From the peat deposits and soils of the county comes much evidence of the state of the vegetation and the kinds of civilisation which occurred down through the succeeding pre- historical periods which followed the final retreat of the ice about 11,000 years ago. The Mesolithic hunters of the warm Boreal period lived amid pine and birch woods on the high uplands. They were followed, towards the end of the succeeding cool wet Atlantic period with its extensive broadleaved woodlands, by Yorkshire's first agriculturists, the Neolithic farmers. In turn they gave way to the much more numerous Bronze Age settlers who grazed their flocks and herds and cultivated wheat on the North York Moors which were then free of heather and severe podsolization. There are countless round Bronze Age tumuli across the Moors and the flint tools of all three civilisations continually turn up on the bulldozed roads and deep ploughed afforestation areas of the North York Moors, now with soils degraded to poor podsols and heather covered after centuries of constant burning and overgrazing.

Up to and throughout Roman times most of lowland Yorkshire was heavily forested and ill-drained, cultivation being restricted to the drier soils of the less heavily wooded uplands and better-drained glades in the plains. Much more active clearance and draining of the oak, birch, and alder woods of the plains took place in Saxon times but with the advent of the Normans the Saxon agriculturists were severely harried and the area of uncultivated waste and woodland extended.

As in other parts of England, Yorkshire had in Norman times many great royal hunting forests. The Forest of Galtres stretched from the gates of York for 20 miles to Boroughbridge; Pickering Forest 21 miles by 6 miles, was famous for its boars; Whitby, Danby, Wensleydale, Knaresborough, and stainmoor are other examples. Wolves were found at Marske near Richmond as late as AD 1369 and there were great numbers of red and fallow deer. As the great Yorkshire religious houses developed during the 13th and 14th centuries and wool became a commodity of supreme importance, there was constant friction between the foresters and their harsh laws and the agricultural interests of the religious orders and the common people. Gradually wool and agriculture won and the royal hunting forests were whittled away, a process which continued with increasing speed right up to the time of the agricultural recession of the 19th century.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, industrial prosperity and the build•up of the great estates with their mansions, parks, and amenity woodlands had a strong impact on the Yorkshire scene and the majority of the privately owned woodlands in the county today owe their present shape and position to the estate building activities of that period.

The Forestry Commission made its first acquisitions in Yorkshire, on Selby and Allerston forests, in 1921 and by the end of 1949 held 7,500 hectares which 10 years later had risen to 17,500 ha. By 1989 the area of woodlands in the North York Moors Forest District which contains practically all the Forestry Commission's woodlands in North Yorkshire stood at 19,000 ha.

It is difficult to describe the geology of North Yorkshire as a county without casting the description wider to embrace the whole of the old county of Yorkshire because so many of the geological divisions cut across the present county boundary but the main geological areas are described below.

The Vale of York is flanked on either side with areas of high ground - to the west the foothills and then the main range of the Pennines, to the east the North York Moors, the Howardian Hills, and the Yorkshire Wolds. The Triassic bed rocks are thickly covered with glacial and recent deposits; Lacustrian clays, sands, gravels, and wharp to the south and boulder clays, glacial sands, gravels, and moranic material to the north.

The Pennines run north and south down the western flank of the county for 100 miles with a width of 30 to 40 miles. The highest ground, the backbone of the chain, lies well to the west, and in its northern half is a region of fine mountains, wild moorland, limestone scars, and deep sheltered valleys of great beauty - the famous Dales.

The Magnesian Limestone Belt The 200 foot contour line marks approximately the western edge of the Vale of York and the first beginnings of the foothills of the Pennine region. This is the narrow ridge of the Permian Magnesian Limestone, which shelves up from below the glacial and recent deposits of the Vale to form a low west-facing escarpment, with striking limestone gorges where the main rivers cut through to the Vale. From a little north of Wetherby to the Tees the limestone bed rock is almost entirely obscured by thick layers of boulder clay.

The North York Moors form a distinctive and well-defined feature in the north-eastern corner of the county an upland plateau of Jurassic rocks with a general elevation of 300 to 1,200 feet above sea-level and no marked summits. To the west and north-west this region presents an irregular but sharply defined escarpment to the Vale of York while on the east there are 10 miles of coast-line with many high spectacular cliffs. The plateau is deeply incised with a system of river valleys or dales which break the uniformity of the unenclosed moors and provide shelter and more fertile ground.

The Howardian Hills also composed of rocks of the Jurassic period, are 300 feet to under 600 feet high and comprise a range of undulating hills less than 20 miles long and nowhere more than 5 or 6 miles wide. The whole area is extensively faulted and it is separated from the North York Moors by a rift valley at Ampleforth.

The Wolds have typical chalk upland contours, sweeping curves and frequent dry valleys formed no doubt by river action during the glacial period when summer melt-water flowed at the surface, its downward percolation prevented by frozen subsoil.

The Vale of Pickering. Enclosed by the Moors the Howardian Hills and the northern edge of the Wolds is the small Vale of Pickering, a level plain which was an Ice Age lake. The bed rock over almost the whole of the Vale is Kimmeridge clay but very little of this outcrops from below thick deposits of silt, gravels, peats, and sands which are relics of the former glacial lake.

Woodland Statistics

The details of woodland by principal species and ownership are given in Table 2 and are taken from the 1980 census. About 90% of the Forestry Commission's woodlands are coniferous dominated by pines, spruces and larches whilst the broadleaves are mainly beech, sycamore and oak. Since 1980 there has been a general trend for restocking to increase the proportion of Sitka spruce at the expense of the pines and to increase Douglas fir and broadleaves at the expense of larch.

The private sector with its high proportion of traditional family estates is more heavily broadleaved in character, nearly 60% being composed mainly of sycamore, oak, beech, ash with birch dominant on many smaller wooded areas on the moorland fringes.

Age classes are given in Table 3. This shows an inbalance reflecting the inter war and post war period with heavy conifer planting in the fifties and sixties. Broadleaves on the other hand show a fairly steady planting pattern but with a large stock of pre-1900 still surviving. These are generally of poor quality because of the depredations of two World Wars and must cause concern to those who seek to perpetuate these broadleaf woodlands by natural regeneration - the genetic stock may well be seriously depleted.

Estimating production for North Yorkshire is difficult because there are few reliable statistics available on a county basis for the private sector. However, the county is dominated by the production from the Forestry Commission's North York Moors Forest District which for 1991/92 is programmed to be 76,000 cubic metres of which 60% will be pines and larches and 10% spruces. The split between pulpwood and sawlogs is approximately 50/50.

No description of the woodlands of North Yorkshire would be complete without a reference to the two National Parks and the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which together cover just over 40% of the county. The two parks could not be more different in their woodland characteristics. In the North York Moors woodland covers 22% of the area the majority of which is on the moorland fringes and in the valleys which cut deep into the heart of the moors. The Dales National Park has only just over 3% much of it the remnants of old broadleaves clinging tenaciously to the steep sided dales. Time and sheep have long threatened the integrity of these woods but there are intentions to remedy matters.

According to the Nature Conservancy Council's Provisional Register there are approximately 14,200 ha of ancient woodland sites in North Yorkshire of which 9,500 ha are classified as Ancient Semi Natural Woodlands and 1,600 ha as Ancient Re-planted.

As might be expected the type of woodland varies with the underlying geology and drainage giving rise in acid soils to oak, birch and rowan with alder in the wetter places whilst the more basic soils support ash with local areas of oak, wych elm and birch with an understorey of hazel.

Equally one must acknowledge the valuable contributions which woodlands of all descriptions both state and private make to the landscape and peoples enjoyment of the county. In this connection it is perhaps worth mentioning that the Forestry Commission's North Riding Forest Park receives over a quarter of a million visitors a year which puts it in the same league as Castle Howard, one of Yorkshire's and indeed the country's, great family houses!

Woodlands have seen immense changes over the ages and we must not forget that what we see today is but a snapshot, a single frame in an epic film. The woodlands have been reduced in size and diversity by man but since the early part of this century the reduction in area has been reversed and as the century closes we are seeing an increase in the diversity again with planting on better ground allowing the use of broadleaves and more demanding species. In the large forests of the Forestry Commission the rotational fellings of conifers are providing the opportunity to redesign the woods and to introduce more diversity in the second rotation. Generally there is an awakening of interest in the maintenance of existing woodlands and the establishment of new areas for a wide range of objectives, encouraged by many advisers and financial incentives.

Acknowledgements

This regional summary was prepared by Mr. John Oakley, Private Woodlands and Environment Officer, Forestry Commission, drawing upon the work of a distinguished predecessor, Mr. Tom Dent.

Monday, 13th May, 1991.

Visit to Bolton Abbey BY kind permission of the Duke of Devonshire

Agent: John M Sheard FRICS. Forest Manager: John Cumberland BSc. FICFor.

Introduction

The Bolton Abbey Estate comprises a compact block of approximately 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) of land in Wharfedale, near Skipton, North Yorkshire. It is owned by the Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement, a Trust set up by the 10th Duke of Devonshire. The Duke’s son the Marquess of Hartington, lives on the Estate and takes a personal interest in its management, which is administered by a resident Land Agent, Mr. John Sheard, and his staff at the Estate Office in Bolton Abbey Village.

The land is a matrix of high heather-clad moors and grassland (enclosed by traditional stone walls), with blocks of woodland and is bisected roughly north-south by the valley of the River Wharfe.

The lands were accumulated and farmed by the Priors of the Augustinian Bolton Priory commencing in the 12th century. Its survival as an Estate since the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 is due probably to having been retained in the ownership of one family and maintained by its heirs who succeeded.

Today the main occupation of the Estate is agriculture, comprised of over 70 farms, the majority of which range from 15 to 120 acres each, with a handful of dairy farms of over 200 acres each. In addition the owners have planted woodlands on the steep valley sides, managed the moorlands for sheep grazing and grouse and the river for trout fishing. Footpaths were constructed in the Wharfe valley in the early 19th century and the public admitted to these and the riverside since when it has become a popular picnic place for day visitors from the nearby Yorkshire and Lancashire towns.

Most of the Estate was included within the Yorkshire Dales National Park on its formation in 1954 and in 1968 an Access Agreement gave the public access over the two moorland areas totalling 5,700 ha (14,000 mc). The public have both permissive and public footpaths, extending to over 40 miles on the Estate, giving access along the river valley, the hills, moors and through certain woodlands. The Estate provides car parks, cafes, toilets and Nature Trail in Strid Wood. Strid Wood has now been designated a ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’ (SSSI) on account of its exceptional fauna and flora, being particularly abundant in bird life.

There is no stately home at Bolton Abbey, but Bolton Hall, an adaption of the old Gatehouse to the Priory, provides a small country retreat for the Duke and his family and guests when staying for grouse shooting. The historic buildings on the Estate include the ruins of Bolton Priory, the Tithe Barn, Harden Tower, the Priests House at Barden and one or two old farm buildings.

Recently the Estate has qualified as ‘Heritage Land’ and has undertaken in its management policy to conserve the structure of its agricultural and forestry systems in order to preserve and enhance the landscape, at the same time affording public access.

The Woodlands

The Forestry Department is responsible for the commercial forest operations, amenity and parkland trees and, in addition, the upkeep of all public access areas. There are 450 ha (1,100 ac) of woodland managed under a Forestry Dedication scheme, plus a further 160 ha (400 ac) of farm woodlands and shelter-belts. The valley bottom woodlands comprise mixed hardwood, oak, sycamore, beech and ash. The largest is Strid Wood (an SSSI), one of the largest acidic oak woodland sites in the North of England. The coniferous plantations by and large lie on the valley side slopes with larch figuring largely in their make-up. Other conifers are Scots pine, Norway and Sitka spruce and Douglas fir.

Clear fell areas are sold standing. Thinnings are taken to the Estate sawmill and processed into stakes and fencing material for sale or use on the Estate. The Estate has its own timber treatment plant for CCA type 2 pressure treatment. In addition the Forestry Department raises and sells Christmas trees on a pick-your-own basis direct to the general public each year from Strid car park. Firewood, rustic furniture and planters are also sold.

The average rainfall over the last six years has been 890 mm (35 in.) per annum. The relatively large and high catchment area of the River Wharfe leads to rapid rises and falls in the river with periodic flooding and damage to bank and riverside walks, as happened this last winter. The Estate woodlanda range from an elevation of 90 m (300 ft) above sea level at the southern end of the Estate to 365 m (1,200 ft) at the northern end. Underlying geology is millstone grit; the northern boundary of the Estate marks the change to limestone. Soils vary from brown earths on riverine gravels through shallow soils on the steep slopes to peaty gleys on the higher plantations.

Staff comprise a Forestry Manager, foreman, ganger, six permanent staff and two students on the forestry side and a Head Gardener and four permanent staff on the maintenance side.

Management

Management plans are produced at five yearly intervals together with a detailed five year management plan for Strid wood SSSI area. Budgets are prepared annually, approved by the Trustees with monthly feedback of accountancy information and comparison to budget for Department Heads. Final details of the new grant system are awaited. We will then decide whether or not the Estate will be better served by opting out of the Dedication Scheme.

Tourism

Having been granted Heritage Status, the Estate has a duty imposed upon it to maintain and conserve landscape and buildings and to allow public access. Traditionally for decades the public have visited the area in large numbers. It is estimated that half a million visitors come through the Estate per annum, mainly at weekends and Bank Holidays.

Grants for replanting outside Forestry Commission planting schemes for small woodland copses, parkland trees, replacement of old and diseased trees and reinstatement of permissive rights of way have been denied the Estate since achievement of Heritage Status. Accordingly all maintenance of trees outside the Dedicated Woods, all upkeep of gardens, public access areas, footpaths, toilets and litter removal have to be financed by the Estate.

The pressure of visitor activity, whether winter walking, summer picnicking, birdwatching or whatever, has caused considerable damage to footpaths, Strid Wood, in particular. Recent maintenance has concentrated on the conversion of paths to all weather routes by gravelling and widening to 1.5 m width where possible to encourage visitors to stay on recognised paths. Seats are being placed at view points and a leaflet giving general information on the Nature Trail is available at kiosks. A charge for admission to Strid Wood was discontinued in 1990 after pressure from the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

TUESDAY 4th MAY 1991

RFS VISIT TO THE WASHBURN VALLEY

BY INVITATION FROM YORKSHIRE WATER PLC Yorkshire Water

The agricultural and forestry estate amounts to 54,000 acres (21,862 Ha), much of it upland moorland grazings. The forestry area Is 4,620 acres (1,870 Ha).

The estate was assembled under single ownership after the Local Government Reorganisation Act (England and Wales) 1973 became law. Prior to then it was split up under a large number of local authorities responsible for their own water supply functions.

Washburn VaIley

The valley was owned by Leeds Corporation who supplied the city through the three reservoirs, Thruscross, Fewston and Swinsty. A fourth reservoir, Lindley Wood, located at the southern end of the valley is used for river compensation. The collection and storage of water is the most important activity in the valley and special importance is attached to water quality. The company controls and monitors farming and forestry activities to safeguard water quality, often in partnership with the National Rivers Authority.

Forestry

Planting started on a large scale in 1906 when a small forestry group was set up. Unemployed people from Leeds were used to help complete the planting programme. The first planting areas were alongside the main feeder streams and reservoir embankments and as the occasional small farm became vacant these were planted up. This can be seen In the random layout of the main blocks of woodland scattered throughout the valley. Great emphasis has always been on the amenity aspect of the plantationi with small blocks of mixed species being the norm and this has resulted in the area being put forward as an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Site Factors Elevation - 200 - 300 m Rainfall - 1,000 - 1,200 mm Geology - Millstone Grit/Sandstone Shales Soils - Upland brown earths - some shallow peats

Woodland Details

The productive woodland area is 1,561 acres (632 Ha) all of which is under a Woodland Grant Scheme.

VISIT TO THE WASHBURN VALLEY - 14 MAY 1991

The forest Industry and the water Industry have long been associated. Both tend to share the same locations. For one, these are areas of heavy rainfall very suitable for water gathering, for the other, they are areas unsuitable for agriculture, onto which the forest Industry has deveioped. The quality of water from catchments is safeguarded by at least four lines of defence: (I) A pristine catchment (II) Long storage In large reservoir (III) Filtration (IV) Chlorination

Forestry has played an important role in bringing a productive use to catchments, whilst at the same time maintaining their pristine condition and thus promoting high sanitary purity. In the catchments where you stand at the moment, for example, the bacterial qualities of water flowing from forested catchmnents Is usually perfect, the waters containing no bacteria of sanitary significance, whereas the waters that fiow from equivalent agricultural catchments would have a small number of sanitary bacteria, which require further treatment.

Forests, as you will be aware, tend to use more water than grassland catchments. Figures vary according to site and according to species, age, etc. but a figure of about 25-30% reduction In water yield would probably cause little controversy If an entire catchment were forested. This reduction In yield of water is caused by the interception of water by the forest and the more efficient loss of water from the forest caused by the greater aerodynamic roughness of the forest canopy. Together with the Intentional control of the water table by ditching and site preparation, the forest has a significant effect on the moisture status of the forest soil. This may lead to a further problem that the responsible forester would wish to be aware of, namely the promotion of increased discolouration.

In recent years the colour of water flowing from a number of upland catchments, both In the UK and abroad has Increased. This is not due to particulate matter in the waters, it is due to dissolved organic materials. It Imparts a colour similar to weak tea to the waters, even after they have boon filtered through a 0.45 micron filter. All upland catchments yield some colour but following the 1976 and 1984 droughts much more colour was reieased and the intensity of colour has not retumed to its pre-drought condition. In addition, the colour from burnt, drained and south facing catchments is higher. particularly where these are associated with Winter Hill soils. The cause of the enhanced discolouration is accelerated microbial breakdown of the organic soils caused by the lowering of the water table through drought and drainage. Colour, however, is not released from catchments until the water table rises again in winter, thus providing the hydrological conditions to remove soil solutes to the rivers.

Research, sponsored in part by Yorkshire Water, has given a very good understanding of the processes Involved. The physical conditions necessary for colour generation occur within forests over a very long time scale, It could be that colour is being generated which will only be released upon the felling of the forest. The greater the area of the felling and the closer to a clear fell that occurs, the more likely it is that the colour release will be severe enough to be a problem both to the abstractive water Industry and to river water qualities downstream. in the diagram below, we present a plot of the colour of water released from moorland soil versus the colour released from the same soil under forest. Sites are about 200 m apart and at the same aspect and elevation.

The cores were taken from Winter Hill peats in a forest that is relatively young, 10-15 years old, where the canopy closure has not yet been fully completed. These factors - time, canopy closure - would serve to minimise the colour generation potential at this site. It might be anticipated that with a complete canopy, higher absolute trapping of rains and a time period perhaps four times greater than that indicated above, significantly increased colour would be generated.

Let me emphasise that, despite our very clear picture of the soil associations, topographic features and management practices which generate high colour outslde the forest, we have not determined the extent to which these controls operate within the forest. At this early stage, we have not given consideration to speciation within the forest or to possible effects of leachates which might inhibit or promote the micro-organisms responsible for the generation of colour. But it is certainly the case, given that the water industry must reduce colours to 1.5 absorption units or lower before water goes into supply, that there is a potential management problem to be addressed.

28 January 1991 Adrian McDonald Chairman of the School of Geography University of Leeds

Tuesday 14th May 1991 (p.m.)

Visit to CHEVIN FOREST PARK, OTLEY by kind invitation of’ Leeds City Council.

History

The Danefield Estate part of’ the now Chevin Forest Park was subject to wartime felling during 1942-3, when most of the mature woodland was cleared. In 1946 the then owner, Major Le G. G. W. Horton-Fawkes, gave the Estate to the people of’ Otley on condition that it was re-aff’orested. The Council of’ the day entered into a “Deed of’ Dedication” with the Forestry Commission towards replacing and extending the woodlands over some 70.9 ha.

The policy has been to establish mixed plantations which will develop into mainly broadleaved woodlands, consisting of mostly indigenous species. Running alongside the forestry development, a large number of’ exotic species have been planted to enhance and provide added interest and small arboreta. In addition to the compartments, there is a shelter belt of’ much older sycamore, beech and oak - 80/90 years old, which is an important feature running alongside the East Chevin Road from Shawfield down to Springfield Farm.

The plantations, roads, rides and natural features such as massive outcrop rocks, have been blended together to produce a very pleasing and distinguished landscape. This is most important as the Estate has a topography which rises alongside the Wharfe Valley, commanding a panoramic view from the Dales, down to the Plain of’ York - a vista of’ over 100 miles.

The central park of the Chevin Ridge, overlooking the market town of Otley, was purchased by Leeds City Council in various lots between 1979-88 and comprises 67.4 ha of woodland, moorland and old pasture. Also included in the purchase was a derelict 19th century farmhouse, a local landmark known as “The White House”. This was renovated and made into a warden’s office, plus interpretative centre. An old barn was demolished and a cafe built on the site, and the complex was completed by the construction of a classroom for use by children and other organisations. This development and the setting up of the warden system was by way of a grant from the Countryside Commission.

There is an SSSI not far from The White House. A worked-out stone quarry has been landscaped and planted in part with trees. Several car parks, and picnic and camping sites have been constructed to cater for the many visitors. A mile-long avenue of native trees has been planted to commemorate the bicentenary of T. Chippendale, the famous cabinet maker who was born in Otley.

Present

The management objectives are as follows:- The principal aim is to establish and maintain a system of multi-purpose woodlands, combining the following:- a)sound silvicultural practises which will produce high quality sawlog timber in both broadleaf and coniferous species; b)to develop and extend the recreation facilities such as horse riding, rock climbing, orienteering, birdwatching, nature groups, camping etc. Also, via the wardens, to promote the historical and archeological aspects of the Park; c)the provision of habitats and food sources for the various forms of wildlife, both flora and fauna; d)to bring about an attractive development in harmony with the landscape of the surrounding area.

The predominantly young Estate produces first and second thinnings of various size and quality. These are used within the Leeds Parks Department. Wherever possible, conversion is done on site by the forestry team. This consists of one Head Forester, one forester and one trainee forester. Larger timber is converted at the Forestry Department’s sawmill for timber seats, planters, flower troughs, bollards, gates, etc. Other timber is sold for mining, furniture carcassing and chipwood.

The woodlands on the centre area are mature and over mature, over stocked and mainly broadleaved. A start has been made on carrying out selective felling and regeneration thinnings to create an uneven age structure. A horse is used for extraction in the younger plantations. The wardens have a full year of activities with special days, courses and themes for visits from schools, summer playgroups etc. They also help in developing sites for wildlife - wet areas, rare plant sites, butterfly habitats - and in promoting the history and archeology of the Park.

Chevin is a Link Wood under the Forestry Trust for Conservation and Education scheme.

The Estate has won awards in national forestry competitions, including the Judges’ Special Award in the R.A.S.E. Woodland Competition in 1987 and a Certificate of Merit in the RFS Duke of Cornwall’s Award for Forestry and Conservation, in 1989.

Future

This will see the continuation of the present woodland management policy, and an on-going commitment to the various aspects of conservation and education with a careful and constrained extension of the recreational facilities.

It is hoped that the development of’ the Chevin Forest Park will also serve as an example to other owners who wish to develop such multi-purpose schemes for the mutual benefit of all.

Wednesday 15th May 1991

Visit to THE BOLTON ESTATE, Wensley by kind invitation of the Owner and Host - The Rt. Hon. Lord Bolton.

Introduction

The woods are situated in Wensleydale in the gills which intersect the north face of the valley.

The geological formation consists of the Yoredale Measures, overlaid in the valley bottom by sandy deposits and glacial moraine. Above the 1,000 ft. level the ground is peaty and the vegetation is predominantly Calluna. As the Yoredale Measures themselves consist of several types of carboniferous limestone with shale strata intervening, there is an extremely varied range of soils, nearly all of which are capable of growing first quality timber, both hardwood and softwood.

The Bolton Estate is particularly noted for sycamore. This species was first planted there in 1720 as amenity trees around the House. The first commercial sycamores were planted in about 1690 and the estate became a forerunner in growing this broadleaf as a tree crop.

Woodland Ares - 1,000 acres (approx.) (404.68 ha) Dedicated - 706 acres (307.56 ha)

Rainfall - 35-40 inches per annum.

Woodlands range from 400 ft. a.s.l. to 1,100 ft. a.s.l. in altitude.

Staff - 1 Head Forester, 5 Foresters.

All harvesting work is carried out by estate staff, who also do some contracting work on neighbouring estates.

Wednesday 15th May 1991 (late p.m.)

Visit to DUFFIELD SAWMILLS, MELMERBY by kind invitation of R. E. & R. Duffield & Sons Ltd.

Having seen the silvicultural aspects of sycamore at Bolton Hall, the visit to the Duffield Sawmills will consider conversion of hardwoods and in particular of sycamore.

Background

The Duffield Sawmill was established in 1955, originally supplying the then Coal Board with hardwood sawn sections. It expanded into air dried planking in 1970 with a progression to kiln drying in 1980. The company moved to its present location in 1980, closing down the original site in in 1987, when production for British Coal ceased.

The Directors see any future expansion into higher oak stocks and value added products, such as P.A.R. mouldings and flooring. The present rural site occupies five acres adjacent to the A1. It employs 25 personnel (March ‘91). Annual wood usage is 25,000 cu.ft., using 99% hardwood logs of first and second quality, and a minimum top diameter of 10 inches. This is either delivered to the sawmill or collected at roadside throughout the U.K. The purpose-built sawmill produces British hardwood planking, quarter sawn through and through, and square edged - grading and lathing - air and kiln drying.

Machinery includes two bandmills, one resaw, two cross cuts and one edger. There is underfloor dust extraction. Yard machinery includes one log loader and three fork lift trucks, and there are two delivery trucks on the road.

The market for Duffield products cover high quality joinery, including shop fitting; furniture; kitchens; restoration; and various wood components i.e. turnery and mouldings.

Cars. Limited room for cars may be available in the yard once the coaches have parked.

Thursday 16th May 1991

Visit to INGERTHORPE HALL by kind permission of the owners, Mr. Murray Carter and Family.

Manager: Mr. Neil Roberts

Site Information

Altitude: 275-450 ft.

Rainfall: 27-30” per annum.

Geology: The underlying solid geology is Permian - Lower Magnesian limestone covered by glacial till with pockets of glaciofluvial deposits. The till, which covers much of the district exhibits the characteristic hummocky features of an ice-moulded landscape. There are two types: i) A reddish/brownish clayey till mainly from local Permian marl with dolomitic limestone and Carboniferous erratics. ii) A grey/greyish brown fine loamy and clay till with distinct provenances, mainly Pennine carboniferous mudstones and limestones, but with igneous erratics from the Lake District. This is thought to have been deposited by the Wensleydale Glacier. The underlying Magnesian Limestone is a dolomitic limestone of Permian age, varying in both dolomitic/calcite ratio and hardness.

Soils: Salop and Wick associations. Predominantly medium loams with clay outcrops on the hilltops and banks of gravelly deposits.

Staff: 6 Full time. Plus seasonal help.

Area: In total 149 acres are dedicated to tree crop enterprises. These include Hardwood/Softwood plantings (35 acres), Cricket Bat Willows (2 acres), Christmas Trees (57 acres), Short Rotation Coppice (47 acres), and Hardy Ornamental Nursery Stock (5 acres).

Theme: “SHORT ROTATION COPPICE FOR ENERGY, FIBRE AND OTHER USES”

Short Rotation Coppice (generically referred to as “Biomass”) offers immensely exciting opportunities to both the Agricultural and Forestry industries.

With substantial E.E.C. overproduction of agricultural commodities, and forecasts that 1-1½ million ha of U.K. land may be surplus by the year 2000, and up to 5½m. ha by 2010, the need for new crops and associated large scale markets has never been greater.

However, the position in the Forestry Industry is in direct contrast, as the U.K. currently imports approximately 90% of’ its wood requirements at a cost of over £6,000 million per annum.

Short Rotation Coppice grown on agricultural land to produce woodchips for paper pulp, and composite products such as particle and waferboard, might therefore offer a dual solution to agricultural overproduction and forestry underproduction

The market for woodchips is, however, no longer limited to forestry outlets alone. Proposals for “Carbon Taxes” on fossil fuels are currently being drafted by the Energy Directorate of the European Commission, and are likely to stimulate interest in renewable energy sources (including wood) which are environmentally benign and do not contribute to atmospheric C02 increases and associated global warming.

In addition, expanding requirements for horticultural mulches and peat substitutes may further strengthen demand.

The importance of a thriving wood chip market to the conventional Forestry Industry cannot be overstressed. It would provide outlets for early thinnings, for crown wood (comprising 50% of many hardwoods), and for the 400,000 ha of private low grade woodland which remain derelict for want of a market. Furthermore, the incentive for earlier and more regular thinning, possibly combined with a move back to closer initial spacing, should greatly enhance the quality of the ultimate timber crop.

Finally, Short Rotation Coppice provides a range of ancillary benefits, including shelter, rapidly established screening, habitat for wildlife and game, and the ability to capture potential groundwater pollutants such as nitrates. In the latter respect Willow Coppice in particular may play an important role in controlling nutrient runoff from livestock enterprises.

The Route: A walk of approximately 1.3 miles.

Portaloo: A portaloo with washing facilities is available in the farm buildings adjacent to Ingerthorpe Hall.

(Information supplied by H. Carter.)

Thursday 16th May 1991 (p.m.)

Visit to THE THORP PERROW ARBORETUM by kind invitation of’ the owners, Sir John and Lady Ropner.

Curator: Mr. R. A. Watson, M.Hort., M.I.Hort., B.A.

Thorp Perrow is situated 2½ miles south of’ Bedale, North Yorkshire, and some four miles from Leeming Bar on the Al. The Arboretum entrance is off the Bedale-Well-Ripon road (map reference SE.258851).

This Arboretum is probably unique in Britain, if not in Europe, in that it is the creation of’ one man, Colonel Sir Leonard Ropner, Bt. (1897-1977). In 1927, he was given 65 acres of’ open park land by his father and commenced planting in 1931. By the time of’ his death, he had planted over 2,000 different species of trees and shrubs. Not all of’ these survived the local edaphic or climatic conditions but there are still over 1,000 species in the Arboretum. Many of’ these he collected personally during his world-wide arboricultural travels.

Amongst the collection are many very rare specimens, some of which are the largest of their kind recorded in Britain.

The average rainfall is about 25” (636 mm) per annum and the soil is a sticky loam, over gravel. The soil pH grades from 6.7 at the southern end, to 4.6 at the north.

The comprehensive arboretum catalogue/guide will be on sale. We hope to be guided by Mr. Alan Mitchell, Mr. John Beach (past Curator) and Mr. Don Watson (present Curator at Thorp Perrow). Friday 17th May 1991 (a.m.)

Visit to HAREWOOD ESTATE by kind invitation of The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Harewood K.B.E. and The Viscount Lascelles.

Owner: Ownership has very recently transferred from The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Harewood K.B.E. to his eldest son, The Viscount Lascelles.

Comptroller: Mr. G.T.W. Fenwicke-Clennell Forester: Mr. E.J. Cruickshank Woods Dept: Mr. M. Gill Mr.J. Kaye Mr. J. Hopton Mr.J. Beaumont Mr. K. Davey Mrs. S.A. Irwin—Davis Mr. N. Meredith

Introduction

Harewood House and Bird Garden are visited by 180,000 people per year. The Estate is venue to several major events, both within the parkland and the grounds themselves. The Bird Garden was opened in 1969 and now enjoys a national and international reputation.

The Estate woodlands extend to 330 ha and the majority are visible from Harewood House. A network of public footpaths and bridleways further increases the need for careful landscape planning with the objective being to maintain the 18th century design. This is credited to “Capability” Brown, though others such as Repton and son also made major contributions. The design remains largely intact despite the gales of 1956 and 1962 though subsequent replanting favoured conifers and means that nearly 50% of the present woodlands are of similar age.

Conifers, mainly European larch and Scots pine, occupy approximately 60% of the total area. The majority of these being planted during the 1960s to restock windblow. Oak, beech and sycamore are the major broadleaves with a high proportion (30% approximately) having been planted considerably pre 1900. Individual trees, beech in particular, of this age occupy a great deal of space, but have been retained due to their amenity value, particularly in areas worst hit by the gales.

Shooting is of considerable importance with over 20 days/season and approximately 5,000 pheasants shot.

Climate and Soils

The woodlands lie on undulating land between the River Wharfe and Eccup Reservoir. The underlying geology is millstone grit with occasional limestone outcrops. The soils are brown earths ranging from sandy loam to clay. Annual rainfall is between 760 mm (30”) and 850 mm (33”) falling fairly evenly throughout the year. Prevailing westerly winds generally cause few problems, but rare northerly gales can do damage. Forestry Management and Strategy

The objective has been to build up the capital value of the woodlands though neglect of the p.1960s plantings has led to heavy remedial thinning over the last five years. A thinning programme of 44 ha/year is projected for the next five years with an average felling programme of 8 ha/year. Felling coupes will be either clear fells of the less successful p.1960s crops or selective felling among the p.1900 broadleaves. Annual timber production is approximately 2,000m3. 60% of this is softwood as sawlogs, fencing bars and chipwood. Hardwood production is variable both by volume and value though firewood is an important bulk market.

Woods Department

Under the Forester, three woodmen and two trainees carry out planting and maintenance, including thinnings unattractive to contractors. A forwarder owned by the Estate is partially employed on the Estate and partially on outside contracts. Teams of regularly employed contractors work on harvesting that the Estate extracts and markets at roadside.