Sherborne’s Old Castle is a wonderful place for a walk, to admire the views and stop for a picnic. But it has the potential to offer so much more!
Last autumn English Heritage approached Wild Sherborne and the Men’s Shed to work with them on a new, ambitious project aiming to improve the site for both wildlife and people.
Already a haven for wildlife, the first step is to establish exactly what is there at present. Simon Ford, a local ecologist with much experience of surveying English Heritage and National Trust sites, has kindly offered to begin a survey in the spring. Once the results are in, we can get to work on increasing and maintaining the biodiversity in the area.
English Heritage have pledged to create or enhance 100 meadows at their sites over the next decade, and the Old Castle has been chosen as one of the places to benefit from this.
Though ideal for gatherings, the space is currently underused. Plans are to hold more community events there, such as a green fair or outdoor theatre. The Men’s Shed will be converting the old ticket office and shop into a meeting place for volunteers.
We invited volunteers to take part in surveying the site for all kinds of wildlife, from birds and bats, to bugs and bees. That survey is now underway thanks to 40+ volunteers. The results will be collated in September and the full report will go to English Heritage along with our recommendations.
Work on the wooden buildings is also taking place, thanks to the Men’s Shed and these will be eventually be for community use.
Dog walkers are welcome, but too many people are ignoring the request to keep all dogs on a lead. This causes problems for the maintenance team (dog mess!) and for wildlife (ground nesting birds). It’s also risky for dogs because of the presence of adders!”
