Hi everyone
I hope that you are all keeping well and enjoying the occasional warm and sunny day.
There is lots to update you on this month. The exciting news is that after 8 years we have said a fond farewell to the builders and we are no longer a building site! This is a momentous occasion and it is truly wonderful to see the castle looking like a family home again – albeit a rather grand one. We re- opened the Castle on Monday 17 May and we are using a booking system for people to book their timed entry ticket – please look at our website for details. The team here are so excited to share the collection items and rooms that have been hidden during the building work. I had a walk around today and it is looking stunning.
It is joyous to see more volunteers returning too and it won’t be long until they are once again sharing the stories of Castle Drogo inside the house. We are looking for people to join the team helping us to re-open the castle and welcome visitors back. If you would like to find out more about volunteering in the castle, please do get in touch.
The garden is looking glorious with the crab apple trees in full blossom and flower buds on the wisteria promising a stunning display very soon. It has been so
lovely to see people wandering through the garden over the past few weeks, enjoying the space, the beauty and the opportunity to see other human beings – in a socially distanced way of course.
Out on the estate, you may remember that I mentioned back in 2019 that we were going to thin the large beech trees along the castle drive. These trees were very large and very close together and, being beech, suffering from lots of damage by grey squirrels. The aim was to thin them to increase light levels, underplant with young trees, whilst allowing the remaining large trees room to spread. This work was completed over the winter and I was pleased to see the newly planted trees starting to grow already and the ground under the trees starting to come back to life now it is getting light.
Take care everyone,
Paula
Community Involvement Manager, Castle Drogo and Dartmoor
01647 434130, paula.clarke@nationaltrust.org.uk
