At a meeting organised by Bishopstone Group Parish Council on 13th March 2024, the National Trust presented their plans for land management at The Weir in Kenchester, a 246 acre farm which also includes the Weir Garden famous for its display of spring flowers.
David Bailey, General Manager, and Anna Watts, Estate Manager, from the National Trust in Herefordshire explained how the farm will be managed in a different way as the trust looks to address biodiversity loss and play a central role in nature’s recovery.
Habitat restoration across the farm planned for the coming years is designed to bring improvements for wildlife, carbon capture, soil management and water quality. The work is being done thanks to funding from the National Highways’ Environment and Wellbeing fund. We can now reveal what these plans are in detail.
Although not classified as parkland, the farm has large areas of open grassland interspersed with trees that appears very much as parkland. Respecting this and being aware of the stunning views over to the Black Mountains, plans for the farm mainly consist of keeping the grassland but improving its biodiversity. There’ll be plug planting of various species of wildflowers on the floodplain meadow and seeding the priority habitat grassland with wildflower seeds from nearby meadows.
Where there were orchards as seen on an 1862 map of the Weir, apples, pear, damson, plum and cherry trees will be planted, selecting varieties typical of Herefordshire. Broad-leaved woodland will be planted on the east of the farm with a wet woodland near where the Yazor brook flood water enters the river Wye.
“We are so grateful for the support given to us from National Highways which is vital to helping wildlife establish a home for the future,” said David Bailey. “We hope that, by restoring habitats and improving the health of the soil, The Weir estate should attract a more varied array of wildlife, including birds such as redstart, lesser-spotted woodpecker, and barn owl, along with insect pollinators and wetland species associated with the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) River Wye.
“Better water quality will be achieved by managing the land naturally, with no pesticides or fertilisers, and carbon capture and storage potential of the land will be enhanced through the creation of species-rich permanent grassland, orchards, parkland, woodland and hedgerow.”
So far hedgerows have been planted above the floodplain meadow, near the cliff. There’s now a circular walk across the farm giving visitor access to the farm for the first time. Seeding the priority habitat grassland and planting of plug plants will take place at the end of the summer with planting of the orchard and broad-leaved woodland over the winter 2024/2025. To find out more, read “Restoring Priority Habitat at The Weir” leaflet, published by the National Trust which has details of the work schedule.