Update | Lime Tree Avenue fundraising

Earlier this year we asked for your help. 

We’re thrilled that you rose to the occasion and helped us by purchasing a raffle ticket during your visits to Charlecote this season. The money raised through the raffle has been for urgent tree works to the Lime Avenue in West Park.

These ancient lime trees – two distinct varieties, totalling 133 trees in all – are badly in need of arborial restoration and conservation work. The veteran trees are being managed to reduce the risk of them collapsing as their heartwood inevitably decays and their structures become weakened. We need to ensure that this area of the parkland is safe for our visitors, and it’s a crucial wildlife habitat for many birds, bats and thousands of insects.

Neil and his wonderful team from Midlands Arboricultural Services have been removing dead and unstable timber, and reducing the canopies at the top of the trees.  This will reduce the weight that the ancient tree limbs have to bear and improve the trees’ longevity.

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Barn owl chicks at Charlecote Park

In recent weeks our owlet have had a lot of love and attention from our online communities. Their photo has been shared on our national and regional accounts and helps to highlight some of the work we do that isn’t seen.

Here’s more info from our press office..

FIVE BARN OWL chicks were snapped by a National Trust volunteer during a recent survey in the Warwickshire parkland where William Shakespeare was supposedly caught poaching deer.

It is believed that the brood of two female and three male chicks were between 41 and 53 days old when they were checked earlier this autumn by volunteers from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) at Charlecote Park, near Stratford-upon-Avon.

Autumn colours and competitions

Autumn is a colourful time of year. Just wander along the drive towards Charlecote’s Elizabethan Gatehouse and you’ll know. Golden yellows, evergreens and the odd flash of crimson red provide sumptuous views as far as you can see!

Autumnal views to the Gatehouse at Charlecote Park / Jana Eastwood

If you’re a keen nature photographer, you’ll also be a big fan of this season. Deer rutting, fungi blooming and leaves falling make wonderful subject matter. So it is an ideal time of year for a photography competition. Or perhaps two…

Our friends at Cotswold Outdoors have joined forces with National Trust in the Midlands for this seasonal competition.

All we ask of you is to share an autumnal shot with us on social media (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) and use the hashtags #NTMidlandsComp . Full terms and conditions are listed on the website and it is important you read them. The closing deadline for the competition is midnight 31.10.16.

YOUR BLOGS : A Hallowe’en visit from Little Pickle’s Mom

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. We LOVE reading your blog posts about visiting Charlecote. Not only is it lovely to hear your feedback, it is fascinating to see our special place through your eyes. It’s wonderful to see how you spend your time with us and what it is that makes Charlecote special to you.

This week Little Pickle’s Mom shared her visit with us.

We ventured to Charlecote Park, a gorgeous property just outside of Stratford upon Avon, known for its resident deer. It seemed we weren’t the only ones with the same idea as the car park was rammed – luckily, we quickly managed to grab the space from someone who was leaving. Score.

We took both the pram and our Beco Gemini baby carrier so we had options whilst we walked around (and we did end up using both!). We didn’t go in the house this visit as we thought it’d be a bit of a struggle with the pram and we just wanted to enjoy the gorgeous autumnal weather. Charlecote Park have set up a Hallow’een trail for the half term so even though it’s obviously aimed at children, we used Toby an excuse to follow it too!