Low Fell is our largest site and biggest project to date. 158 acres of upland heath that has been grazed by sheep for a very long time. Our first task (winter 2021) was to replace 1.5km of fencing so that we can control the grazing access the sheep currently have. We are no fan of fencing and have been removing it on our Bassenthwaite site, but here it’s essential to ensure the landscape is allowed to recover and return to scrub.
Due to the size and variety of landscape we will be implementing a range of planting and projects. Ranging from blanket bog enhancement, mire restoration, willow copses along water courses, and a variety of scrub and tree planting so that we create a mosaic of open landscape and treed areas.
A pilot scheme of scrub planting of 20,000 hawthorn, rowan, willow and birch started in the winter of 2021/22. These will be planted as dense clusters covering only a small fraction of the fell. After assessment of these areas over the next coming seasons a more detailed plan to introduce more planting will be undertaken with the aim to complete the project in 10 years.
The completed vision is of a landscape made up of a mosaic of native scrub, tree and heath species that can self-maintain and naturally regenerate.
