Of the 33 acres of ground at Gliffaes a good deal of it is planted over with trees. A lot of this is on steep sloping ground where we are starting to thin out the hazel and sycamore which has been badly damaged by squirrels over the years. This will let the light in to the forest floor, encourage woodland flowers and give more space for the bigger trees. However, the most wonderful feature of our garden is the the truly magnificent collection of mature trees both native and exotic, broadleaf and confier. It is clear to see that over the last 400 years successive owners of the property have carefully considered their tree planting. This was very true of my late father-in-law, Nick Brabner who planted hundreds of trees and nurtured many of the specimens along their way to maturity.
Behind me in the photograph is part of a strip of woodland which was planted by Nick as part of a nationwide Millenium tree planting scheme. A three quarter mile long strip of both specimen and native trees was planted. Not many of the specimen trees survived, but enough to make the planting still interesting. It has been my task over the winter to begin thinning out the first stretch of this woodland. So far I have removed about 6 tons of timber which we will split and store for the fires in the hotel.
Susie and I are determined to carry on with Nick’s planting and careful nurturing of the trees at Gliffaes. We have enlisted the help of arboriculturist, Steve Clark, to develop a plan for the existing trees, help us with ideas for what else to plant and to help us create a ‘tree walk’. We would like guests to be able to take themselves around the grounds and discover more about the magnificent trees as well as us showing small interested groups around the Gliffaes trees. This is still very much work in progress. If you are interested in a tour of the trees then do please get in touch with Susie or I.
The age of that oak tree I am sitting on? 190 years old approximately.
The huge Lucombe Oak at Gliffaes