We are delighted to accept an offer for Blackwater Carr from the founders of The Benjamin Foundation. https://benjaminfoundation.co.uk/ The Benjamin Foundation is a Norfolk and Suffolk based charity creating positive outcomes for children, young people and families. It will be wonderful to see Blackwater Carr continue to go from strength to strength. We weeded the new wildflower areas and are so pleased to see how most of the wildflower plants are doing. It was good to see

Last month Steve and Sidney worked hard to upgrade the footbridge but the damp soil was heavy and made it impossible. Many thanks to Dan and Kay who came to help us next time. With all the hot weather the soil was much lighter and so was the foot bridge! It only took about 20 minutes and looks so much better. Steve got a new toy. It will make keeping the paths open so much easier! Currently we have been using a petrol walk behind lawnmower. Sidney and Paul, his dad, helped t

We were unable to stay at our usual place last time we were at the woodlands so we chose a houseboat on the River Ant. Steve loved it as he could fish from right beside the houseboat each morning before we set off to the woodlands and once again in the evening. He caught several fish, roach and perch. Vespa and I didn't enjoy it so much. Vespa found the slippery floor made it difficult for her to get up. I hated being bitten so badly by the vicious mosquitoes. It took days t

A trip to Kew Gardens had us discovering much about carbon capture. This was a plus as we had gone to see the Henry Moore sculptures. And then, just like magic, this appeared on Facebook! Garden Tips & Tricks · The size of a bee tells you whether it produces kilograms of honey, pollinates specific crops, or lives alone without a hive — and Britain is home to around 270 species of wild bees. 🐝 The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the only species that lives in large colonies. A

Some prospective buyers have expressed concern that looking after the woodlands might be challenging ir too difficult. The first advice we were given was not to try and do everything at once. That is the recipe for despair and discouragement. It is best to take on small projects and see the effect of what you have achieved. We come to the woodlands twice a month in the summer for two days. Usually we get away with once a month in the other seasons. There are big jobs like th

We were glad to have the shelter of the yurt with all the short but intensive hailstorms. It was great to hear the hail on the canvas roof. It reminded me of my childhood with the tin roof. Stirling work by Andretta, who came up from London to take over the jobs I couldn't do with my rotator cuff injury. Many, many thanks! Andretta dug out an area for planting native wildflower plants before helping to plant them. We continued the ongoing repairs of the bird hide. The path

It was lovely to see the woodlands coming alive in the Easter sunshine. We saw so many butterflies that we gave up counting. Comma, brimstone, peacock, painted lady, large white and small tortoiseshell. There were so many ladybirds resting on the skylight in the yurt. Ladybirds in the UK are vital garden predators, with 26 recognisable species (e.g., 7-spot, 2-spot) that feed on aphids and mildews. They undergo a four-stage life cycle, laying yellow eggs that hatch into al

Butterfly sightings are becoming increasingly common as the weather starts to warm up. But which ones are first on the scene? What you are most likely to see in early spring include: Peacock, from mid-February Small tortoiseshell, from the end of February Brimstone, from the start of March Comma, from the start of March Red admiral, from the start of March Small white, from the end of March We have already seen 4 peacocks and a small tortoiseshell. Steve also saw a shrew in t

Moss has been delighting in this weather and the intensity of the colour is extraordinary. The daffodils are up under the Oak tree. The hazel catkins make us realise Spring is getting clser. And last of all.... even in the rain the birds are singing.

I visited a David Nash exhibition in Wales and was blown away by his understanding of trees and wood. Of great interest was his "Ash Dome", a living art installation created by him. He planted 22 ash saplings in a ring in a secret location in Snowdonia, Wales, in 1977. Nash used techniques from British hedge-making to bend and train the trees as they grew, shaping them into a dome or vortex-like structure over decades. The artwork is intended to be a long-lived, ever-evolving

Even though the weather forecast was not optimistic we were very keen to sort out the bird hide. Mary had been very keen to get this done for some months but it always seemed to slip down the list. Luckily this time we had Jack Hiller who volunteered with us on Wednesday. We had to dodge the hailstorms.,...running back to the yurt to get dry and warm. We rapidly realised Jack must have been a boy scout and he still the skills he had learnt. Our daughter Lauren wanted photos s

While we can longer sleep in the yurt, It totally demonstrates its valuable and essential use on day like this. It has been agreed with the Broads Authority that while we will not longer sleep in the yurt, it stays on site and can be used for storage, shelter and research. Sadly it means we can no longer record night species. like the many moths we have identified. Too wet to do any work but it is wonderful to see how well our native dead hedge has grown over the years. We

We have been stewards of Blackwater Carr since 2019 and have loved it. Over this time we have met many knowledgeable and helpful people. We have really appreciated this. However, it is now time to move on to our next adventure! We are 6 years older than when we started. Some photos and videos to give you a sense and the purpose of the woodlands. Check Blackwater Carr for sale at Forests.co.uk for details. If you know anyone who might be looking for an exciting and rewarding

written by Charlie Moores September 2025 We need your help more than ever before. By taking part in Butterfly Conservation's Big...

We started the month doing the Big Butterfly Count with our friend Colin Heinink and his children. They loved spending time at the...

With such sunny weather this will be a great thing to do. The records enable the butterfly conservation to develop an accurate record of...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-ZzAuda8dU We have checked several times for the grass snakes now but still no luck. We googled to find...

We were in need of some blacksmith services for the woodlands so we contacted Tom Boyd in Wymondham. https://www.tomboydblacksmith.co.uk...

The hawthorn is looking quite spectacular in the sunshine. A memory from 2023. A baby muntjac right beside the track, left there by...

As an inveterate reader I scour the local charity shops for books. I came across this book. by Roger Deakin named Wildwood. We had been...