Maintenance tasks at Dunham Massey on Sunday 9th February 2025

Today was our first workday at Dunham since 15th October 2023, because of ranger changes and Dunham reducing the opportunities for volunteers to help with estate work.

The weather was cold but dry so it was a very busy day at Dunham with lots of family groups and dogs.

The first task of the day for the nine-strong group of MNTVers was to give some TLC to the oldest tree on the estate.  This ‘veteran’ oak is about 500 years old and because it’s at the main entrance to the estate it gets a lot of attention from visitors.  So we spent about 90 mins spreading mulch in the surrounding area.  This will protect the roots and also provide nutrition.

Not much change to the scene but hopefully the work we did will help our ‘veteran’ survive another hundred years.

The next 90 mins was spent clearing out the cobbled edging to the path by the mill. 

This was another basic job but it will reduce the chances of the path flooding.

It was a short day due to reduced Ranger availability and both of today’s tasks were routine maintenance jobs. But that’s what keeps a National Trust property running.

Jean