Fishpool Valley will be closed while we undertake this felling work, from Monday 2 November 2020 to the end of March 2021. The rest of the parkland will remain open while this area is closed, including the ancient tree walk, the Croft Ambrey walk and the Pokehouse Wood walk; please head to our What's On page to book your tickets before you visit. Public footpaths through the valley will reopen from Friday 26 February.
Some areas of selective felling work will be undertaken around the main drive and the castle, however most of this work will be done whilst the site is closed. There may be some
instances where pathways will be closed to ensure the felling work can be undertaken safely, however diversion signs will be in place in these areas.
Ash dieback, or ‘chalara’ is an Asian fungal disease which spread to the British countryside from imported trees carrying the infection six years ago. The progress of the disease is rapid, since the fungal spores can be carried by the wind for many miles. We don’t yet know what the full impact of the disease will be in Britain but it seems likely to affect up to 95% of our ash trees.
In areas that are away from public footpaths and high visitor usage areas, we're leaving ash trees standing to find out which specimens display tolerance to the disease, and then let them reproduce.