Temporary car park and reserve closure at Greylake and hide closure at Swell Wood

Hi Everyone, 

Just a quick update about the reserve closure coming up next week at Greylake. There will be no access to the Greylake car park or the reserve itself from 5 pm on Sunday 28 January until 9 am on Tuesday 30 January. 

On Monday 29th January the reserve team and a contractor will be pollarding the willows around the picnic area and the entrance gateway. The contractor will be bringing in a 360 slew to crop the trees while staff and volunteers will be chipping brash into tractor trailers which they will be maneuvering around the car park. They hope to have all of the work done by the end of the day Monday so that the reserve and car park will be open again on Tuesday.  

Why are we pollarding? Basically:

• to prolong the life of the tree by keeping it in a partially juvenile state and produce new growth on rotation
• mature trees tend to be top heavy, therefore more susceptible to windblown
• Somerset levels practice to pollard willows, so keeping within the landscape
• Light is allowed to reach the ground therefore encouraging other ground flora
• The cut wood is used for fuel – sustainability

The hide at Swell Wood will also be closed for the whole of February as we did last year. This is to give the herons some space to establish territories and build nests without disturbance. Hopefully like last year this will encourage many of the herons to set up close to the hide providing everyone who visits with a great spectacle. 

Sorry for any inconvenience caused by these closures. If you have any questions for comments please email greylake@rspb.org.uk 

Thank you, 

Abbie