Berridon Hall

Following another busy year we are pleased that AirB&B have awarded us Superhost status. Many thanks to them and to our visitors that have given us so many good and kind reviews

Views of our Millennium Avenue which, being Ash Trees, are now threatened by disease

"I'll take it from here!"

There are many reasons to visit Berridon. There's something for everyone! ;-)

The donkeys enjoying a peaceful summers day!

Today, 28th June 2016, is the twentieth anniversary of our taking on the Berridon Hall Project. It looks a bit different now but there is still a lot to do!!

Our two donkeys, Holly and Jamie, came to us in October 2015 from Mr & Mrs Stevens, breeders in Bideford.
Holly is now nearly three years old whilst Jamie is just under two. They were together in the field when we went to look at them for the first time and seem to be inseparable.
For some weeks they have been in need of a hoof trim.
... Of course this is a routine procedure but the donkeys do not know that and will resist the farrier's attention until they are used to it.
Following a most useful site visit from the Donkey Sanctuary's Welfare Adviser, Alison Beck, we were able to calm the donkeys sufficiently for the farrier, Simon Galloway, to carry out the trim. They are clearly more comfortable for it.
The Donkey Sanctuary is located near Sidmouth in Devon and is well worth a visit.
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Over the 37 acres there are one or two trees and they sometimes need a little attention.
When we took over the Berridon Estate in 1996 there were two large Fir trees that had "stag heads" similar to the one photographed; being a length of dead wood at the top of the tree. This is quite common with mature parkland trees that have grown to a certain height and then either been struck by lightning or suffered an environmental change, such as building / land drainage work nearby.... About ten years ago we took the stag heads off two large Fir trees on the estate with the "before" picture showing how much the one beside the Chalet, Brentvale, has grown since. The recent work by Lee and Josh of South West Tree Care based in Chilsworthy, shown as the "after" picture, has taken the tree back to slightly below the previous pruning level. The other tree made a spectacular recovery from its pruning ten years ago and is pictured as it is now, perhaps bigger than ever.
Lee and Josh are available at southwesttreecare1@hotmail.com or 07760456474.
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This is Wilson making himself familiar with the controls of a dumper truck we recently hired.

Our spectacular rhododendrons at the top of the drive.