AT Dudmaston Hall we have just witnessed what seems to have been the quickest six months of the year.
We closed our gates to you, except for a couple of specific events, on September 29 and are soon set to re-open.
So what, we hear you say, have you been doing? Have you had a nice rest? You might well ask.
Planning for the new season began in about June last year when a number of property business planning meetings were held giving everyone on the property the chance to come up with ideas and air their views on how things could be better.
This includes taking on board the ideas that you give us through completing comment cards and our visitor surveys.
One of the first jobs we undertook, as soon as we closed, was arranging for our shop to be moved, lock, stock and barrel onto Bridgnorth High Street.
A mammoth task, undertaken by a team of just 10 people and all completed and ready for opening in just one week!
Of course we knew it was only temporary, and there we were again in January making sure it was all back at Dudmaston.
Thankfully we had a bit more time to put it back together, ensuring it was open for our Snowdrop Walks in February. Our dedicated team of volunteers have been coming into the house regularly to help with its deep clean.
Amongst other things this involves taking the books out of the library and, whilst wearing motorised dust removal machines (it did look at one point as though jet packs were standard issue), ensuring any dust and debris is removed to help keep them in good condition.
The rangers have been working incredibly hard too: not only did they get completely inundated with logs orders following our advert in the High Street, but alongside ‘getting on with the day job’ of tree planting etc. they have also created a new parking area at the property, as we have decided that the orchard is a wonderful place for people to relax, play games and have a picnic and not to park their cars.
But that’s not all; they had a few spare hours to kill, and spent this designing our new play area.
It was originally planned that they would also be making the equipment themselves, but unfortunately due to a fire in the workshop this became impossible.
Not to be deterred however, the plans have continued, equipment has been ordered, and they are in the process of undertaking a major assembly and installation project (you’ve not witnessed flat pack until you see large scale play equipment that needs assembling).
Not to be outdone by our rangers, the gardeners have undertaken the task of creating our new kitchen garden. This area, originally a domestic garden, has been ripped, stripped, filled, drilled and completely transformed.
Whilst keeping some of the key plants that were already in the garden, such as a beautiful twisted hazel, raised beds have been created and filled with 40 tonnes of top soil.
On top of this 50 tonnes of stone has been laid by hand (with the help of lots of wheelbarrow trips and many aching arms), making the area accessible to all. A family of lavender bantams have moved in and the beds have begun to be planted.
With the lovely spring weather we are finally having the whole area is really starting to come to life. Our tearoom will soon be tempting visitors to taste our home grown fruit and vegetables in its delicious recipes. Of course we couldn’t just stop at keeping the tearoom that everyone knows, so a new Stable Cafe has been created in the stable courtyard.
This is situated by the Eternity Gates which lead you into the gardens, so you can sit and enjoy tea and cake whilst enjoying the sights of what the garden has to offer.
Whilst all this work has been ongoing we’ve had to look at what you might like to do when you get here.
Other than taking a walk around Big Pool, rolling down the terraces and taking a trip around the modern art galleries, you may be calling out for more. Our events, therefore, are planned with you in mind; we want to give you something you can enjoy.
It would be easy to repeat the same events year after year, but that’s not us, so other than a couple of really popular events (such as our dragonfly walks) we’ve come up with a completely new programme to tempt you.
So what do you think, have we been having a rest?
With all the above coupled with the creation of a new visitor reception building and second-hand bookshop; the re-display of the Botanical and Costume Galleries; dealing with numerous burst pipes following the winter freeze; the recruitment of new staff for the season (and their training); welcoming guests to our holiday cottages and basecamp; and all the other work that goes on in the background to make sure its ‘alright on the night’, it certainly doesn’t feel like we have.
However, we’re all passionate about what we do here, so it’s all been worth it if you enjoy the changes we’ve made.
We hope you have a really special visit to Dudmaston this year and look forward to welcoming you soon!
Working on the new children’s play area at Dudmaston are (from left) Adam Stirling, Mike Annis, Rob Speed and Richard Channing. Picture: Martyn Farnell