Rewilding project in the Cotswolds
Rewilding at Calcot & Spa
Green shoots....
We are blessed in this part of the Cotswold's to be surrounded by an abundance of nature and wonderful open spaces - right on our own green doorstep (of over 240 acres) over a period of the last 25 years slowly nature has been given the space to "rewild" through wildflower planting and organic farming practices. More recently in 2012 the planting of over 21,930 native trees and the creation of a new woodland area brought excited news of an increasing number of rare and endangered farmland birds spotted within our grounds as well as an abundance of butterflies, moths and wildflowers.
Spring 2023 we planted around 800 hedgerow plugs of native hawthorn, blackthorn and crab apple and have plans for planting over 250 trees later this year....watch this green space for more details...
Meet our rewilding champion
As the nature around us has been given the space to flourish, our Groundsman Steve and the Calcot team continue their mission to enhance the project further by creating and sustaining this opportunity for a better connection of the wildlife on our doorstep and to encourage our guests to explore and enjoy our wild space.
What's the buzz?
We checked in new guests in 2022 - two hives of beautiful Chew Valley bees who have enjoyed the abundance of wild flowers and hedgerow to feed on throughout the summer months on our nature trail surrounding Calcot. In September we were absolutely delighted with our first honey harvest - our wonderful bees produced the most delicious Calcot honey....pure autumn gold! We're welcoming 2 more hives in May this year....we're buzzing for this years harvest!
Seasonal tips
We're enjoying the lighter, warmer and brighter days now that spring is underway. We have been busy putting up more bird feeders for the spring breeding season....we've added a new owl box and have our finger crossed for owlets. A short eared owl has been spotted on our land as well as a pair of Barn owls so we're hopeful!. The welcoming sound of skylarks is back in vocal abundance at Calcot as well as the call of many birds of prey including Kestrel and Red Kite. The blossom is already putting on a show around the grounds and the green shoots of spring are in abundance..... Our resident hedgehogs are now very active and with the warmer days a water source is key for them right now. We've put an extra order in for bird seed to keep our feathered guests happy too.