The chipper attached to the garden tractor (kindly donated by The New Horizons Trust) has been very helpful in using up the brushwood left over from pollarding the willows. The chippings are used as a mulch for new trees and to make muddy footpaths safer.

For the past three seasons, cattle have grazed the meadow after the July hay cut. This is the traditional use of the meadow and it helps to keep the grass fertile. Two calves were born on the meadow in 1999.

The meadow floods nearly every winter, sometimes three or four times. This is good for the pasture and may bring wildflower seeds from up river.

Dog walkers may not be pleased with the floods, but some dogs are very determined!

Not many visitors take the opportunity to visit the Hurst at dawn.

A frosty morning by the river Thame.  The river bank on the left is fringed by willows, with the oak tree in the distance.

Winter sun lighting Dorchester Abbey.  The Abbey framed in hoar frost in the winter of 2001

The hawthorn and willows give a fine display near the river Thame, set off by the buttercups and cow parsley.

Click here to eThe buttercups have improved each year and now cause great pleasure in spring and summer. Several varieties are present, including the meadow buttercup, the bulbous buttercup, and the creeping buttercup (see species list).dit.

The culvert over the old flood drain is the lowest part of the meadow and often floods. Volunteers have built up the parapets (using surplus electricity poles) and plan to raise the level of the public footpath.

The meadow is crossed by an old flood drain along which there are several hawthorns. Two English oaks have been planted.

This old black poplar is past its prime and has needed tree surgery. It still looks impressive in spring and summer. Two more black poplars have been planted and one has seeded.

By keeping the footpaths mown, walking is easier and pedestrians tend to keep to the path and not harm the wildflowers.

This picture shows the top of the avenue by the river Thame, known as “the slips”. Dogs keep to the footpaths too – until they see a squirrel!

After the July hay cut, cattle graze the meadow to improve the quality of the grassland. In 1999, the numbers increased by two.

The hay is cut and turned in mid July, after the wildflowers have seeded. Volunteers have virtually eradicated the ragwort and kept the thistles under control.