We have just completed our second induction day for volunteers to our Ada Woodland Restoration project on the edge of Ashley Combe where Ada and William took their honeymoon in 1835 and then used it as their summer residence. This is being run in conjunction with the land owners, the Exmoor National Park Authority. And each visit reveals previously forgotten gems from Ada and husband William King’s original landscape design.
On this second session, we discovered the wealth of the original dry stone walling they had commissioned to edge their drives through the woods to Culbone. Many of the walls have become overgrown and sections damaged by tree roots and slippage, but there are still some wonderful intact moss-covered sections.
Volunteers starting to repair the characteristic Exmoor walling
Fortunately, among our volunteers we have skilled dry stone wallers, who are drawing up plans for the restoration of some of the damaged sections. This will be part of a wider restoration that will include scrub clearance, path restoration and the planting of species trees and shrubs originally chosen by Ada and William in the 1830s and 1840s.
If you are interested in joining our volunteer group, please contact [email protected]