Early on we decided we wanted to create a wildflower meadow. Initially our inner grand designers thought that would be on the Top Grazing - an area of about four and a half acres. We soon realised that this was a tad ambitious. Instead we chose an area beside the North-east Strip - a more modest and therefore manageable size. One we had dedicated the space, we fenced it in Autumn 2014 with splendid and indefatigable help from Robbie, who lived down the road, whose wielding of a 14 pound mell is wondrous to behold. Clare's son Hal and daughter-in-law Beth offered a day to complete this work in November. We had a generous offer of assistance from an acquaintance who helped us get started with the planting, but unfortunately we realised that our intentions were at cross purposes and we have gone it alone since then. We have also identified and separately fenced a small damp area within the meadow for the more wet-loving species.

There were already flowers on the meadow patch, however we knew that to give wildflowers the best chance it would be great to get Yellow Rattle (which is semi-parasitic on grass) established. Assistance was provided by the Exmoor ponies whose small sharp hooves cut ideal seed slots. We used these for Yellow Rattle seed and gradually it is spreading over large areas of the meadow. By a combination of collecting, purchasing and being given both wildflower seeds and plugs, and surrendering the vegetable patch at home for a nursery, the meadow is coming along nicely with Clare recording over 30 wildflower species over 2017. Naomi Waite, Meadow Officer for the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, visited in May 2016 and found that we had a patch of Adder’s Tongue Fern which, while not rare, is a bit special! 

In 2016 Clare waged war on the Creeping Thistle population and painstakingly filled 40 bags (approx 100 thistles per bag) of the offending plant. She continues her vigilance, pouncing on any new sighting and the evidence would seem to suggest that their surrender is anticipated soon.

Conventional wisdom advocates that wildflower meadows should be cut once the flowers have set seed, the hay removed and then grazed off. So in 2016, without watching a single episode of Poldark, Clare decided she wanted to try her hand at scything. Choir friend Nick demonstrated the art and Clare took up the challenge, soon realising that scything the whole meadow might be a cut too far. We borrowed our friend Barry’s topper and gathered hay into dumpies. 

In 2017, we upped our game, inviting help from two local farmers who cut, turned and baled, leaving only the margins and awkward areas for Clare to run amok with her scythe. 19 small bales filled the newly constructed hay shed and will hopefully last the ponies the winter. At the Bellingham Show that year, Clare recognised how her life had changed - rather that seeking out the cake stall or cheese-producers, she bought raffle tickets to win a Grey Fergie tractor and was seriously disappointed not to win.

We have used sheep and latterly ponies for grazing after cutting.

The meadow has been extraordinarily hard work but extremely rewarding. Whilst neither of us are trumpeters, we do feel that the Meadow is one of our successes and we look forward to continuing with the work.

We also realise we need to take more photographs of the meadow and its flowers!