Lasting Legacy

This weekend we visited Clumber Park- a National Trust property about 20 miles from home. Last week we had driven up but the park was closed because of the heavy snowfall. We have regularly visited the park over the last year, being especially interested in the walled garden which has been renovated and has a great range of fruit and vegetables. It also is one of the properties which has introduced bees to it's gardens.
As we drove through the park it was upsetting to see the extent of the damage - not just branches but whole trees had been broken down by the weight of the snow and ice.
The Cedar Walk has about 20 ancient cedar trees leading to the walled kitchen garden- they are amazing trees- or they were! The trees were completely devastated ,the crowns and branches split and cracked. Some clearing had already been started, but it looked as if some of the trees would not survive and have to be felled.

It occurred to me what would happen to the wood from the trees- the best beehives are made from cedar and I would hope that the National Trust may use the wood usefully-perhaps a sustainable lasting legacy. Hopefully the walk will be replanted but it will be many years before such a fine display will be seen again. So many trees destroyed may not be such an obvious consequence of the disruption caused by the present spell of bad weather but it is certainly one from which it will take along time to recover.