Wildlife and biodiversity

The landscapes and gardens surrounding Landmarks are really important and their biodiversity often reflects the original design and purpose of these places, some with rare flora and fauna around them.

We carefully manage these landscapes to maintain their historical significance and for the enjoyment of guests. We control and remove invasive plants, replace trees when they are at the end of their life, and manage hedgerows and shrubs to provide good habitats. We have adjusted our mowing regimes at many sites, including Gurney Manor, Woodspring Priory and Llwyn Celyn, to provide grasses at different heights, leaving some areas a bit wilder to allow more natural growth, and it has been exciting to see butterflies, bees and grasshoppers appear.

Increasing biodiversity 

We have selected several Landmarks around the country that offer more potential for increasing biodiversity and where we can trial approaches that could then be adopted elsewhere. At Knowle Hill, The Warren House, Obriss Farm, Saddell Castle, Monkton Old Hall, Crownhill Fort and Dunshay Manor we are working with ecologists and staff to measure what we have there now and identify measures we can take to create and enhance habitats in those landscapes.

Adapting plans to accommodate wildlife

At new Landmarks, ecological surveys inform the programme before we undertake any restoration work, often meaning that we adapt our plans to accommodate wildlife, such as roosting bats, nesting owls, crested newts or foraging badgers.

We adjusted the restoration programme of the Llwyn Celyn site when a colony of lesser horseshoe bats, a rare and protected species, was found in the farmhouse. We converted the cider barn into bespoke bat-friendly accommodation, and work on the main building only resumed once they had adapted to their new home. Llwyn Celyn also held an extensive hedge planting programme, to create a rich environment for wildlife and to develop native species.

We will continue to manage our landscapes to better foster biodiversity and nature conservation.

How you can help 

If you’d like to continue supporting our mission to reduce our environmental footprint, please consider donating to The Greener Landmark Fund, which is dedicated to helping fulfil our commitment to adapt to climate change. With a donation of £50, we can plant a new tree at a Landmark.