An interesting and thought provoking exchange of emails with Friends of the Lake District:
Dear Sirs
I was a member of your organisation until 3 yrs ago when I temporarily moved to Scotland. I was considering re joining now I have returned to Oxenholme but have been so disappointed with the way you are using your land at the back of our lovely Helm.
In 2009 I spent an idyllic summer photographing the many insects that were living on and using the tarn which is on your land.
I am attaching a few of the photos I took of the many damselflies and dragonflies that inhabited it.As you may know they release their eggs into the mud and reeds in water.
There was a coot nesting on the tarn and several swallows used it as a food source. It was a thriving centre for wildlife -full of noise and activity.
Whilst living in Scotland I have returned to Oxenholme regularly and always made a point of walking over the Helm and looked forward to revisiting the Tarn and all its inhabitants--unfortunately I was shocked to discover that the ponies and cattle you have allowed to graze on your land are destroying it !!
The Tarn has been trampled over and has very little water in it -just a muddy mess and I am not sure if any dragonfly eggs or reeds could survive such abuse-I certainly have not seen any of the beautiful creatures since 2009.
I also remember the abundance of wild flowers which were growing there especially the harebells and foxgloves---I dont recall seeing any of these since 2009 either !
Their destruction has not been limited to the Tarn---I used to marvel at two hawthorns which grew opposite each other on either side of one of the paths above the tarn--walking through them was akin to stepping through a mystical portal---one of these is now sadly uprooted with black horsehair hanging off its branches as evidence.
What used to be a really beautiful and uplifting walk has now turned into an upsetting one- I am an animal lover but find it hard to relax when I know I might come across unpredictable horses or cattle especially when my dog is runnung free .And I also dread seeing any further damage.
Would it not be possible to restrict the horses and cattle to the lower part of your land thus enabling the tarn to recover and for us dogwalkers to amble in peace ???
I look forward to your response.
Halina (Lizzii) Nicholas
Dear Halina
Many thanks for your email and lovely photos and apologies for the delay in replying. I am sorry that you are unhappy with the Helm, Friends of the Lake District bought it to enable local people to enjoy it and it is never nice to get emails from local people who do not like how it looks.
I do agree with you that the pond looks different and I do agree that the livestock are having an impact on it. However, the levels are also being affected by the fact that in summer 2012, during a very heavy rain storm, part of the outflow to the pond was washed away. The pond is not natural, it was dug by the previous owners in the 1950’s and so has to have a dam to keep the water ponded back.
Friends of the Lake District was successful in joining a government funded conservation scheme called Higher Level Stewardship in 2011. This means that if we do certain things for conservation we get some payment towards these things. This includes tree planting, looking after the dry stone walls and trying to increase the wild flowers there. The scheme is run by Natural England and one of the conditions was that we do not graze sheep, but move to rare breed ponies and also cows. So this is why we changed the grazing, as well as wanting to support a local rare breed. The livestock have to have access to water and so we can’t fence the livestock out.
As I say I’m sorry that you’re not happy with the pond and I am continuing to keep an eye on it.
Friends of the Lake District works very hard on the Helm, allowing people access on what was previously private land. We are happy that dog walkers come and enjoy the Helm and ask in return that dogs are kept under control, as part of the Countryside Code.
Many thanks for your interest in the Helm, regards Judith.
Judith Moore
Policy Officer
Dear Halina,
Thank you
for your e-mail sharing the communication you have had with the Friends of the
Lake District regarding the Helm and their environmental stewardship scheme. I
have had a discussion
with them and arranged
to visit their land in
a few months time.
Best
Regards,
Nigel J. Pilling
I too have been concerned about the decline in
bees, butterflies, moths and dragonflies on the eastern side of the Helm. Since
the horses have come on the Helm they seem to have redcued the flowers such as
harebells which used to grow in great swathes across the hillside and they seem
to have devastated around the tarn eating the reeds and the dogrose in the
centre of the tarn. I am aware that horses are used for grazing for
conservation but as far as I understand this is only at certain times of year
and the land can be left during summer months to allow the grasses and flowers
to grow. I hope that the Friends of the Lake District will consider the
wildlife more closely in future grazing patterns on the fells.
Alice Fleming
Dear Sirs
I was a member of your organisation until 3 yrs ago when I temporarily moved to Scotland. I was considering re joining now I have returned to Oxenholme but have been so disappointed with the way you are using your land at the back of our lovely Helm.
In 2009 I spent an idyllic summer photographing the many insects that were living on and using the tarn which is on your land.
I am attaching a few of the photos I took of the many damselflies and dragonflies that inhabited it.As you may know they release their eggs into the mud and reeds in water.
There was a coot nesting on the tarn and several swallows used it as a food source. It was a thriving centre for wildlife -full of noise and activity.
Whilst living in Scotland I have returned to Oxenholme regularly and always made a point of walking over the Helm and looked forward to revisiting the Tarn and all its inhabitants--unfortunately I was shocked to discover that the ponies and cattle you have allowed to graze on your land are destroying it !!
The Tarn has been trampled over and has very little water in it -just a muddy mess and I am not sure if any dragonfly eggs or reeds could survive such abuse-I certainly have not seen any of the beautiful creatures since 2009.
I also remember the abundance of wild flowers which were growing there especially the harebells and foxgloves---I dont recall seeing any of these since 2009 either !
Their destruction has not been limited to the Tarn---I used to marvel at two hawthorns which grew opposite each other on either side of one of the paths above the tarn--walking through them was akin to stepping through a mystical portal---one of these is now sadly uprooted with black horsehair hanging off its branches as evidence.
What used to be a really beautiful and uplifting walk has now turned into an upsetting one- I am an animal lover but find it hard to relax when I know I might come across unpredictable horses or cattle especially when my dog is runnung free .And I also dread seeing any further damage.
Would it not be possible to restrict the horses and cattle to the lower part of your land thus enabling the tarn to recover and for us dogwalkers to amble in peace ???
I look forward to your response.
Halina (Lizzii) Nicholas
Dear Halina
Many thanks for your email and lovely photos and apologies for the delay in replying. I am sorry that you are unhappy with the Helm, Friends of the Lake District bought it to enable local people to enjoy it and it is never nice to get emails from local people who do not like how it looks.
I do agree with you that the pond looks different and I do agree that the livestock are having an impact on it. However, the levels are also being affected by the fact that in summer 2012, during a very heavy rain storm, part of the outflow to the pond was washed away. The pond is not natural, it was dug by the previous owners in the 1950’s and so has to have a dam to keep the water ponded back.
Friends of the Lake District was successful in joining a government funded conservation scheme called Higher Level Stewardship in 2011. This means that if we do certain things for conservation we get some payment towards these things. This includes tree planting, looking after the dry stone walls and trying to increase the wild flowers there. The scheme is run by Natural England and one of the conditions was that we do not graze sheep, but move to rare breed ponies and also cows. So this is why we changed the grazing, as well as wanting to support a local rare breed. The livestock have to have access to water and so we can’t fence the livestock out.
As I say I’m sorry that you’re not happy with the pond and I am continuing to keep an eye on it.
Friends of the Lake District works very hard on the Helm, allowing people access on what was previously private land. We are happy that dog walkers come and enjoy the Helm and ask in return that dogs are kept under control, as part of the Countryside Code.
Many thanks for your interest in the Helm, regards Judith.
Judith MoorePolicy Officer
Dear Judith
Thankyou for your reply to my e-mail.
In response can I say that I am very happy with the Helm---I
have lived here for 20 yrs and use it daily for dog walking , jogging ,
photography etc and am very grateful to be able to do so. What I am not happy
about is your management of the back of it---I trust you haven't bought the
entirety?
I noticed yesterday that the horses were again paddling in
the tarn, nibbling the vegetation in the centre -the wild dogrose-and making a
muddy mess of it. Surely the several species of dragonflies that inhabited the
tarn three years ago should be part of your conservation plan ?--and I cant see
how you are going to encourage the wild flowers to grow if they will be eaten
and trampled over ?!
If the sorry state of the pond is partly due to the loss of
a dam then can it not be rebuilt because is the tarn not an integral part of
your land ??
I see also that one of your kissing gates is being nibbled
by the horses -you will soon have to replace that.
I look forward to your response.
Halina Nicholas
Dear Halina
Many thanks for your positive comments about how you enjoy the
Helm. As I said in my earlier email I am keeping an eye on the pond as I do the
rest of the Helm. I have been in contact with someone over the dam and I
will have to see what comes of that.
Many thanks again, Judith
Comments:
I want to commend the Friends for all that they
have done to open up the eastern flank of helm. Yes, there are some changes to
features there which may have been enjoyed by some but on balance the changes
have been to the great benefit of us all. Would that the western flanks of Helm
were only half as well managed; this area is becoming a degraded car-park and
joy riders's paradise with litter all too frequent. Allied to the smashed
cattle grids and verges, Helm is becoming a bit of an eyesore. Can nothing be
done?
Martin Jayne
Alice Fleming