May 2016 A plan and a start is made

The plan for restoration of the fountain area has to be a limited one. There is no question of restoring the area to the formal and elegant rose gardens of years gone by, both on grounds of expense and the sheer labour required.  A more realistic plan would be to restore the fountain as far as possible, to re-establish access paths and to enhance the wildlife potential of the area. The aim could be to create a peaceful and attractive area, with seating, to bring this historic feature of the estate back to life once more.
The work done by Sir Edward has cleared the overgrown and fallen trees, and cut back the ivy that was strangling many of the existing trees, but the task in March 2016 was a daunting one: the whole area was covered in nettles, ivy and debris from the felling, such that it was difficult to approach the fountain at all. Although the fallen trees had been taken off the fountain itself, it was filled with many years of leaf litter, and the surrounding stones were extensively damaged and dislodged, both by tree and ivy growth and by the huge machines used for felling and removing the timber.

The fountain in March 2016, surrounded by undergrowth. The  cherubs and dolphins revealed!

 Overcoming the regrowth of weeds will be a continual problem, and an early task was to clear the area for three metres around the fountain, and cover it with plastic sheeting for six months so that a surrounding path can be remade in 2017, probably using wood chippings as a surface. This in turn allowed access to the fountain pond itself and to the surrounding stonework.

Plastic sheeting to inhibit weed growth once the area had been cleared.