WORK has started on an ambitious project to restore and revive Croft Castle's Fishpool Valley.

The owners of the site, the National Trust, is aiming to restore the area over the next five years after a decline in management of the landscape during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries led to the dams and features within the valley to fall into a poor state of repair.

Sensitive thinning by experienced conservation foresters has started in the valley, with the next phase of work commencing in February.

They have experience working with protected species which is particularly important as part of the valley is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its bird life, aquatic plants and lichens, as well as protected species of bat and the endangered white clawed crayfish.

Thinning will continue in stages, avoiding the bat hibernation and bird nesting seasons, while secondary tree clearance will open up lost Picturesque vistas and improve the diversity of the woodland structure and enable other species to thrive by increasing light levels in the valley.

As well as conservation work, Polyolbion Archaeology and a team of dedicated National Trust volunteers carried out initial phases of archaeological investigation during the summer; mysterious built structures, cascades and spillways were unearthed, helping the team to piece together a clearer picture of the landscape as it would have looked during its origins in the late eighteenth century.

One of the most significant discoveries was the remains of a built structure, comprising of stone walls and surmounted by traces of a shallow barrel vaulted brick ceiling; its original purpose is yet to be discovered.

Visit nationaltrust.org.uk/croft-castle-and-parkland for more information.