Winter has left its mark…

 

At this time of year, after a long winter, I crave the comfort of the Tweed to cast a line. It seems far too long since I checked my fishing bag but it’s a good opportunity this weekend to reassess what I have and what I need for the oncoming season.

It has been a strange winter in the borders. The Milne Graden ‘microclimate’ is having increasingly intense summers and fierce winters. Alongside a number of other estates east of Kelso, we were torn to shreds by the savage storms, particularly Arwen back in November.

Most of the damage that we saw at Milne Graden was up at the top of the bank near the main house and down the driveways however there were some large aged trees that were heartbreakingly pulled down close to the river bank. Luckily my favourite, sprawling heartening oak still stands resolute next to the little bridge alongside Milne Graden burn. I can see his roots must be aching as they have been wrenched by the winds.

 

My favourite oak stands resolute on the bank of the river.

Milne Graden is embarking on a rigorous tree planting scheme to ensure that the estates future continues to respectfully prioritise it’s landscape as an integral part of this magical place. We have identified a total of 100 large scale specimen trees have heartbreakingly come to their end due to Arwen, however there is a great opportunity to mark a new era in 2022 with a robust landscape programme that I’m sure will put Milne Graden in the best position to face the next chapter of it’s exciting lifetime.

Littlehaugh Fishing Shiel roof was badly damaged as the storm’s severity caused a huge tree next to the parking bay to be totally uprooted, crashing down scraping the side of the hut. Scaffolding and meticulous repair work has now sorted this out, so it is all ‘singing and dancing’ for the fisherman for the oncoming season.