Hever Castle welcomes new additions to Lake Walk

May 24 2016 | Garden

Sheep on lake walk – enriching wildlife in Kent

The gardens at Hever are a great place to experience the wildlife in Kent and if you have taken a Lake Walk wander recently, then you may have noticed there are some new additions to the grounds, sheep!

The sheep belong to a local farmer and there all sorts of varieties here at Hever – suffolks, zwartbles, mules and texels amongst many others. The farmer who owns the sheep has actually saved many of them, whom would otherwise have been undesirable to other sheep farmers.

As the recent winter has been so wet and mild, the sheep have done an excellent job of keeping the grass in check. It has been too wet to mow, so the sheep’s gentle nibbling has done a world of good for the grass; as a direct result the displays of daffodils and bluebells on 16 acre island are looking more vibrant than ever before.

The sheep on Lake Walk will be moved off of the Estate to allow the wild flowers to flourish over the summer months and will return to mowing services next autumn. You can also spot grass snakes, mandarin ducks and of course our ever popular resident ducks and swans.

At this time, please may we remind dog owners to keep dogs on leads throughout the Estate. 26 sheep were recently killed near Edenbridge by a dog, so the importance to keep dogs controlled cannot be stressed enough. If you would like to find out more about our policy towards dogs, click here.

Explore wildlife in Kent at Hever and see what other animals you can spot on your Lake Walk wander.