Our work in the Woolbeding countryside

A small church surrounded by trees in the rolling green hills of the Woolbeding Countryside — Woolbeding Church in the Woolbeding Countryside | © National Trust Images/Jo Hatcher

From livestock grazing to maintaining a historical field of lupins, our work in the Woolbeding countryside is all about creating a harmonious landscape for nature to thrive and people to enjoy.

Conservation grazing

One of the most effective and natural ways to maintain grassland and heathland habitats – as well as ensure the survival of rare and threatened wildlife – is to lightly graze cattle and sheep on the land.

A system of targeted grazing is used here whereby the cows and sheep graze a particular area for a short period before being moved to another spot. This cycle of grazing allows disturbed areas to exist alongside ungrazed patches, which leads to a greater diversity of habitats.

Allowing a variety of animals to graze in this way replicates how ancient wild species like European bison, tarpan (wild horse) and aurochs (wild ox) would have roamed across Europe thousands of years ago. Their different methods of grazing and disturbance would have created a complex mosaic of habitats.

How does it work?

Grazing animals are quite selective in what they eat. Sheep are more fussy than cows who eat a wider variety of common plant species, and it’s this that allows more delicate plants to grow, thereby increasing biodiversity.

A mixture of sheep and cattle is used at Woolbeding because of the different ways they remove and eat the vegetation. Cows use their tongues to graze, wrapping it around plants and grasses and pulling it up. Together with trampling the ground, this helps create a variety of different plant heights and micro habitats.

Sheep graze using their front teeth to cut the plants which creates a uniform height, often just above ground level. This means that using both sheep and cattle together leads to a greater diversity of plant heights and structure which, in turn, creates an ideal habitat for a wide range of plants, animals and insects.

How is it managed?

Both over grazing and under grazing can be damaging to habitats, so it’s quite a skill to ensure effective and beneficial grazing regimes. Here native breeds – Belted Galloways, Sussex cows and Southdown sheep – have been chosen for their hardiness to the climate as well as their eating habits. You can see where grazing is working well as there are more flowering plants along with the constant buzz of insects and birdsong in summer.

Traditional breeds

Belted Galloway cows

This is a very adaptable breed, originally from Galloway in Scotland, and very suited to being outdoors all year round. It has a thick undercoat and long wavy overcoat that sheds rain well, helping it survive in the wettest conditions. They do well on coarse grasses and eat a wide range of plants. They're a very attractive cow with its striking white belt. The original Galloway cow is all black and no one is certain how the white belt came about. It’s believed it resulted from crossing the ancient Galloway cow with the Dutch belted cow, the Lakenvelder.

Sussex cows

It’s thought that today’s breed of Sussex cow is descended directly from the red cattle that inhabited the Weald at the time of the Norman Conquest. They are a beautiful deep red chestnut colour their hair grows dense and wavy in winter, in contrast to their fine and sleek summer coat. They do well on low-quality vegetation and are happy being kept out all year.

Southdown sheep

This breed of sheep originates from the native sheep which have grazed the South Downs for hundreds of years. They first became established as a pure breed in the early 1800s. Today, they are the smallest British breed and considered to be a rare breed as numbers are relatively small. They have short, sturdy legs, a cream-coloured shortwool fleece and are known for their gentle temperament. Despite their small stature, they are a very hardy breed which means that they are quite happy to be out grazing on the hills all year round.

Not just grazing

Grazing alone is often only part of management needed to prevent scrub taking over. We also rely on volunteers to clear gorse, thorn and birch scrub that can quickly take over large areas.

Lupins at Terwick Church

Church field at Terwick is known for its annual display of colourful lupins. Due to the fragile nature of sandy soils found here in the Rother Valley, the field isn't suited to being ploughed to maintain the lupins. Instead, the field has become a wildflower meadow with lupins, providing a home for wildlife amongst the more formal and farmed surrounding landscape. The field is also noted for the presence of the nationally endangered spreading bellflower – a member of the Campanula family.

Careful management by the National Trust is required to ensure that native wild flowers continue to thrive here alongside the non-native lupins, in keeping with the local history of the field. The field is managed in a similar way to a hay meadow; a cut and collect mower is used to remove the plant biomass once the flowers have seeded. Each spring, with the help of volunteers, several hundred lupin plugs are planted. The young plants are protected from gastropods using wool from our sheep.

Take a stroll on the public footpath at the edge of the field to enjoy its tranquil beauty. If you are lucky, you might spot a harvest mouse darting in the undergrowth.

How did the lupins get here?

In 1938 Church Field was given to the National Trust by Mrs Jane Patterson Hodge who was fond of the display of Lupins the market garden offered each year. Lupins are maintained as part of the management of the field in her honour.