Saltby Farms are thrilled to tell you that The Woodland Trust has chosen us as the site for one of their “Diamond Woods”.
To celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s historic 2012 Diamond Jubilee, the Woodland Trust is helping millions of people across the UK to come together to plant 6 million trees.
With Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal as Patron, the Jubilee Woods project aims to create hundreds of Jubilee Woods and 60 special Diamond Woods, transforming our landscape in a generation and providing a lasting and meaningful tribute for many years to come. This includes the Trust’s exciting new flagship Diamond Wood in the heart of The National Forest in Leicestershire, a haven for wildlife and a wonderful monument to Her Majesty, open for all to enjoy.
We hope neighbours, communities, schools and families will come together to plant thousands of individual trees in their gardens, playgrounds and community spaces – each taking the chance to mark this special moment in history in a way that will stay with them forever. Schools and community groups are welcome to apply for free tree packs to help local people get involved in the celebration, or you can browse our range of Jubilee trees to find the perfect one for your garden.
Bescaby Oaks Diamond Wood
The de Capell Brooke family have been responsible for managing woodlands for many generations with the ownership of the Great Oakley Estate stretching back to 1575. The Saltby Estate is predominately in arable production with several small spinneys across the landscape and the existing Bescaby Oaks forming an enduring centrepiece which is a mature semi-natural broadleaved woodland of over 11 ha in size. Woodland is an important element to both these estates and their context and the sustainable management of them is a family passion.
Bescaby Oaks Diamond Wood has been created with multiple aims with carbon sequestration, landscape enhancement, timber production, biodiversity and public enjoyment all playing a part in its design and future. The main body of the new woodland, which stretches over 11ha from the main estate buildings connecting with the existing Bescaby Oaks, contains over 5000 selected Oak from registered seed stands chosen for their vigour and potential to be timber for the future. The four bodies of woodland were designed in line with a longer term landscape plan for the estate to create a large parkland environment, framing what is currently intensive arable production. Throughout all the new woodland blocks, standard tree species have been planted to create points of interest and add to the aesthetic value of biodiversity of the woodland ranging from Purple Beeches to Dawn Redwoods and Wild Service Trees.
As a landowning family responsible for 3 estates totalling about 4500 acres the responsibility of our legacy and stewardship of the land is ever present in our decisions and projects. The decision to convert a significant area of productive arable land into woodland was not taken lightly. However the opportunity to celebrate the Jubilee with this permanent and ever developing project was something the family were keen to undertake and are excited about being part of.