Ayton Castle

29/05/2026

The sun might have been hiding for a bit this week, but we most certainly haven’t been. Here’s what’s been happening on the Estate this week.

🟢 Much like last week, we have once again been kept busy with the strimmers. Areas such as along the railway line (1) and behind the biomass boiler (2) were beginning to look more like a jungle than part of the Estate. It’s one of those jobs that can feel never-ending at this time of year, but it makes such a difference once it’s done. Keeping these areas under control helps with access, maintenance, and generally keeps the Estate looking much smarter as we head further into summer.

22/05/2026

Here’s a round-up of what we’ve been up to on the Estate this week.

🟢 We’ve been getting started on the yearly strim, which can be quite a laborious job but a rewarding one nonetheless. We began with the verges along the Estate boundary, where the wall beside the Eyemouth Road had started to get a bit overrun (1). After a couple of days, a strimmer, and more than a few tanks of fuel, we managed to get the area back under control (2), leaving it looking much smarter for the summer months.

🟢 As is usually the case at this time of year, we’ve also spent plenty of time out on the mower, which some of you may have seen earlier in the week (3). The lines are really starting to come through now, and they’re looking very satisfying, if we do say so ourselves.

15/05/2026

This weather really is shaping up to be a lovely summer! Let’s just hope it holds now 🤞

🟢 We started off this week up near the Stables, at the Solar Panel Paddock. A few years ago now, we planted a new line of hedging along the fence line bordering the North Driveway. The saplings are really starting to come through now and are growing well, but they aren’t the only things growing! With our flexi-head, STIHL long-reach hedge trimmer (1), we managed to get in and amongst the weeds and, more importantly, the nettles which have been springing up recently. This clearing (2) will allow the soil to get some sunlight, while also giving the saplings some much-needed breathing room to help them thrive.

🟢 As well as the hedge clearing, we’ve also been out with the mowers as usual during these warmer months (3). With the sunlight coming through the branches and the grass all neatly cut, the drive is looking stunning, even if we do say so ourselves.

14/05/2026

01/05/2026

This week has been a mix of odd jobs around the Estate, and here’s what we’ve been up to.

We started off by playing with a new toy! After seeing how useful the Silky pole saw was the other week, the arsenal has now been expanded with a rope-actuated branch clipping attachment. This should save us a lot of time in future when dealing with higher branches that are looking a bit worse for wear. Without needing ladders, we can now use the extendable clippers to remove damaged lengths safely from the ground (1). Much like the pole saw, we spent more time than we’d care to admit driving around the Estate looking for branches, just for an excuse to use it.

Alongside the tree trimming, there has also been the usual summer antics of grass cutting, both in the Formal Garden with the manual mower and across the wider lawns with the ride-on (2). As the summer sun speeds up grass growth, we tend to be out with the mowers roughly once every couple of weeks.

The final job this week was giving the Formal Garden a bit more TLC than just a cut. We trimmed some of the shrubbery, pulled weeds from one of the plant beds, and then got the leaf blower out to clear away the waste and fallen leaves (3).

24/04/2026

Hello hello! Here is what our Grounds team has been up to this week on the Estate.

As we alluded to on Wednesday, we’ve had the big toys out and it’s been all about lawn maintenance this week. After the first cut of the year last week, we got straight into our usual process to help get the lawns looking fresh for the summer months — all of which you could also try in your own gardens if you wanted to.
We start with scarifying (1), using the scarifier on the back of the tractor to do what is, in layman’s terms, like combing the grass. This pulls up thick clumps of moss and thatch sitting on the ground, which can stop the grass roots from getting proper access to air, water and sunlight.
Next came aerating the grass (not photographed), which is done by making lots of little holes in the ground to open up the soil. This helps the roots grow deeper and stronger, while allowing more air and water down into the ground rather than sitting on top. In the Formal Garden, we do the same job by hand with a gardening fork, as we can’t get the bigger machines in there.
After that, it was time to clean up the mess we’d made (2) and rake up all of the moss and grass cuttings. These were then taken off to our compost heap with the help of the Iseki tractor.

The final stage was rolling the grass (3), which you may have caught a sneak peek of on our story this week. It may seem counter-productive after aerating, but with a light roller there isn’t too much compaction. The aim is to level the lawn, flatten any small mounds caused by frost, and press down any stones brought up during the process.

By doing all of this, we’re helping the grass come back stronger and healthier each year, with the added bonus of looking greener and more lush over the summer.

17/04/2026

It’s that time of year again — we’ve finally had the chance to get the lawn mowers out for the first cut of the season.

🟢 We started in the Formal Garden, as this is a smaller and more manageable area to begin with. The small push mower (1) made light work of it, and we use this one as it has a collection bag attached, which makes the clean-up afterwards much easier. Once the main areas had been cut, we went back round with the strimmer to tidy the edges and get into the spots the mower cannot reach, such as around the bases of our trellis frames.

🟢 The following day, it was time for the front lawns. You can really see the state they were in from the photo taken during the cut (2). While the two lawns in front of the Castle do take a fair bit of time, even with the ride-on mower, the neat and clean lines (3) make it well worth it and add so much to the picturesque landscape we get to call our office. We’ll be following this up next week with more lawn care tasks, not just to keep them looking good, but to improve the long-term health of the grass too.

🟢 Lastly, we tackled the final remaining areas of the Estate for this week. These included the banking along both sides of the main drive, as well as the area across from the Castle leading towards the larger lawn where the railway is situated (4). We left these until last as they are surrounded by a lot of trees and shrubs, so while half the team got started on the cutting, the other half were busy clearing brash and leaves from the ground to make sure our equipment did not get damaged. Some of you may have spotted this earlier in the week on our story, with the leaf blowing along the drive.

10/04/2026

What a week we’ve had! The sun has been shining, the skies have been blue, and hopefully it’s all a sign of the summer to come.

💨 Despite all this lovely weather, our week was focused on the effects of the slightly less lovely Storm Dave. While we were fortunate not to suffer too much damage, we started the week by clearing some limbs that had fallen from a few of the older trees onto the public footpaths creating potential hazards.

🌳 Alongside the limbs that had already fallen, we had spotted a likely next culprit in the form of a large, dying, heavily outstretched branch on one of our old beech trees (1), overhanging the Formal Garden. Although it hadn’t come down during the storm, the creaking noises it was making certainly raised a red flag. As a proactive measure, we used our new extendable pole saw to cut the limb down in small sections (2), helping to protect the plants growing beneath it as each piece fell. This should mean that next time there’s a storm, we won’t wake up to find this large limb not only on the ground, but also having dug a rather large crater into the flower bed below (3).