Autumn Update

The schools have gone back and a different sort of person has appeared at Chillingham. These are the connoisseurs of the British countryside. They understand that September and October are the best times to see the country.

It is the season of “mists and mellow fruitfulness”, nature’s bounty is at its peak. The heat from the summer is in the soil and a bit of rain has spurred the grass to grow with a spring-like vigour. The Wild Cattle need this to put the condition onto them to get through the winter.

The flies that have pestered them in the heat have gone so they graze uninterrupted – that is unless the bulls are trying to prove how strong they are. For the bulls there is always the chance of a dalliance here or there but not for a shrinking violet. The testosterone flows and the horns will do their business.

As autumn progresses the colours are spectacular in the mixed woodland that makes up the Park and its surrounds. The Fallow deer will be rutting in October and you may hear the burping noises of the buck as they try to claim a group of does. We are still seeing red squirrels here even though a few greys have been spotted. The acorns dropping off the oak trees can lure them onto the ground.

The park is open until the end of October.