The clean up after Storm Arwen continues.  We have so much damage in the woodland garden at Paxton House that we remain closed to all visitors for the time being.

We are concerned about the safety of all our visitors and the trails and paths are not secure yet.  If you are in any doubt about the danger presented by the storm damage, we recently had an accident when one of the professional tree surgeon team employed on our clean up operation, fell and broke his leg. Since he was working deep in the woodland, he had to be rescued by the RNLI inshore lifeboat and taken down the river Tweed to hospital in Berwick-upon-Tweed.  We wish him a speedy recovery but, for all our other loyal supporters, please be patient and wait a few more weeks before the grounds open to the public again.

We have lost a significant number of mature specimen trees and there is also considerable additional damage, fallen limbs and split trunks.  Some trees have been snapped off half way up by the force of the wind.  Our paths are still blocked in several places and we need clear access for the heavy machinery required for the clearance. We have however got over the initial shock and are glad at least that the main buildings were not damaged. Thank you for everyone who has offered messages of support and we look forward to welcoming everyone back in a month or so.

Find out more about the damage here