One of the challenges of a long estate road is that keeping it in reasonable condition is a continuous task. The winter is usually the most damaging time for the road as frost and rain get into the surface and work it loose. Fortunately we haven’t had that much frost this winter, but we did have heavy timber lorries using the road last year; loads for which the road was certainly not designed.

So some better weather today gave us the chance to get some potholes repaired, a job which is much quicker with two people than with one. Although the sun was shining the wind was keen and cold and I was glad to spend most of the afternoon in the tractor cab.

Although it was windy, some of the deer were keen to take advantage of the sunshine. High on the hill above us we could just make out a small group of red stags sitting in the sunshine. They had obviously found a sheltered spot in the lea of the hill. It was very nice to see them up there.