Three thousand native broadleaf saplings have been planted in a Pembrokeshire woodland as part of a major restoration programme.

Castle Dock Wood at Stackpole was once home to oak, hazel and ash trees, but these were removed in the 1960s when the Cawdor family established a commercial fir plantation.

As the years passed, the firs matured and many were in danger of toppling over, posing a danger to the walkers and horse riders who regularly use the paths in this woodland.

With financial assistance from the Forestry Commission's 'Better Woodlands for Wales' scheme, the National Trust felled the firs to provide fuel for its biomass boiler at the nearby Stackpole Centre and replanted the site with native tree species that once dominated this ancient woodland.

Chris Oliver, the National Trust's head ranger at Stackpole, said 3,000 saplings had been planted in the last year. The programme of work had been a major undertaking but was designed with the long-term future of Castle Dock Wood in mind.

"The approach we took might have initially looked severe because a large area had to be cleared but the whole woodland has now been replanted with species including oak, hazel, alder and hawthorn. In time it will create a more natural woodland."

The felled firs will generate enough fuel to produce heat and hot water over the next three years at the Stackpole Centre.

The Trust's woodland management programme at Stackpole also incorporates Lodge Park Wood where large quantities of invasive laurel have been removed. There has also been thinning throughout to give the original veteran trees the canopy coverage they require.

Chris Oliver said the Trust had tried wherever possible and where records are available to keep the original planting patterns, including the re-instatement of the 'Beech Circle'.

"We are at the very start of a 20-year management plan which not only looks at the management of the trees themselves but also at the improvement of the paths and the re-instating of the crumbling walls around the rose garden," he said.

Chris will be leading a walk around Lodge Park Woods on Monday, June 10, at 5.30 pm.

"We would like as many people as possible to come along. It will give them the opportunity to hear the reasons behind our project and it will allow us to answer any questions they may have," he said.