Old-Lands Visit with Grazing Management
WVWilders learning more about the Belted Galloway Cattle at Old-Lands
Saturday 6 September 2025
There is a lot of interest in grazing and more broadly the management of livestock on rewilding sites from WVW members so we were grateful to be invited to Old-Lands by Clare and Sam Bosanquet to learn more about grazing from Alex and Sam Crawley, founders of ‘Grazing Management’. Clare and Sam Bosanquet kindly provide Grazing Management’s “home farm” in Wales, where animals return between grazing “jobs” on nature reserves in Monmouthshire and beyond.
We had a very high level of interest in this visit with over 40 attendees. Old-Lands is an old family estate in Monmouthshire run on green principles, which has been in the Bosanquet family for 200 years. Three generations now live and work in and around the estate. The family comes from a long line of ecologists and naturalists who were pioneers in the regenerative farming movement. Responsibility for the estate and its future has passed to Sam, an ecologist, and his wife Clare. The estate is not run to profit-maximising goals, instead restoration of farmland biodiversity is of greatest importance, and the lands have to produce enough to provide a living for those engaged with them and cover the land management costs.
“Old-Lands,” as it appears on the old maps, is a tussocky field to the north of the estate. When Sam and Clare took on the southern part of the 1,250-acre Dingestow Court estate, they adopted the name to define the parcels of land that were being farmed agroecologically. Learn more about Old Lands - Rewilding Farming on their website.
Management is informed by ecology and Old-Lands is slowly reverting back to flower rich meadows which support the biodiversity of farmed landscapes. Sam has recorded a staggering 3942 species at Old-Lands, including 506 species of flowering plants, 386 fungi, 26 butterfly species, 1035 moth species, 7 amphibian & reptile species, 136 bird species and 32 mammal species!
Alex from Grazing Management explaining how the NoFence collars work
On our visit we saw the progress that has been made in improving biodiversity through hay making, grazing and wetland creation. Sam, the current custodian of Old Lands, was a wonderfully knowledgeable host, with an intimate knowledge and a very clear love of the lands. He described the impact of airborne ammonia from the surrounding intensive farms, which has slowed the reversion to species-rich permanent pastures. He explained how common this problem is across Britain, and how its impact should be accounted for within our land management decisions. Nearly 30 kg of nitrogen per hectare annually falls onto Old-Lands from nearby dairies and poultry units. This ‘free fertilizer’ favours grass growth over flowers, resulting in the nettles, thistles, docks, goose-grass, and bracken thriving. Annual hay-cutting helps to mitigate its effects and reduce soil fertility, and the arrival of Yellow Rattle a few years ago is significantly reducing grass dominance. Sam explained the benefits of carefully sited tree and scrub planting to create barriers which capture and absorb this unwanted nitrogen, and showed us the effects of nitrogen deposition where the fields were not protected by the trees at the edges.
Despite this problem, already 40 acres of species-rich grassland, 160 acres of herb-rich semi-improved grassland have been restored. Invertebrate populations are thriving and Tree pipits and Redstarts returned 15 years ago, Kestrels bred for the first time in decades in 2022, and Stonechats colonised a scrubby patch in 2023. Grey Partridges have returned after a 40-year absence. Read more about the restoration of Old Lands
Alex from Grazing Management spoke about the establishment of the business and how they work with landowners on different sites. We discussed the benefits of conservation grazing but Alex was also clear about the challenges of managing animals on small sites that require sensitive management and specific grazing strategies. Grazing Management has a herd of 50 Belted Galloway and Ancient Cattle of Wales cattle, which are used to provide careful grazing, enabling the perfect conditions for wildflowers and invertebrates to thrive. The cattle wear NoFence geocollars, allowing for targeted, pulse grazing in specific areas, so that there is full control of the grazing pressure.
If you might be interested in working with Grazing Management on your site please do contact Alex (info@grazingmanagement.co.uk)
