A WOODLAND has been recreated in the grounds of a Victorian mansion once owned by local historian and archaeologist Tot Lord.

Castleberg Plantation, above Settle, has been replanted with native trees including oak, rowan, cherry and hazel and is a haven for a variety of birds such as woodpeckers, nuthatch and tree creepers.

From Sunday visitors will be able to follow the Tot Lord Trail, which meanders around the woodland enabling walkers to enjoy one of the few open spaces in Settle without disturbing wildlife.

The woodland is the culmination of two years' hard work by the Castleberg Plantation Trust which owns the land.

With backing from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Yorkshire Forward, the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and the Forestry Commission, the woodland links to the Town Head plantation owned by Settle Town Council and provides a circular walk with views to Whernside and the Ribble Valley.

Spokesman for the Trust, David Timmins, whose wife Sally is Tot Lord's granddaughter, said: "The owners are delighted to be welcoming the public to the site. Hopefully it will attract more visitors to Settle.

"There are woodlands and woodlands - some are just pine trees, but the Castleberg Plantation has a great location and views, yet it's so close to the town.

"It's exactly as we had imagined it. I think it will be good for the locals and will help tourism."

Mr Timmins has rebuilt the dry stone walls surrounding the site, created a seating area and re-laid paving. He also hopes to create three ponds to further enhance the ecology of the area.

The plantation was once part of the grounds of a Victorian mansion called Town Head which was demolished in 1972. Parts of the house were said to date back to the 13th Century. In the 14th Century a manor house was built on the site and it became a mansion in the 1800s.

Town Head was home to some wealthy families, including one owner who had enough cash to spare in 1842 to build an arched Victorian walkway running from the house and under the High Road so he could walk in his grounds in private.

Local archaeologist and speculator Tot Lord bought Town Head in 1948 where he housed many of the bones and artefacts unearthed during his local excavations.

Mr Lord was a leading member of the Pig Yard Club, a group of amateur archaeologists and cave hunters who scoured the limestone caves surrounding Settle for prehistoric bounty.

They found the skull of a cave bear, a harpoon head, axes, brooches and bones from an array of animals who once roamed the hillside including mammoths and rhinos.

After the house was demolished in the Seventies for new housing, the remaining grounds ran wild until all that was left of the original wood was self-seeded sycamore trees and dead elms.

However, left undisturbed the site became a wildlife magnet and now more native trees and shrubs have been planted offering birds extra food and shelter.

Tot's granddaughter Sally Timmins is delighted the woodland has been restored.

She said: "My grandfather did do a lot for Settle in the archaeological field and he was a loveable character. I am delighted that something has been done for him.

"I was born in the house and lived there for 22 years. It was a wonderful place and should never have been pulled down. It's very sad, a lot of my memories were in that house. After my grandfather's death I lived there with my mother and grandmother, but we had to move out because they were getting older. It was on three levels and had about 10 bedrooms.

"The wood and the trail let people know what was once there and it is looking really well. My grandfather would have been really pleased with the work and very proud."

The woodland is accessible from Settle Market Place via Constitution Hill.