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Fairytale castle kept in check Machinery manufactured by SCH is helping to maintain the historical De Haar Castle. De Haar Castle is the second most visited castle in the Netherlands. The gothic fairy-tale castle we see today was rebuilt from ruins in 1892 until 1912, with the designs sticking closely to historical accounts of the castle’s 15th century appearance. Many grand and luxurious features have been added inside, and the grounds that the castle sits upon have changed drastically during the renovation. The castle is now surrounded by a large park, but this wasn’t always so. From medieval times until 1898 a village had been situated around the castle. The entire village was torn down and rebuilt 1.5 kilometres to the west so that the park could be created. To create a fullygrown appearance of the park as soon as possible, 7,000 40 year-old trees were
transported to the surrounding land. Looking after the 135 acre park surrounding De Haar Castle is a monumental task. The park includes many ponds, canals and bridges, as well as the famous Rose Garden and Roman Garden. The impressive park requires a large maintenance team, and the Dutch agent of SCH has recently supplied a fleet of trailers to help the ground keepers keep the site in perfect condition. The trailers will soon become an essential part of so many tasks around the park, and SCH are proud that British machinery is helping to maintain the historical site. The
heavy duty turn table trailer has its wheels mounted under the chassis so that the sides can be dropped down unhindered. The high mesh covered extension sides more than double the trailers carrying capacity, which is good news as the autumn leaves from thousands of trees will soon need removing. The wide profile wheels give the trailer stability over rough or wet ground, and the chassis is of welded steel construction. The trailer is usually fitted with a clevis hitch so that it can be pulled by a small tractor or ride on mower, but the groundsmen at De Haar requested a ball hitch instead.
Turf Matters | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 | 25