THE effects of the recent bad weather may have slowed progress on the refurbishment works at Castle Drogo, but it has done little to dampen spirits during an exciting time for the property.

Strong winds and heavy rainfall on Valentine's Day hammered down on the property, which stands exposed to the elements atop a hill in the Teign Valley. Drogo is currently undergoing a five year £11 million renovation project to save the castle from major structural problems caused by serious leaks and water penetration throughout the building.

The white sheets covering the huge scaffolding surrounding the castle were badly damaged, though the scaffolding itself stood firm. Rainwater did get into parts of the castle left exposed by the ripped sheeting, though it has caused no permanent damage. The castle gardens were also affected as two trees fell during the storm.

The castle remained closed for the first four days of half term so that repairs to the scaffolding and castle could be carried out. This has affected revenue during an important period for the property.

Paula Clarke said: 'We have had a horrendous time here. Although the weather forecast was not as bad as it has been previously, it was worse for us up here. The wind was stronger, the wind speeds felt much higher— we had it really bad.

' Full credit must go to the guys that designed our scaffolding though because it stood the test of the weather and didn't come down. It is amazing that it stayed standing.

'Friday night (February 14) was the worst night, and came at the worst time as we were gearing up to open for half term and welcome lots of visitors.

'We had to close from February 15 for four days while we did our safety checks, fixed everything and made sure the site was safe for our visitors. We are hoping that we can now stay open and the worst of the weather is over.

'We did have some water get into the castle, but thankfully there has been no permanent damage.

'It has delayed the work, because the team had to fix a lot of things they had already worked on, and they also lost time sorting out the scaffolding.

'When you consider the four days of visitors lost, the cost to fix the scaffolding, and the time spent by the builders to fix the damage caused, it has cost us a fair amount of money.

'But we are still fundraising, we have a few fundraisers in the pipeline and we are applying to various pots of cash, so we will cope.

'We've got away lightly, compared to how a lot of people have had it, and we are very thankful for that.'

Despite the storm damage, the team at Drogo have been cheerful, as the property was featured on Channel 4's Time Team programme on Sunday, February 23.

Presenter Tony Robinson and archaeologist Phil Harding visited the property in late August to film the episode, which focuses on the castle's architect Edward Lutyens.

Paula said: 'When it was filmed, the team didn't know exactly when it would air — and we all suddenly started seeing the adverts for it on TV! With our summer season starting on March 8, hopefully it will bring more visitors to Drogo to see the property and the work going on here.'

The episode of Time Team featuring Castle Drogo is now available on the catch-up service at http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4od">www.channel4.com/programmes/4od

To find out more about Drogo and its renovation work visit http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/castle-drogo">www.nationaltrust.org.uk/castle-drogo or call 01647 433306.