DUE to atrocious weather, a clearance operation in the gardens of Castle Drogo involving working donkeys could not take place this week.
Head gardener Micky Little said it was a disappointment but the donkeys would be back in January.
For the first time at Castle Drogo the donkeys will be used to extract timber from the gardens as part of an exercise to rid an area of 'weed trees.'
Mr Little said the donkeys, who were coming from Okehampton, were trained to do exactly the sort of work that would be required of them at Castle Drogo.
'They are small enough and nimble enough to get into the undergrowth and remove some of the large tree limbs without causing the damage to pathways and undergrowth that the use of machinery would necessitate.'
The clearance will allow for more rhododendrons, magnolias and acers to be planted up.