Are the National Trust taking the p!ss?

actually they are!

The National Trust has installed a 3 metre long pee bale within the walled gardens of Wimpole Hall.

Head Gardener Phillip Whaites is encouraging his male colleagues to relieve themselves on the straw bale. Apparently this helps activate the composting process on the estate’s compost heap and cuts down on the estate’s water use (no toilets to flush!).

According to Whaites

The pee bale is excellent matter to add to our compost heap to stimulate the composting process; and with over 400 acres of gardens and parkland to utilise compost, we need all the help we can get.

Of course we’re very careful to make sure the pee bale is only in use out of visitor hours, as we don’t want to scare the public. And it doesn’t smell.

There are obvious logistical benefits to limiting it to male members of the team, but also male pee is preferable to women’s, as the male stuff is apparently less acidic.

The pee bale is part of the garden composting ‘zone’ on the Wimpole estate, this is were the gardening team has been showcasing its mass composting facilities and increasing visitor awareness of the importance of composting waste.

Other more unusual composting facilities on the estate include a ‘dagging’ tank into which the rear end trimmings from the fleeces from estate’s sheep are stirred up on a regular basis to produce a liquid feed.