Is so called because a small black cat was sighted on the land, on the eastern side of the valley, adjacent to Minack. This little black cat was living wild and could be seen, frequently, hunting. Jeannie named him Oliver. Jeannie had prepared a small shelter for him in the woods along the lane near Monty's Leap. Eventually with feeding and coaxing he became part of the Minack household. Although Derek and Jeannie had access to this land, some 18 acres, it was not originally part of Minack. It wasn't until many years later that it came up for sale. Margaret Smith at the pottery alerted Derek and Jeannie to the sale and they managed to secure ownership with a 10 pence phone call.
Their decision to keep Oliver Land as a place for the wildlife long after they had gone was a deep felt wish that took a great deal of planning; to find not only the right people to be Trustees but also what to do after that role ceased.
Derek also decided to have what he called ‘Associate Trustees’. These were to be people who he specially selected as he deemed that they were truly on the same Wavelength. If Oliver Land was threatened, the Associate Trustees could be called upon to help
Oliver Land is a registered charity under the name’ It is a place for the wildlife - birds, foxes, badgers, mice. voles, insects and butterflies. Given it's location it is not accessible from the road; thus it is protected from crowds of visitors. It is not preserved for people but access is allowed for those who seek solitude; to enjoy the quiet peace, to contemplate nature
and the elements.
Oliver Land includes many places referred to in the books such as 'Jeannie's Shelter', Blackthorn Alley', 'Clover Downs' 'King Alfred Meadow', 'Ambrose Rock', the 'Honeysuckle Meadow', the latter being where Derek and Jeannie's ashes were scattered and where Ambrose also rests. This is a
very private area so please do not try to enter it.Most readers will recall the poem which is associated with
Oliver Land. It was written by Jeannie following Penny’s death. There are two verses and most readers will already know the second
verse.
Today Oliver Land forms part of A Higher Level Stewardship scheme, operated by
managed by land owners. With ownership of land comes responsibility to care for it. This scheme makes it is possible for Oliver Land to be maintained and cared for in a way that Derek and Jeannie would have understood. To quote Natural England ‘Oliver Land was, along with Rosemodress Farm, targeted for HLS by the RSPB and Natural England to put in place appropriate management to benefit Chough......’. It is registered as Permissive Access as part of the HLS and that is effective until 2020.
A map of Oliver Land is available for you to view at.