A 50-year labour of love by one Orkney man is almost certain to disappear if something is not done soon.

Urgent action is needed to prevent Edwin Harrold’s wooded creation at Happy Valley in Stenness becoming completely overgrown.

Ninety-five-year-old Mr Harrold is no longer able to look after the property and grounds and is now living with relatives nearby. However, he is said to be desperate for his hard work to be kept up and for the valley not to disappear.

He turned the barren land, which is believed to belong to a Professor Isbister who now lives abroad, into something of an enchanted garden which attracts hundreds of visitors every summer.

Now there are concerns for the future of Happy Valley, which has been added to the agenda of the Stenness and Harray Community Council, who are due to meet this month.

Chairman, Mrs Lilias Mathers, said it was a concern as she did not want to see Happy Valley lost forever.

“It would be an awful shame if the land became overgrown. I actually thought someone was going there and cutting the grass,” she said.

Councillor for the area, Mr John Hamilton, pledged his support for Happy Valley and said now that the ball had started rolling, he would make some inquiries.

When Mr Harrold moved into the cottage at Bankburn in October, 1948, the area was treeless like so much of Orkney, but his travels around the country gave him the idea of establishing a wood.

Living without electricity, hot water and television for most of his life, he spent many hours tending to his garden.

A burn weaves through the woodland which has become a haven for many wild birds and animals.

“When I first came here and thought about what to do I could see it in my mind’s eye as it is now,” Edwin said in a feature in The Orcadian some time ago. “I looked on the barrenness of it, for it was very barren, and I visualised where things should be and planted accordingly.”