Ribston Hall returns to Toro

Toro LT3340 produces a fine finish on formal lawns

Ribston Hall, the privately-owned 17th-century mansion perching on the banks of the River Nidd at Great Ribston near Knaresborough, has taken delivery of a Toro LT3340 to cut 12 acres of formal lawns.

It goes without saying Steve Lucas, head groundsman, was after a fine finish for the presentation of the lawns at the grade II listed building and after a dabble with a competitor brand has returned to Toro to achieve this.

"We started out by purchasing a cylinder mower from a well known brand, but I found it simply wasn't up to the job or producing the results we wanted," says Steve. "So I asked Russells Groundcare to come in with the Toro LT3340. We'd had an LT before and I knew they were good, but demoing it next to the one we had, it was another story altogether. There was no comparison, so we sent the other machine back."

The LT3340 triple is a powerful cylinder mower, but it's light, fast and very versatile. Steve opted for the 200mm unit and six blades, which is a good combination for finer cutting applications.

"The lawns look great, really neat, and the machine is so easy to use. It's our main mower and definitely the right one for us."

Steve bought the LT3340 through Russell Groundcare, one of Lely Turfcare's specialist groundscare dealers. "My contact there was Paul Nichols," says Steve. "He gave some good advice and support and has been up here a lot checking how things are going."

Paul says: "I'm really pleased Steve and his son who form the grounds team at Ribston Hall are seeing the results they want with the LT3340. It's a good machine and I know the family is happy which is the most important thing. But this scenario has turned out to have an extra bonus in that swapping to the LT3340 made cost savings too."

For more information, visit www.toro.com.