The pretty village is home to a magical tree garden where you can explore 2,500 different types of trees and shrubs from all over the world
Picture an enchanting woodland sanctuary where you can discover and wander amongst 2,500 distinct varieties of trees and shrubs from across the globe, all within Britain’s borders.
Roughly 15,000 trees call this place home, and there’s no finer moment to witness them than during autumn, when their foliage erupts in a spectacular display of colour, from rich crimson to blazing orange and golden yellow.
You can even lose yourself amongst the forest canopy via the Tree Top Walkway. Stretching 300 metres in length, it gently ascends on easy slopes to reach 13 metres high, providing breathtaking vistas across the gorgeous English countryside. The arboretum is hailed as “truly one of the most beautiful tree gardens to be found anywhere in the world.”
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Renowned globally for its magnificent autumn colour spectacle, it provides a memorable day out throughout the year, from glorious blossoming trees in spring, to striking and colourful-stemmed varieties in winter…though autumn truly reveals it at its finest, reports the Express.
One guest remarked: “It is so spectacular, the best place in the world to watch the Autumn leaves change colour.” This breathtaking autumnal haven sits in Westonbirt, location of the National Arboretum, merely a few miles south west of Tetbury in Gloucestershire.
Established by Victorian businessman Robert Holford, its 240 hectares (600 acres) were cultivated during a thrilling era of botanical exploration, when trees and shrubs from around the world were brought to Britain. Westonbirt Arboretum, unlike other arboretums, is laid out for aesthetic appeal rather than botanical order, making it a particularly stunning sight.
The medieval village of Westonbirt was originally situated to the southwest of St Catherine’s Church. In 1840, it comprised ten cottages, a rectory, and a farmhouse, straddling the road to Easton Grey.
However, when Robert Holford inherited the Westonbirt estate in 1839, he found the village’s location obstructed his plans to expand his gardens westward. So, in the early 1850s, he relocated the village half a mile further away. This move allowed him to create an informal garden featuring numerous specimen trees, a lake, and a rockery.
Today, the arboretum is managed by Forestry England and is arguably the most significant and well-known arboretum in the UK. As part of the Westonbirt House estate, the arboretum is listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest.
It boasts approximately 15,000 trees and shrubs, with 17 miles (27 km) of marked paths providing access to a wide variety of rare plants. The Old Arboretum is a carefully designed landscape dating back to the 1850s, featuring several avenues and a number of rare and exotic trees from around the world.
Silk Wood, on the other hand, is a more traditional working woodland, dating back to the 13th century. Throughout the arboretum, every individual tree bears a label, either attached to its trunk or a low-hanging branch. Blue markers denote Westonbirt’s “champion trees”, the tallest or largest specimens of their species in Britain.
The website advises visitors to “Pop into the Welcome Building at the start of your visit – you’ll find lots of interesting information to help you make the most of your visit as well as stories about Westonbirt’s trees and how they are cared for. There are seasonal trail leaflets, which will guide you around some of the most amazing trees in our tree collection – hand-picked by us!”
Take a walk on the STIHL Treetop Walkway, 300 metres long it gradually rises on gentle inclines to a height of 13 metres offering spectacular views across the arboretum landscape. It is accessible to visitors on foot, using mobility scooters, wheelchairs and pushchairs and to those with dogs on leads.
It leads visitors from near the Welcome Building into the treetops of the beautiful Silk Wood. For families, our play trail is a great way to fire children’s imaginations and, in such stunning surroundings, it’s an enjoyable adventure for the whole family. “.
For more information visit www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt-the-national-arboretum.