Trees come into their own at this time of year. They put on a colourful display that’s hard to match. The downside of all this Autumn colour is of course the raking up of leaves! One place where I certainly wouldn’t want to be on raking duty is Westonbirt Arboretum. With over 15,000 trees across 600 acres, it’s an enormous national – if not global – treasure for tree-lovers.
Situated just an hour down the road from me, near Tetbury in Gloucestershire, I’ve been lucky enough to visit Westonbirt Arboretum twice in the past few months. So, I thought I’d share a few of the pictures and facts I captured when touring this glorious place.
Westonbirt Arboretum – Getting Your Bearings
Mr F-W and I first visited at the end of August this year, as part of a very short ‘staycation.’
The Arboretum is divided into two halves; there’s the Old Arboretum on the right hand side and the ‘newer’ Silk Wood part on the left, across a valley. The two areas are joined by an incredible treetop walkway.
We weren’t sure how long it would take us to walk around the site and so we thought we’d start with the Old Arboretum on the right. I’ve since read that it’s possible to walk the entire site in three hours at a comfortable pace. This might well be true but I think anyone doing that isn’t stopping much to look at the individual trees or take in the sights. So I’d recommend allowing much more time or – as Mr F-W and I did – just doing one half, and saving the second half of the arboretum for another time.
Trip 1 -The Old Arboretum
As Mr F-W and I strolled through Westonbirt Arboretum’s Old section in August, what took our breath away was the sheer scale of things. There were enormous, magnificent trees at every turn – along the aptly named ‘Specimen Avenue,’ in Acer glad and lining Lime Avenue – in fact everywhere!
We also loved the fact that you can get up close and personal with the trees. Yes, there are mapped out paths and walkways, but there’s nothing to stop you going right up to the trees, taking in the detail, touching the bark or just sitting and reflecting.
Every tree has its species written out in a little plaque on its trunk. I found this invaluable as the truth be told I’m not very good at naming my trees – I know the basics but get me past the old oak, ash, maple or beech and I’m rubbish! Mr F-W, as a former carpenter, is understandably – but very irritatingly – much better and identifying them!
More Than Height – a bit of History
While the height of the trees is impressive, it’s not all about scale. A wealthy Victorian landowner, Robert Holford founded Westonbirt in 1829. Holford financed plant collecting expeditions all over the world. The arboretum still contains many of the original plants brought back from these trips. Rather than laying them out according to species or native geographic location, Holford mixed things up. The trees are planted on the basis of what looks good together. The end result is lots of lovely views.
Trip 2 – The Silk Wood Side
Our second trip to Westonbirt Arboretum was at the end of October. This time we took on the left hand side of the Arboretum. Mr F-W and I were accompanied by two of our children, Liza and Angus. They’re pretty old (23 and 21 respectively) but if you have younger children I’d definitely recommend Westonbirt as a brilliant day out. Kids can hare about the place, and there are lots of child-friendly trails.
The Treetop Walkway
The STIHL treetop walkway takes you into the Silk Wood. The walkway is 13 metres (42ft) high . Made from wood – Larch and Douglas Fir – it includes 20 pairs of timber legs, ranging in size from 2.5 metres up to 13.5 metres tall!
Now, I have a huge fear of heights, and my kids, who have inherited by vertigo gene, found the height a bit unnerving. However, let me reassure you, I didn’t find it too bad. It’s not like some rope bridge in ‘I’m a Celebrity’ – it’s a handsome, sturdy and very wide walkway. If you don’t look down over the sides, you don’t know how high you are – except for the fact you have tree-tops at eye level!!
At 984 ft long, the walkway takes quite a while to cross, but it involves no steps, making it accessible to wheelchairs or mobility scooters, and is perfect for parents with tired kids in pushchairs. And while you cross it you do you get the incredible treat of being among a wonderful mix of trees.
There’s a crow’s nest stationed along the walkway, but height-wise that was a step too far for me so sadly I can’t share with you a view from it!
Walking the Silk Wood at Westonbirt Arboretum
The Silk Wood encompasses areas such as The Oak Collection, Cherry Glade, Maple Loop and The Ash Collection. But we didn’t think about these areas too much, we just wandered. Again we followed the paths and went ‘off piste’, as the mood took us. But wherever we went we were looking up – a lot!
As we wandered we discovered that Westonbirt Arboretum has a strong tree conservation agenda. It features over 100 trees which are on the IUCN red list (which to you and me means they are endangered). These include this Serbian Spruce which we stumbled on.
We didn’t have time to do this, but there’s a disappearing trees tour which you can follow if you want to know more about such endangered trees.
Westonbirt Arboretum – A Kaleidoscope of Colour
It wasn’t just the conservation which caught our eye. The colours of the leaves at the end of October were incredible. However, I think if we’d gone a week or so earlier, the Maple Loop, which is on the Silk Wood side of the arboretum, would have been even more eye-catching. By the time we visited, a lot of leaves had already fallen. That’s a shame as Westonbirt holds national collections of both Maples and Japanese Maples – which we often call Acers. I think catching these just at the perfect time would have been incredible.
That said, there was still a feast of colour – both from the leaves and the moss. Add to this mix, the sheer heights of trees, and the beautifully laid out vistas and I think an artist could spend a lifetime capturing views here.
Westonbirt Arboretum – a place of Silhouettes
As we wandered around the Silkwood in the fading light the atmosphere changed, with the tree shapes and bark coming to the fore.
A Final Feature at Westonbirt Arboretum
As our second visit neared its end we stopped by Westonbirt Arboretum’s oldest feature – the 2000 year old small-leaved lime (below). We were at first a bit underwhelmed by this. That’s because the tree is not big. In fact we walked past it first time round without noticing it at all! However, if you stop to look properly it is quite incredible.
The tree’s form is the result of coppicing. This dates back centuries. Coppicing takes place every 20 years and the lime was last coppiced in November 2012. Coppicing involves cutting back to stumps the 60 or so lime stems that have grown from the one original specimen. Based on the size of the circle that these now form, experts think it is possibly thousands of years old.
So that’s it. Westonbirt is lovely so if you get a chance to visit please do – (you need to book your slot in advance). If you live too far away to do that, hopefully my little tour has managed to bring Westonbirt Arboretum to you.
Westonbirt Arboretum – At a Glance
- Robert Holford founded Westonbirt with the first recorded plantings in 1829. The Forestry Commission owns it today.
- It is one of the most beautiful and important plant collections in the world.
- It has 15,000 specimens, and 2,500 species of tree from all over the world.
- The Arboretum occupies 600 acres.
- Champion trees qualify by being the tallest or having the largest trunk girth, measured at 1.5m off the ground. There are currently 140 champion trees at Westonbirt Arboretum!
- Westonbirt Arboretum holds around 100 threatened species of trees.
- One of the highlights of the collection is the 2000 year old small-leaved lime, which has been managed as part of a coppice rotation dating back centuries.
- The 13m (42ft) high treetop walkway at Westonbirt Arboretum has a 300m (984ft) path – thought to be the longest in the UK.
If Westonbirt hasn’t satisfied your appetite for trees and you want even more – check out my post on how I used trees to screen a garden eyesore!
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