Westonbirt Arboretum

Westonbirt in Gloucestershire, became The National Arboreta in 2001 along with Bedgebury Pinetum in Kent. It has an historic collection of over 3000 different trees and shrub species and over 15,500 individual specimens, many of which are rare or endangered in their native lands, covering 600 acres. It is possibly the most well known arboretum in the UK. What to see There are two main areas to Westonbirt, Silk Wood and The Old Arboretum, but there is also The Downs, between the car park and Silk Wood which is a limestone grassland. It is grazed most of the year by cows and in spring is where you will find a display of green-winged and bee orchids. Silk Wood is 70 hectares of semi-natural woodland. As well as the trees there is also to be found flowers, butterflies and fungi. The fungi is regularly monitored and the last count revealed over 1100 species - some of which are very rare.

Autumn Highlights include: the maples in Old Acer Glade which date back to 1875 and are believed to be among the earliest imported from Japan. Persian Ironwood, maples and spindles create an amphitheatre. Also look out on Main Drive for the rich buttery-yellow leaves of the big-bud hickory, and out on the downs the magnificent bronze beeches. A kaleidoscope of leaves, are intermingled with fruits and seeds of all colours - from yellow, red and orange to black, pure white and even blue. The spindle trees on Circular Drive - with their orange seeds dangling from waxy pink capsules - are especially eye-catching.

Winter Highlights include: the witch hazels in Savill Glade whose spidery yellow flowers reliably bloom in mid-winter regardless of the weather. The yellow flowering tree, the cornelian cherry,  can be seen at Skilling Gate. If you want colour and scent then seek out the Christmas box around Circular and Main Drives, whose spiky white flowers give off a delightful scent. In January and February the hazel trees in Silkwood are festooned with their dangling lemon catkins, look closely and you should see the purple spikes of the female flowers.

Spring Highlights include: the opening of blossom with colours from magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons (usually at their best during March, although start to flower at end of February) in the Old Arboretum. In April Rhododendron williamsianum is in full bloom with it's heart shaped leaves and bell shaped pink flowers can be seen on the edge of Main Drive near Dukes Cut Gate. There is also a spectacular spread of wildflowers carpeting the woodland floor including celandines, wood anemones, with primroses, bluebells, wood violets and more carpet Silk Wood.

Summer Highlights include: the Hawthorn in May and June, or the incredible white handkerchief tree on Main Drive. During the main summer months of July and August the North American tulip tree in Jackson Avenue will be out in flower.

It was later extended by his son Sir George Holford from the 1880's. He extended the arboretum across the valley into Silk Wood, clearing natural woodland and creating more drives with wide verges and bays of ornamental trees. He was also responsible for the planting of the many rhododendrons and maples and glades such as Acer Glade, Savill Glade and Victory Glade and sometime around 1905, 28 Tulip trees were planted in Jackson Avenue. From 1910-1912 George contributed to a Chinese expedition and was provided with seed from it. He also made donations to Kew including over 200 orchids which he had raised at Westonbirt.

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After the death of George in 1926 ownership passed to his nephew the fourth Earl of Morley and in 1927 the estate was split up, with the mansion being sold to Rev. P Warrington for it to become a girls school. When the fourth Earl died in 1951 it passed to his brother, but lack of maintenance and WWII left the arboretum in a poor state and in 1956 it was handed over to the Forestry Commission. They spent the next seven years cataloguing the specimens and mapping the site as well as bringing it back into a state which could be used by the public. This was achieved in 1961 when the first members of the public were admitted. Various new glades were added and developed over the next 20+ years and in 1982 they developed the Japanese Maple Cultivar Collection in Silk Wood.

Today it is now a resource for conservation, recreation and education and available for the public to use and admire, with over 350,000 of us visiting annually.

Discovering the trees Nearly all specimens have a black label which gives it's name and place of origin. Within the Great Oak Hall (open 10am-4pm every day except Christmas Day) there is a WOW board which shows the plants which are at their best at your time of visit - this is updated every two weeks. But they also have a free guided walk every weekend  at 2pm from Easter to end of October. This lasts for about 2 hours and gives an introduction to what is available to see. They also have a number of themed walks looking a particular topics throughout the year. A free map is available on arrival at the arboretum from the Great Oak Hall Other Activities Various events take place throughout the year such as the Festival of The Tree which takes place in August. The Westonbirt Arboretum - Enchanted Christmas  runs weekends, Fri-Sun from November-December when it is open from 5pm, and the forest is lit up and you can take a walk through the forest and see Father Christmas plus lots of other festive activities such as carols from local choirs and bands, roast chestnuts and mulled wine. Around 30,000 people attend this each year.

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The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum

Is a registered charity set up in 1985 to help support the Forestry Commissions work. It has a membership of over 21,000, growing annually, and provides support in the form of finance and volunteers. Around 250 volunteers help out in a variety of roles including maintenance of the tree collection, propagation assistances and as guides. If you want to find out more about them then they have their own website. 

Further information Grid   Location: Westonbirt Arboretum, nr Tetbury, Gloucestershire Ceremonial County: Gloucestershire Grid Reference: ST851898 Map Link: StreetMap Aerial photo: Google Aerial Photo Route(s):   Best Times to Visit: Different times of the year will give different displays but the autumn has some spectacular colours. E-mail: westonbirt@forestry.gsi.gov.uk Website: www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt Other useful websites: Friends of Westonbirt Wiki Nearby Locations:   Other Relevant pages: National Arboretum Enchanted Christmas

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