A century and a half ago, in the 1850s wealthy Victorians planted trees. They collected trees from all parts of the world and made huge gardens. Did they know they would not live long enough to see their efforts reach maturity? One of these efforts is the Westonbirt Arboretum, about twenty miles from Bath.
The oldest tree is a 2,000 year old lime. There are collections of oaks, maples, cherries, English native trees all now managed by the Forestry commission www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt. The commission has a well publicised programme of events i.e. walks and talks like 'The Healing Power of Trees', Autumn Fruits and Berries'; Family events like a reindeer trail at Christmas and workshops like 'Advanced Digital Photography'and Çhair Making'.
Lesley and Stuart took me there for a Sunday stroll. Mid September was a perfect time to see the trees turning from green to gold and red and yellow. We walked about five kilometres around the original planting of that Victorian, had tea at the out door cafe, listened to birds and came away feeling rested and refreshed. But I knew I had seen less than half of that wonderful place.It would be a perfect place to bring a young family for a day.
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