Westonbirt Arboretum – National Arboretum

MAY01

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Westonbirt Arboretum

Westonbirt Arboretum, close to the historic Cotswolds market town of Tetbury is a Grade One listed landscape consisting of 600 acres (240 hectares) of land on which 18,000 plants and shrubs of 3,000 different species are planted. The arboretum was started in 1829 by Robert Stayner Holford. Westonbirt Arboretum is a stone’s throw from Westonbirt House, once the Holford family country house, now Westonbirt School.

It was the Victorian era and ever curious Brits were keen to explore the furthest reaches of the British Empire. Holford financed expeditions to bring plants and trees from the four corners of the globe, founding the Old Arboretum. Robert Holford’s son, Sir George, picked up where his father left off and continued to develop the arboretum from the 1880s. The Forestry Commission was handed the Westonbirt Arboretum in 1956 and today the National Arboretum receives 350,000 visitors a year.

Today Westonbirt Arboretum is a venue for the annual Westonbirt 10 K race, concerts, weddings and other private functions and concerts. In fact this June, British singer-songwriter, Tom Odell is performing for one night only.

Westonbirt Arboretum is close to Cirencester in the Cotswolds, Bath and Bristol, just 20 minutes from the M4 and there are activities throughout the year. See the Westonbirt Arboretum website for information on arriving via public transport and information on accessibility.

The post photograph shows Dotted Hawthorn (Crataegus punctata) blossoms. The tree is native to eastern Canada and USA, where it is the State Flower of Missouri. The deciduous tree can grow to 10 m and produces edible berries.

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