Six of the best ARBORETA
Observe nature, breathe deeply and boost your wellbeing with a visit to an arboretum, chosen by Rhiannon Ba en
Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire
Derby Arboretum – Britain’s oldest public park – is o!en heralded as the blueprint for botanical tree gardens around the world, but The National Arboretum at Westonbirt in Gloucestershire pips it to the post in terms of age, having been planted by the Holford family 11 years earlier, in 1829. Taken on by the Forestry Commission in 1956, Westonbirt is now the largest arboretum in England, its 15,000 trees visible from 17 miles of footpaths, and the soaring STIHL treetop walkway. Within its 600 acres are the national collections of maples, Japanese maples, limes, walnuts and bladdernuts. forestryengland.uk
Dawyck Botanic Garden, Sco ish Borders
Eight miles south of Peebles, 65-acre Dawyck is one of three outposts of The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and is particularly celebrated for its tree collections. First planted in the 17th century (the oldest specimen is a silver "r planted in 1680), the garden blossomed under the care of the Naesmith family, who arrived in 1691. Sir John Murray Naesmith was an ardent supporter of Victorian planthunters such as David Douglas, who gave his name to the Douglas "r – and collected the very seeds from which several of the species have been grown at Dawyck. rbge.org.uk
Golden Grove Arboretum, south-west Wales
There’s a fairytale feel to this Llandeilo arboretum; Sleeping Beauty to be precise. Gelli Aur (Golden Grove) was once the grandest estate in south-west Wales, but its fortunes took various wrong turns and it was eventually abandoned. Now in the hands of a trust, the estate’s 60-acre core is slowly being rescued, including its 10-acre arboretum – lauded by the Victorians as the "nest in the UK and, unusually, built in an arc. Its denizens thrived in the damp Welsh weather; dendrologists travel long distances to admire champion trees such as a Great Western Red Cedar, planted in 1863. goldengrove.org.uk