westonbirt arboretum

i will tread the great avenues of dunham again...and perhaps wander as far as tatton

consider the event...going off track..breaking new ground in pastures untrod and savouring the birth of the most beautiful decay in the world...the common leaf
 
mrcrow said:
i will tread the great avenues of dunham again...and perhaps wander as far as tatton

consider the event...going off track..breaking new ground in pastures untrod and savouring the birth of the most beautiful decay in the world...the common leaf
Click to expand...

b****r me, (metaphorically speaking,) poetic or what.
 
In the current issue of AP there is a 3 page guide to Westonbirt through the eyes of Sarah Howard. The timing of colour change in leaves depends on too many factors to be entirely predictable, with Autumn being the best guess - but can't be much more accurate than that. Having said that, Sarah H is running workshops there on 25/10, 1/11 and 7/11 and I doubt she'd run them when she wasn't expecting decent colours. Another clue is the entrance fee - it goes up to £8 per person on 1st October, presumably to cash in on the extra visitors going to see the colours.
 
Mid October will probs be best Stan. Much depends on the preceeding weather though, with lots of sunshine (like we're getting now) followed by cold nights providing the best colours. If we have another stormy couple of weeks in mid october though it tends to ruin everything.

Oh, and I wouldnt go at the weekend if I was you, I have tried before to get in when the weather was good on a Sunday and the queue of traffic was all the way back to Tetbury!

Top Tip: Get there for opening midweek or at the wekend and you will often find that they a) open a bit early and b) dont have staff to releive of your cash til about an hour later :D

Give me shout when you are planning on going and I will see if I can join you!
 
Also, keep an eye out for their special occasions when they light up the trees in the evenings.
 
Gandhi said:
Mid October will probs be best Stan. Much depends on the preceeding weather though, with lots of sunshine (like we're getting now) followed by cold nights providing the best colours. If we have another stormy couple of weeks in mid october though it tends to ruin everything.

Oh, and I wouldnt go at the weekend if I was you, I have tried before to get in when the weather was good on a Sunday and the queue of traffic was all the way back to Tetbury!

Top Tip: Get there for opening midweek or at the wekend and you will often find that they a) open a bit early and b) dont have staff to releive of your cash til about an hour later :D

Give me shout when you are planning on going and I will see if I can join you!
Click to expand...

cheers spencer..probably look at going mid october as i've a few things to get out of the way first.as you say,best keep an eye out on the preceeding weather to pick a good time.

will definately bee going mid-week,but will also have the missus in tow,so if you don't mind that..i'll give you a call :thumbs:
 
In previous years the Forestry Commission's web site has carried a guide to the emergence of autumn colours at sites up and down the country, including Westonbirt. Here for example is the 2008 press release announcing it.

But this year they don't seem to be doing it. I don't know why.

You can use their feedback form here to tell them what you think of this decision.
 
Great place to go Stan and if the weather is on your side doing the walk when it is all lit up in the evening is awsome. Dont touch the trees though :D I came back from a school trip there years ago and ended up with a blister full of a mucky brown fluid the size of a tennis ball on my elbow, it was a reaction to the sap from one of them, we wouldnt have known what the cause was at the time, but one of the teachers had the same as well.
 
Quote : it goes up to £8 per person on 1st October.

The days of kicking the honesty box on a Sunday morning are long gone.:'(

For those of you that are fit, park in the rear car park of the Hare & Hounds pub on the Bath Road, cross one field and your in :thumbs:
Pay at the booth on your way round.
 
If you can make it, they put coloured lights on all of the trees at xmas. It is absoloutley beautiful. Got some great shots there last year.
 
Well today was pretty good, sun came out and there is plenty of colour in the trees. I'm no horticulturalist but i reckon there is better to come from Westonbirt this autumn though. I wasn't disappointed and there were loads of cameras about so i think you'll enjoy it if you go sometime between now and in the next fortnight.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top