Westonbirt Arboretum

Westonbirt Arboretum is an arboretum near Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England, perhaps the most important and widely known arboretum in the United Kingdom. It is managed by the Forestry Commission, which also manages Bedgebury Pinetum. The arboretum was established in 1829 by Robert Stayner Holford who inherited the property ten years later, and was later extended by his son Sir George Holford. It is close to the Holford family's mansion Westonbirt House, which is now a girls' boarding school, though it does not form the garden of the building, which is on the other side of a public road. After the death of George in 1926 ownership passed to his nephew the fourth Earl of Morley, and eventually to the Forestry Commission in 1956.

From 2003-2005 the Arboretum hosted Britain's first designer led garden festival - Westonbirt Festival of the Garden. [http://www.festivalofthegarden.com link title]

Westonbirt comprises some 18,000 trees and shrubs, over an area of approximately 600 acres (2.4 km²). Its 17 miles (27 km) of marked paths are popular with visitors, and provide access to a wide variety of rare plants.

Location

The arboretum is located at Ordnance Survey mapping six-figure grid reference ST 848898

External links

* [http://www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt Westonbirt Arboretum - Forestry Commission]
* [http://www.forestry.gov.uk Forestry Commission]
* [http://www.fowa.org.uk/ Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum]
* [http://www.thewestonbirtmap.org.uk/ The Westonbirt map - interactive map with ability to search for and highlight particular species.]
* [http://users.telenet.be/sequoiadendron/en/westonbirt.html Images and some highlights of Westonbirt Arboretum]