Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is an arboretum in Gloucestershire, England, about southwest of the town of Tetbury. Managed by Forestry England, it is perhaps the most important and widely known arboretum in the United Kingdom.

Planted in the heyday of Victorian plant hunting in the mid-19th century as part of the Westonbirt House estate, the arboretum forms part of a site which is listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest. First use of the name "" was in 1309. This was taken from Weston, a settlement to the west of Bowldown Road, and Birt from then lords of the manor, the Bret family.

The site comprises 22 hectares of actively coppiced coups, with a hazel (Corylus avellana) understory and common oak (Quercus robur) standard over-storey. Coppicing forms part of the Westonbirt Forest Design Plan 2021-2030 The coppice workers manage the coups as well as keeping alive ancient green woodworking skills and producing charcoal.

Location

thumb|The arboretum in autumn

Westonbirt Arboretum is in Gloucestershire on the A433, approximately southwest of Tetbury, at Ordnance Survey .

Music and festivals

From 2003 to 2005 the arboretum hosted Britain's first designer-led garden festival: Westonbirt Festival of the Garden.

On 16 July 2011, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held a concert for Gravity Tour supporting their album Gravity.

Also in 2011, Treefest was launched. Following several years of the "Festival of the Tree" event, Westonbirt Arboretum refreshed the August bank holiday event with camping, music and other activities celebrating trees and nature.

Christmas and the spectacle of bare, sculpted trees in winter is celebrated at the Enchanted Christmas event. From the end of November and throughout December, an evening illuminated trail runs throughout the Old Arboretum.

References

  • Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum
  • The Westonbirt map – interactive map with ability to search for and highlight particular species
  • Images of Westonbirt Arboretum at monumentaltrees.com