Westonbirt Arboretum

This afternoon after Harry spent most of the morning applying for jobs and I spent most of it in bed (I did make breakfast though) we decided to go and visit the Westonbirt Aboretum which had been recommended to us by someone at work. To get there we drove through towns with cool names like: Chipping Sodbury, Sopworth, Didmarton, Dunkirk and Knockdown. Most of them so small that you would miss them if you blinked. At one stage the road was narrow, with high hedges on either side and we had to stop to let wild pheasants cross the road. The Arboretum was founded in 1860's by a guy - Horton I think was his name - doesn't really matter but he had pots of money. He built a house and then wanted a view from the front windows of trees. So, not to disturb the view he lowered the road that the horse and carriages and now cars travel on and built the villagers new houses away from the house and moved the village. The guide we went on the tour with was proud of the fact that the houses were nice for the villagers but I did think the act had a bit of selfish and eccentric streak to it. Anyway, we had confirmed that all the little mounds of dirt we see everywhere is actually evidence of moles living underneath, saw a badger hole and his little footprints and lots of trees. Also saw the cattle stops that they used to build with a ditch and stone wall - it has a special name which we can't remember. The place was apparently in disrepair prior to 1960 when it was taken over by the Forest Commission (the same year we were told that Elvis Presley released his song 'wooden heart'). We saw lots of different trees with Latin names, all green and we were told we must come back in summer when the trees are in bloom, and we also in autumn as they shed their leaves. Very enthusiastic volunteer guides. Anyway the cafe had a roof that is growing - it likes damp winters and the warm summers and it has taken a while for them to get established - it too changes colour depending on the season. We saw heaps of trees 'that are extinct in the wild' and learnt that it takes 40 litres of sap from a maple tree to produce 1 litre of maple syrup. Silly me, I thought maple syrup was made from sugar and water!! Anyway, for those of you who love trees, or maybe hug them, they don't kill the tree but gradually drain the sap out of it while letting it grow more. After seeing maples, oaks, pines, douglas firs etc we enjoyed a picnic and then drove to 'old Horton's house' which is now a very well to do girls school. Took a photo so you can see the windows that you can look out of and see the arboretum but not the road or the village. We then drove another 2 kms down the road to take a photo of the village - the houses are indeed quite lovely and would have been superior to those the villages were likely to be living in.