Westonbirt Wows!

The autumn display at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, never fails to wow me! 

October is the best time to visit, to see the spectacular autumn colours before winter kicks in.  The arboretums 16,000 trees come from Britain, China, North America, Japan, Chile and other temperate climates.

The Maples (Acers) are my favourite and they certainly didn’t let me down yesterday, their colours ranging from dark green to light green, burnt orange to pale yellow, pastel pink through to the deepest of reds. 

With 17 miles of pathways, the arboretum is the perfect place for a day out with the kids.  There must have been tens of thousands of people there yesterday yet it didn’t seem crowded  at all.  The kids made use of the play areas along the way.  I love the play areas because they offer a completely different experience to that of your council maintained park. 

We didn’t visit all of the play areas, we were meeting my Mum, Grandmother and Aunty for lunch but what we did use the kids thoroughly enjoyed…..and so did we!  Jamie and Carys were keen to find the Trolls Bridge, described as a special bridge with secret paths for families to explore.  So secret in fact, that this family couldn’t find it at all!  Their disappointment soon passed when we discovered the Tree Forts.  Lots of other kids were defending their dens, hiding in their forts and planning their next attack.  Not Jamie and Carys, they used theirs as a horse, but that is what makes it so special.  At our local park the swing is a swing, the slide a slide and very rarely the climbing frame may be a spaceship.  Here, the opportunity for imaginative play was endless.  The giant bamboo was the perfect place for hiding.  Carys and I went in search of a panda but instead found her Grandmother, Great Aunt and Great Grandmother. 

Last night, when the kids were in bed, I was thinking about what had made the day so special.  I had to agree with Mark when he said “it was good, old fashioned fun” but I think what made it so special for me was four generations of the same family playing hide and seek inside a giant bamboo.