Westonbirt Arboretum exuding nature's colours

Note:
I have added fifteen more images on my Blipfolio gallery here.

Our big plan for today was to head ten miles south to visit Westonbirt Arboretum, a wonderful local and national treasure trove of planted trees from the world over. I've added some information about it below.

We managed to set off in time to rendezvous with another blipper, Lozarithm, who also loves this place. We met in a rather too smart local Cotswold Hotel, which managed to annoy me. But we had time to introduce ourselves before heading off the mile down the road to the trees.

I have been here many times before, but only once with a camera, which was very technically limited. On that day the sun was shining from the cold blue sky with little wind and the effect of the light in amongst the trees and shrubs was memorable. Today was very darkly overcast with grey low clouds hardly clearing the tree tops.

We all wanted to head for the particular splendour of the Acer Grove, a part of the Old Arboretum, probably some of the earliest of the trees to be planted. We found various maples in their varied dazzling autumnal garb, but this is a view of part of a glade between two large long and wide avenues which have a different majesty to them.

I'm a bit disappointed that there was no sunlight but some of the views were breathtaking, in particular standing under large weeping maple trees still seemingly completely clothed in red leaves, whilst underfoot the ground was covered by a thick patchwork of the first leaves to fall. there were of course many people but I'm sure we all felt the same awe of the beauty of the colours nature was offering us.

This view isn't necessarily my best shot today, but it does gives a sense of the scale and complexity of the views in the woodland. We decided to become members today, which means we can return as often as we like from now on, particularly in winter when the crowds will have gone but the grandeur will remain, although in a unclothed form.

While standing nearly gasping at one [point, I met two ladies from north Hereford way., who seemed equally moved. Conversation turned to photography and I mentioned a photo web site I contribute to, and one of the women said she was contributor to blipfoto! So hello to them, if they happen to read this! I expect we will meet up with Lozarithm again, as we all seem to enjoy nature and wild-ish places, and there are so many to enjoy in our neck of the woods. [b]from Wiki:[/b]
Westonbirt Arboretum comprises some 18,000 trees and shrubs, over an area of approximately 600 acres (2.4 km²). The Old Arboretum is a carefully designed landscape offering beautiful vistas, stately avenues, and a host of rare and exotic trees from across the globe dating back to the 1850s. Silk Wood is a very different experience. Although it also contains many exotic plantings, at its heart is a traditional working woodland, dating back to the 13th century.

The arboretum was established in 1829 by Robert Stayner Holford and was later extended by his son George Lindsay Holford. After the death of George in 1926, ownership of the arboretum passed to his nephew the fourth Earl of Morley, and eventually to the Forestry Commission in 1956. The Holford family's mansion Westonbirt House, became a girls' boarding school in 1927 when it was separated from the arboretum.