Autumn's approach

I spotted that there was guided walk on offer at Westonbirt arboretum every Wednesday morning, so i decided to go there today. When I mentioned this yesterday to Camilla she said that she would like to join me and bring her cousin Rachel and her child to give them a treat.

So we all set off from Camilla's house in good time and managed to meet up with Liz, the volunteer guide, at the new buildings that have just been opened at Westonbirt, as part of a big new investment in their infrastructure. The weather had turned sunny after a cloudy start and it was perfectly warm, not hot. I pleased to find that there were not too many people at the arboretum which can get over crowded at peak times, especially when the autumn season starts. Then huge numbers come from far and wide to understandably indulge in the colourful spectacle afforded by the massive maple collection in particular.

Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable, not only about the history of the arboretum and the family that started it, but also have interest and love for the botanical species. She took us top a few particular favourites of her own and showed us wonderfully odd flowers, seeds and pine cones. It was also surprising to see that some of the Acer, or maple species were already revealing their brilliant range of orange and red leaf colours and we could see them in their special glades with virtually no other people there to spoil the view!

I had a hard time keeping up with the information as I was trying to very quickly take photos to record the walk. I have added a collection of pictures on this Flickr gallery, which will give a flavour of what was on show.