Goodbye to another very old friend...

Predicted high winds and heavy rainfall resulted in the closure of the arboretum to the public on Thursday 22 November 2012.

Thankfully the extreme weather conditions caused very little damage; during our early morning safety inspections the next day we found just a few small branches on the ground, with the loss of no trees or shrubs.

The only casualty was a standing dead oak on The Downs, not far from the Mitchell Drive entrance to the Old Arboretum.

The oak (Quercus robur) had been allowed to gracefully go into decline over a very long period, and eventually died in the past few years.

We had kept in place as it provided an interesting feature within the parkland landscape, not to mention the chance to tell people about the valuable habitat that these trees provide.

We can only guess at its age, as both the main trunk and remaining branches are now hollow and rotted. It is certainly safe to say though, that it was several hundred years old.

The good news is that a young oak sapling had been planted right next to the original tree back in 2009, and despite a close shave is unharmed.

Find out more about Westonbirt's trees and landscape...