Photography & Poetry inspired by Autumn at Westonbirt Arboretum

Photography and poetry to celebrate The National Arboretum's most famous season

Autumn at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, which is managed by the Forestry Commission, is being celebrated this year with poetry and photography inspired by the tree collection's spectacular seasonal changes.

Each stop on the seasonal trail, taken by over 100,000 visitors each autumn, features a Japanese haiku-style poem selected from entries to a competition run by the Westonbirt Magazine over the summer.

Haiku is a short form of Japanese poetry that is intimately linked with nature, feelings and experiences. The Westonbirt Magazine competition was judged by Rosie Bailey, a local poet and performer.

Visitors will also have the chance to submit pictures to the Inspired by Autumn at Westonbirt photography competition, with the chance of winning a place on a beginner's photography workshop at the arboretum.

Autumn colour at Westonbirt Arboretum has excited visitors for over a century.

In the late 1890s and early 1900s, the picturesque design and exotic plantings were only available to guests of Westonbirt's owners, the Holford family. A select few would be invited to autumn 'colour parties'
to admire the vibrant Japanese maples and Persian ironwoods collected from around the world.

The arboretum was passed to the Forestry Commission in 1956 and opened to the public in 1962. Now, thousands of visitors each year make their way to Westonbirt during October and November to experience one of nature's most dramatic seasonal displays.

To find out more about the Inspired by Autumn at Westonbirt photography competition, autumn guided walks, the autumn colour watch blog and seasonal highlights, visit www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt-autumn.

Explore Gloucestershire
11 October 2011

• Also see : Westonbirt Arboretum

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