Batsford Arboretum & Wild Gardens is situated in the north Cotswolds, just over a mile from Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. Tucked away on a south facing escarpment of the famous Cotswold Hills it contains a treasure of rare and unusual plants and trees.
At Batsford Arboretum is the national collection of Japanese Flowering Cherries along with a superb selection of 1600 unusual plants, shrubs & trees including acers, prunus, bamboos & magnolia.
Hard landscaping includes rockeries, streams & waterfalls, a lake, statues and a hermits cave.
Lord Redesdale
It was during the 1860s that Lord Redesdale travelled intensively throughout Asia where he was influenced by the landscapes in China & Japan becoming fascinated by the plants that he discovered growing there.
Upon inheriting the Batsford estate, Lord Redesdale demolished the existing Georgian house & began to build a new home (not open to the public) along with many of the estate houses, eventually turning his attentions to the gardens.
Drastic changes
Drastic changes began to take place around the turn of the century when Lord Redesdale destroyed much of the original design & began to created a “wild” garden of natural planting, inspired by his earlier travels.
He combined his ideas on conventional park lands with a garden landscape & some of the major trees still standing today at Batsford were his original plantings along with one of Britain’s best collections of bamboo.
Lord Redesdale, died in 1916 & the Batsford estate was passed to his son, David, father of the famous Mitford girls. Nancy Mitford based some of her novel “Love in a cold climate” on her time at Batsford.
1st Lord Dulverton
The estate was sold in 1919 to 1st Lord Dulverton. His wife, Victoria took a great interest in the gardens being responsible for some of the larger plantings including the Handkerchief Tree & Copper Beeches. Later members of the family inheriting the estate continued to develop the gardens into the renowned arboretum that is here today.
The Batsford Foundation
Batsford Arboretum continues to thrive & is administered by the Batsford Foundation, a charitable trust established by the 2nd Lord Dulverton who describes the Arboretum as “the nations favourite arboretum”. Batsford Arboretum is one of Gloucestershire’s top Cotswold attractions & one of the gardens that visitors to the Cotswolds must see.
Facilities include a plant centre & the Applestore Tearoom.
Visitors with disabilities are welcome & can park in the car park where disabled parking bays are as close as possible to the arboretum entrance.
Wheelchair access is by level tarmac road which visitors can follow through the arboretum passing the house. There are other paths which are gravel but these rise up hill more steeply to the higher parts of the arboretum. Because of this there is no charge for wheelchair users.
To help visitors with disabilities a wheelchair is available although booking is advisable especially at busy periods. Disabled toilets are available.
Visitor Information
Please visit the Batsford Arboretum & Wild Gardens website for current opening times and admission charges.
If you are planning a visit to the area, check out our guide for more things to do near Moreton in Marsh.