The Yorkshire Arboretum is set in 120 acres of parkland on the estate of Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. It was the brain child of George Howard (Lord Howard of Henderskelfe) and James Russell. George had put the foundations down for an Arboretum back in 1959, but it wasn't until after James had created the woodland garden in Ray Woods in 1968, that planning and organising the development of the site moved forward and between 1975 to 1992 the site was mapped out and planted with trees from across the world. Many of the trees have been grown from seed from the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. It was after Jim Russell retired in 1992 that John Simmons the then curator of Kew Gardens realised the importance of the Castle Howard collection. He instigated the formation of the Arboretum Trust in 1997 which sees the arboretum working in partnership with Kew Gardens. Considerable work was carried out between 1997 and 2007 including the opening of the 'John Simmons Visitors Centre'. In 2012 the trustees adopted the name The Yorkshire Arboretum a most apt title for a magnificent collection of trees.

The Arboretum is a lovely place to visit, for a variety of reasons, you can stroll through the woodlands and just enjoy the peace and tranquility, or marvel at the shape and form of the trees, or the different colours. I try to visit several times throughout the year, inorder to watch the trees develop with each passing season, the colours of the trees in autumn are quite stunning, yet equally brilliant in the springtime are all the buds, berries and fruits on the trees.

After a pleasant walk its always nice to pay a visit to the cafeteria in the visitors centre and enjoy their wide selection of home made treats and a cup of tea.