Although I have been visiting Castle Howard for many years now, this year, February 2017 is the first time that I ventured into this part of the estate. The woods are covered in a maze of tracks and woodland trails.

These ancient woods cover an area of approximately 25 acres and contain quite a collection of plants, the original woodland date back to the 16th century though it wasn’t until the early 1700’s that work began to build boundary walls, benches and summerhouses. Work also started on the fountains and pedestals. The woods became a popular visitor attraction, but by the mid-18th century most of the features had disappeared.  The reservoir which feeds the fountains was enlarged and rebuilt during the 1850’s.

During the early 1940’ the woods were clear felled for the war effort, and not replanted till 1946 with a selection of mixed hardwoods. It wasn’t until the late 1960’s that George Howard and James Russel a plantsman worked to reinstate the original walkways. They also introduced approximately 800 species and varieties of rhododendron. They added glades of pieris, wild roses, rare magnolias, hydrangeas, viburnums, maples and rowans, many of these shrubs came from China, Chile, Argentina and Japan.  Sadly the woods became overgrown and neglected but in 2010 work by the staff and volunteers began to restore the gardens back to their former glory. Today there are clear paths and trails to follow, the trees and shrubs are clearly well maintained by staff from the Arboretum Trust. At the moment the woods are full with swathes of Snowdrops in full flower, clumps of early flowering daffodils also add colour. The woods will be awash with colour though in May from all the rhododendron species, so I will be looking forward to another visit in a few weeks’ time.