This Saturday 27 September event will be at Batsford Arboretum and the Cotswold Falconry Centre, both near Moreton-In-Marsh in the Cotswolds.
The day will commence at 10:45am at the Cotswold Barn, near Moreton-In-Marsh, for a hot drink and a breakfast bap, both included in the ticket price.
Following your hot breakfast you will take the short drive from the café to the Arboretum and Falconry Centre where we have allocated parking for the event.
The collections at Batsford cover a wide range of plants from around the world but have an emphasis on the Far East. There are over 2,850 labelled specimens including about 1,300 different trees, shrubs and bamboo.
In 1886 the estate was inherited, indirectly, by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, later to become the first Lord Redesdale in 1905. During the 1860s he worked for the foreign office in Russia, Japan and China. An accomplished linguist and recognised authority on Chinese and Japanese culture and politics, Mitford fell in love with the oriental landscape – a passion which directly influenced his design for the arboretum. On his return to the UK in the 1870s, Mitford was secretary to the Ministry of Works which, at that time administered Kew Royal Botanical Garden. His long-standing friendships with three successive directors at Kew also proved to be of great benefit to Batsford!
On inheriting the estate, Mitford all but erased any trace of the previous layout and created a wild garden of naturalistic planting derived from his observations in China and Japan. An accomplished plants man and authority on bamboos, he created one of the foremost collections of the time. Many of the trees he planted at that time form the backbone of the present collection – at least in terms of stature.
Following his death in 1916, Batsford Park was inherited by David Mitford. His time at Batsford was short though. The huge costs associated with running such a large house meant they were forced to sell it after World War I.
The estate was bought by Gilbert Alan Hamilton Wills, later the first Lord Dulverton who, along with his wife, Lady Victoria took a great interest in the gardens, particularly the more formal areas and the walled garden.
During the Second World War and in the years following the wild garden became overgrown and fell into neglect until Frederick Anthony Hamilton Wills succeeded his father as the second Lord Dulverton in 1956. Lord Dulverton essentially rescued the garden and turned it once again into a place of beauty. His edict was simple: to collect the rare and the beautiful and to this end he introduced collections of Birch, Maple, Oak, Ash, Lime, Magnolia, Mountain Ash, Pine, Fir, Spruce and many other rarities.
In February 1992 the second Lord Dulverton died leaving the Arboretum in the trusted hands of the Batsford Foundation, a charitable trust set up to promote research and education into conservation, arboriculture, gardens and architecture.
As well as the arboretum itself there is also a garden centre and café.
Cotswold Falconry Centre
Opened by Geoff and Naomi Dalton in 1988, Cotswold Falconry has developed into one of the leading bird of prey centres in the UK.
They have over 60 species with you able to get up close to about 130 different birds of prey, from tiny Pygmy Falcons to the huge Vultures and Eagles.
You’ll find out about some of the most critically endangered species of Birds of Prey, the problems they are facing in the wild and what you can do to help.
Whilst you enjoy and admire their flying skills in one of the daily displays, they intend for you to not only have gained an insight into their behaviours, but also take away an even greater appreciation of these amazing birds and have a better understanding of their conservation needs.
The Event
Tickets are priced at £38 per person which includes your breakfast hot drink and bap, entry to the arboretum and entry to the falconry centre. Allocated parking on hard/gravel standing is also provided within the price.
They’ll be plenty of opportunity to meet your fellow transaxle enthusiasts.
Numbers are restricted by the venue so please book promptly to avoid disappointment.
BOOK HERE
This event will also be open to our fellow transaxle members in the 924, 928, 944 and 968 Registers.