On Thursday morning my younger niece got up and found herself running a temperature, so that put paid to my sister's family's planned trip up to see me: they were all fine as it turned out, but caution is appropriate at the moment. I decided to go to Winkworth Arboretum as planned, again making a bit of use of the National Trust card my sister bought me for my birthday last year. I have quite a bit to go before I actually make up the equivalent of the cost!
I and Ms Formerly Aldgate did a tour of the Arboretum a few years ago, but apart from making our way up the spectacular Azalea Steps I remember little about it. The Steps are entirely flowerless this time of the year, and instead I found myself looking at the trees. In ordinary woodlands you tend to come across patches of hazels, oaks, ashes, sycamores, and so on, but the point about arboreta is that they are carefully managed for as much variety as possible. They look natural, but in fact are, to a significant degree, artificial, and somehow bring home the majesty and loveliness of trees even more than normal woodland. The last picture here could speak for many of us.
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