Batsford Arboretum The Cotswolds

Created from 1880 onwards by Bertie Mitford (Lord Redesdale), and later briefly home to his famous granddaughters, the Mitford sisters, these exotic 22-hectare woodlands, 1.5 miles west of Moreton, hold around 1600 species of labelled trees, bamboos and shrubs. Drawn especially from Nepal, China and Japan, many are rare or endangered, or were planted pre-WWI. Highlights include flowering Japanese cherries (at their best in spring), some vast North American redwoods and an enormous davidia, and the strangely churchlike ‘cathedral’ lime. A 1.7-mile footpath from Moreton leads direct to the arboretum itself; motorists have to drive a mile north up the approach road from the entrance on the A44.