We’re celebrating National Tree week!

The last week of November is National Tree Week – the UK’s largest annual tree festival.  The festival kicks off the start of the winter tree planting season and provides a great opportunity for our gardening team to assess the health of the trees and woodland on the Clowance.

Trees have been growing on our planet for nearly 400 million years. Their value and contribution is immeasurable – from childhood memories such as climbing a favourite tree to admiring the incredible autumn colours. Then, when the leaves start to appear again next spring, trees give us the sign that winter’s really over and we have warm days and light nights to look forward to.

Our 97-acre estate is home to a wide variety of trees including oak, sycamore, lime, sweet chestnut, redwood, yew, monkey puzzle, wild cherry and even Japanese larch. Among our outstanding trees are a 300 year old Tulip tree in the Bear’s Picnic Area, 125-year old Monterey Pines (also known as ‘The monarchs of the forest’) and palm trees that were planted around 1900. What makes the palms so incredible is that they survived two world wars when there were no gardeners at Clowance to take care of them.

Across the UK, the presence of trees in towns and cities, as well as estates like Clowance, adds value to our lives in so many different ways. They create a habitat for wildlife, help prevent flooding, clean our polluted air and water supplies and conserve energy. We also get food, fuel and building resources from them which we use to great effect in our lodges. 

We’ve also just completed building a luxury two-bedroom tree house on the estate. It’s been positioned to take full advantage of the sunny aspect and fantastic setting, with commanding views across the lake to Clowance House. In addition to the luxurious shower found in the treetop hideaway’s main bathroom, the indulgent outdoor bath-tub, shielded by rustic fencing, creates the perfect space to relax and unwind. Built by the world’s leading tree house design and construction company, Blue Forest. The company is run by two brothers, Andy and Simon, who were born in Kenya and spent their childhood surrounded by the beauty and adventure of the great outdoors. The Blue Forest team are passionate about the environment and are keen to promote sustainable principles and ethics throughout the design and construction process. So the tree house is finished with natural timber from sustainable sources and erected in a way which reduces impact upon the surrounding flora and fauna.  

Come and take a walk in our woodland, kick your way through the leaves underfoot, and join in the National Tree Week celebrations.  At the end of the day, throw a log on the fire and warm yourself in one of our luxury lodges!