Winkworth Arboretum
Children will enjoy the woodland play area, the boat house, various wooden carvings and the ducks on the lake on this walk.
The Basics
Time: Various
Distance: Various from 1km to 4km
Terrain: Some steep hills/steps to negotiate depending on route chosen
Pushchair: There is an all access trail
Dogs: Yes, on leads
Refreshments: National Trust tea room serving hot drinks, cakes, light lunches and ice creams
Toilets: Yes
Parking: National Trust car park (Postcode: GU8 4AD - W3W - sooner/slot/flask)
Visit the landscaped arboretum to see the colours change with each season. If you walk here in autumn, you will witness the glory of shades of gold, amber and red. Walk here in spring to see carpets of bluebells.
The Route
This walk will require an entrance fee if you are not National Trust members. Autumn colour and bluebell season require advance booking.
There are three coloured routes detailed at the ticket office, including a short access for all route and a longer, more challenging route with steep climbs.
We like to do a route that combines the yellow and red ones:
We begin by going right opposite the toilets, following the blue route markers. This will very shortly take you past the woodland play area. We continue, ignoring the red and yellow markers until a cross road is reached.
Here, we leave the blue markers and take the yellow markers down the steps into The Bowl. We walk with the lake to our right until we reach the boathouse.
Here, we go right to walk to Rowe’s Flashe Meadow and take in the views back across the lakes of the trees.
On our return, we do not go left past the boathouse, but instead take the path on the left that will go through the wetland and includes boardwalks.
This section of the red route, will then climb through the bluebell woods and continue above Badger’s Bowl to take you to the entrance again.
Did you know?
The creation of an arboretum to enhance the natural beauty of the valley was the vision of one man, Dr. Wilfrid Fox. The following is what he said drew him to the site:
“It was the remarkable beauty of the valley...quite unspoiled, of pastoral and wooded character, patterned with hedgerows and abounding in wild flowers, with gentle undulating hills on the east side and a steep slope on the west side – which is now covered by the Arboretum – and the river stream winding between, forming two lakes which are the haunt of wildfowl.”