One of the greatest pleasures of Welwyn Garden City is the beauty and variety of over 19,000 trees in its streets and public places. The ‘City of Trees’ project (an urban arboretum) celebrates this legacy.
Information about the trees has been collated by volunteers and, with the help of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, four new walks are now available for you all to enjoy, subject to the Government’s latest guidance.
Each walk has a leaflet which are now available to download below in easy to print formats. They feature some fascinating specimens, interesting areas of tree planting and individual trees of particular interest. The information will also provide an educational resource for schools.
The walks have been created from an idea by Andrew Carnegie. Developed with the assistance of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, the members of WGC Horticultural Society, Sherrards Park Wood Wardens, and other volunteers in the Garden City.
The four walks are in the following areas:
- The Campus and Parkway
- Woodhall and Beehive
- Handside and Stanborough
- Sherrardspark Wood
The City of Trees website is also now live and will continue to be developed over the coming months.
View more information about these walks and to download home-printable walk guide PDFs below:
Cooperation & Links
The website will have a blog to allow seasonal ‘posts’ alerting users to what is worth seeing in that week. There are avenues of trees where the spring blossom will only last a week or two but it is worth making a special visit to view. The same will apply in the autumn to see the best blazes of late colour. Some of the Tree Trails will feature the best of the seasonal colour with illustrated Spring and Autumn walks.
A tree database on the website will give details of tree types: common name, botanical name, description, notable features, and the best time of year to see them.
Detailed maps and database information has been provided by the Tree Officer of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. Wood Wardens from Sherrardspark were instrumental in finding a suitable route in that area. In addition to the main Tree Trails there will be at least two junior trails suitable for children.
The team is very grateful to the support of the Landscape and Ecology Department of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, and Wood Wardens. We would also like to thank the generous funding by John Fearon and Tesco through their Bags of Help scheme.
The City of Trees project was developed and supported by the Welwyn Garden City Horticultural Society. The Society is a friendly, welcoming club for all gardeners: young; old; expert and beginner. It offers a programme of speaker meetings and garden visits. See whchortsoc.org.uk for details of how to join.
We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in this Signature Project to celebrate our wonderful garden city in our centenary year and for many years to come.
