Trip to Bedgebury National Pinetum
On Thursday 15th September, a group of cars made their way to Bedgebury in Kent, which is the site of the national collection of conifers. Unfortunately, the M25 was at its worst and we didn’t all arrive until lunchtime. It was glorious weather though and after a restorative snack in the café, we meandered through the paths around the lakes and past a stunning array of different conifer specimens.
By chance, we met Dan Luscombe the Curator who only has 3 full time Forestry Commission staff at his disposal and relies very heavily on the Bedgebury Friends Association to help run the visitor attraction (so far, so familiar!) He talked about the tensions between running a botanical collection and the need to raise money from visitors to fund it. The vast majority of visitors are families who come in the school holidays, hence the café and Gruffalo themed trails.
He also showed us the “Old Man of Kent” a grand fir (Abies grandis) that until a few weeks before had been the tallest tree in Kent but had had to be felled because it was diseased and breaking up.
He also showed us the “Old Man of Kent” a grand fir (Abies grandis) that until a few weeks before had been the tallest tree in Kent but had had to be felled because it was diseased and breaking up.
