Shady Lane Arboretum — Attraction in England

A lovely 😊 lace for families with children and dogs. Pathways are clearly defined both grass and stone. Easy to walk on but not great for pushchairs nor wheelchairs. Good size car park with a couple of picnic tables and plenty of seats dotted around. I thought it was a place where tree species are noted but it isn’t, more like in loving memory and orientation posts. The Arboretum has the golf course on one side and the path follows the side of the golf course with a little stream dividing them. There is a tall metal gate that leads onto the golf course but I didn’t go that way. I was told by a friendly dog Walker that the main stone path goes in s circle but there also was a crescent pathway going off to the left which is worth taking. I went in June and the meadows in the centre were beautifully dotted with cow parsley and buttercups. I was told in autumn the trees are outstanding in there colour, a site I look forward to seeing. Although there are many dog walkers that use this place, it was clean of any of there waste (apart from two bags that had been thrown onto the bushes. The final walk on the path was near to the shady Lane road yet still enjoyable. I would...

Wow, summer and winter visits are so totally different, almost makes it feel like two different places. Love this place, there are many different footpaths cutting through the area or you can just follow the “boundary” path. The paths are mostly even and good walking unless there has been a good amount of rain. Not completely level but not so hilly that an older or chair bound person would be disadvantaged. Good for walking the dogs, lots of sniffing to do and with the brook running through they get to have a bit of a splash on warm days. Educational for both children and adults alike. Information boards give a good history of the Arboretum and various points of interest within its boundaries. Small car park tends to limit visitors but close enough for...

Please be careful when parking your car in the Shady Lane car park, as there has been a spate of "smash and grabs" from cars lately (presumably in the last few weeks or months). A bag was stolen from my car last week. This was in broad daylight, and I'd been gone just 20 minutes! Somebody we asked mentioned that there had been another incident just a week ago with the glass still on the ground. Basically, don't leave ANY belongings on display in your car and lock it securely. Maybe get someone to check on the car every so often. I'm posting this so nobody else gets caught out.

That said, the park itself is lovely. I'm sure I would've enjoyed the visit more if that hadn't...