Between our mini breaks we spent a sunny afternoon at Bodenham Arboretum. After a lovely walk, I enjoyed a piece of orange drizzle cake sitting next to a lake, watching the ducks. The cake was so tempting that I forgot to take a photograph.

The Blue Bridge from my previous post and this Red Bridge both link to the island garden and arboretum. The Shugborough guide book provides information that would be missed on a casual glance:

The island garden is flanked by the original course of the River Sow on the side near to the house and the new course of the river to the rear of the island – a channel which was dug out in the early 19th century. It is reached by the Red Bridge at one end and the Blue Bridge at the other.

Patrick Lichfield used a large area of the island to create an arboretum – his lasting legacy to Shugborough. Over many years he has planted oaks on the island including one grown from an acorn taken from the White House lawn.

These are now an elegant swathe of tree specimens starting with North American tree species near the Blue Bridge. European species in the central section and Asian oaks forming a fitting backdrop to the oriental planting surrounding the Red Bridge and the Chinese House.

After lunch there was a short walk to the old aboretum which is the longer of the two walks.  The sky suddenly turned a lot darker and I heard a loud rumbling noise.  I was beginning to think it was time for a change of plan because there are lots of exposed places with no shelter on the walk.

Me: That sounds like thunder

Reply: Yes

Me: And we are going into the middle of a forest when there is going to be a storm???

No Reply: (carrying on walking)

Me: Can you just stop for a minute please!

No Reply: (but stopped walking)

Me: I don’t really want to go any further if it is going to rain because I don’t want to get soaked.

Reply: It isn’t going to rain I can’t feel rain in the air.

Famous last words, 10 seconds later the first drops of rain fell and there was a hasty retreat back to the covered shop and cafe area.  It was a lucky escape, this was the Westonbirt Arboretum experience…

It is a shame that I was too slow to catch a video of all the people rushing out of the trees with raised umberellas.  I found out later there had been severe weather warnings for that afternoon.