A round-up of Forestry England’s Christmas events
Escape the shops, wrap up warm, pull on your boots and have a day to remember with Forestry England in the nation’s forests!
With magical illuminated trails, Gruffalo hunting and the chance to support your local forest by buying your real Christmas tree, Forestry England offer the perfect location for a Christmassy day out.
Activity highlights include:
Westonbirt Arboretum’s Enchanted Christmas, Gloucestershire
Welcome to Enchanted Christmas at Westonbirt Arboretum, where the magic of the festive season comes to life in spectacular illuminated fashion!
Prepare to be dazzled by an enthralling winter wonderland, filled with sparkling lights, festive sounds, and mesmerising installations – making for an unforgettable experience for all the family.
Westonbirt’s captivating landscape and stunningly lit trees creates an enchanting world full of wonder and imagination – the perfect place to create cherished memories that will last a lifetime. https://www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt/enchanted-christmas
Christmas at Bedgebury, Kent - an after-dark stroll through an iconic, illuminated tree collection
Firmly positioned as unmissable within the UK’s seasonal calendar, Christmas at Bedgebury has everything you need for an unforgettable time with friends and family, including a magical glimpse of Father Christmas along the way. Discover softly-lit doves delicately balanced on branches, reed-like neon structures, sparkling tunnels of light and the Pinetum filled with all the colours of the rainbow as you walk under Liquid Sky, just one of the new displays to see this year. https://www.forestryengland.uk/Christmasatbedgebury
Gruffalo Spotters trail – An exciting family day out
Follow the Gruffalo Spotters trail and see what creatures you can find!
With the amazing new Gruffalo Spotter 2 app, fun activity pack and trail, you’ll get to interact with all your favourite characters as you go in search of the Gruffalo in the deep dark wood. With 20 trails open across England this Christmas, enjoy the perfect family day out near you. https://www.forestryengland.uk/gruffalo-spotters
Forestry England will also be opening 13 Christmas tree sales centres across the country, offering high-quality real Christmas trees from the heart of the forest. Buying your tree from Forestry England helps to look after the nation’s forests and boosts your wellbeing with a magical day out. All trees are grown in the UK and certified by Grown in Britain, and all Norway spruce trees are certified by both Grown in Britain and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
To find a full list of sales centres in England and their opening times and check out top tree tips on keeping your tree fresh and healthy over the festive holidays visit www.forestryengland.uk/christmas This page also has details of the many Christmas activities and events that are taking place in forests across England.
Notes to editor
Images available here. Please credit Forestry England/Crown copyright
- Forestry England manages and cares for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests, with over 296 million visits per year. As England’s largest land manager, we shape landscapes and enhance forests for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and businesses to grow. We are continuing the work we have already started to make the nation’s forests resilient to climate change and by 2026 we will:
- create at least 6,000 more hectares where we integrate wilding activities in our productive forests.
- increase the diversity of visitors to the nation’s forests and have one million hours of high-quality volunteer time given to the nation’s forests
- plant at least 2,000 hectares of new, high quality, predominantly broadleaf woodlands
- For more information visit forestryengland.uk Forestry England is an agency of the Forestry Commission.
Christmas tree sale centres
- Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire
- Guisborough Forest, North Yorkshire
- Hamsterley Forest, Durham
- Whinlatter Forest, Cumbria
- Rothbury Forest, Northumberland
- Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Hampshire
- New Forest, Hampshire
- Moors Valley Country Park, Dorset
- Westonbirt, the National Arboretum, Gloucestershire
- Cardinham Woods, Cornwall
- Haldon Forest, Devon
- Alice Holt, Surrey
- Cannock Chase, Staffordshire
Media Contact:
Rebecca Ulewicz, Media Relations Officer
e: rebecca.ulewicz@forestryengland.uk t: 0300 067 4107