Event
Visit to Grimsthorpe Estate with the Ancient Tree Forum
ATF West Midlands & Worcestershire local group would like to welcome you to explore some wonderful ancient and veteran trees at the Grimsthorpe Estate in Lincolnshire. Grimsthorpe Castle is a historic estate dating back to the 13th century and has evolved through the centuries, and is now a Grade 1 listed house, gardens, and park.
Within the 1000-hectare parkland, there are two SSSI designations for limestone grassland and wood pasture. Oliver Rackham believed that Grimsthorpe was the fourth largest park to have existed in England and the second largest still in existence. He described it as a designer park being intersected by many formal avenues and believed it to be the oldest and largest to have survived in as close to its original state.
There are nearly 100 hectares of SSSI wood pasture consisting of thousands of ancient and veteran Oak, Field Maple, Horse Chestnut, and Hawthorn. Many of these are maiden trees with a minority of pollards, including some original hedgerow trees that date from before the creation of the park. Many of the trees are thought to be over 900 years old, including a 972-year-old oak, whose age was dated by Oliver Rackham.
The walk will last approximately 4 hours and will take in the wider parkland and the SSSI woodland pasture, which contains some lovely ancient and veteran Oak, Hawthorn, and Field Maple trees, with several lovely layering veteran Horse Chestnuts in the Bracken Beds SSSI woodland pasture.
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