It’s not all about the memorials - from wildlife spotting through to hands-on involvement in conservation activities, your children will be entranced by everything there is to see and do. Bring them! We’re sure you’ll be glad you did.

Know your oaks from your chestnuts and your Douglas firs from your redwoods. With more than 50,000 trees on site there’s plenty of opportunity for a bit of ‘Spot the difference’ or ‘leaf snap’. There’s also a story behind every tree species we’ve planted - see if your children can work out the links between the trees and the memorials.

Bird-watching is hugely popular with the children who visit the Arboretum. There are over 100 species of birds for amateur – or not so amateur – twitchers to spot, including skylark, lapwing, oystercatcher and kingfisher. Some of these can be seen in our bird-feeding area.

We encourage children to keep a wildlife diary to let us know what animals they’ve seen during their visit here – brown hares and even otters are here for those who want to seek them out.

Young children might like to bring a copy of the Arboretum’s Doodle Book on a visit. With activities and tasks to complete the book provides an interesting way to learn about the Arboretum.

To download copies of our Doodle Book please click here. Alternatively, subject to availability, please ask in our Welcome Area for a printed copy of the book.

There is also an opportunity for children to join our Wildlife Watch Group, a club for 8-14 year olds which meets once a month to explore the wildlife in the Arboretum ground