Why does Trentham partially close in high winds?
We are fortunate enough to have some spectacular ancient and veteran trees set within 725 acres of natural beauty at Trentham. Some of our earliest trees date back to the 17th C. The design of the gardens and parkland owes itself mainly to prominent landscape architects in the 18th C – Charles Bridgeman followed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. These had great influence in the character of the landscape, by planting up the trees and woodlands as you see it today.
The gardens and estate team are now custodians of this fantastic landscape, and thus trees. A lot has changed over the centuries, but we have a duty of care of the designed landscape and people’s safety. It’s fine balancing act of managing the trees for the value they bring, whilst ensuring these trees are safe to be around with the thousands of visitors that come into our gardens every day.
Whilst we appreciate that any form of closure of our gardens and estate can be frustrating, safety is our priority. The team doesn’t make these decisions lightly. We constantly monitor the met office forecasts, with closures put in place in advance of high winds for maximum safety of staff and visitors.
After the wind speed decreases, our gardens and estate team carry out post high wind checks. As well as the usual tidying up of fallen sticks and twigs, we have to check that there aren’t any branches stuck in other trees branches that could fall at a later stage – especially over our West Lakeside path. This means a slight delay in opening the circular route, but necessary to do.
At Trentham, we pride ourselves in long opening times and as a team we do our very best to proactively message out any closures in advance with the team focused on getting the gardens and estate fully open as soon as possible.
Below is a selection of photos of trees that have fallen during recent storms.
We are grateful for the support and understanding from our members and visitors in helping make Trentham a welcoming, safe, and enjoyable place for everyone.
