Autumn comes in waves at Bedgebury National Pinetum
From the fiery leaves of Cherry Tree Avenue early in the season to copper-red dawn redwoods and the golden glow of late-autumn beech, the landscape changes week by week.
Set within 350 acres of the beautiful High Weald, Bedgebury National Pinetum is home to more than 12,000 trees and shrubs from across the world. Come for an autumn walk, and you’ll also be exploring one of the world’s most important living collections of conifers - a landscape cared for for conservation, research and discovery.
Here are some of the seasonal highlights to look out for as autumn unfolds.
Start the season at Cherry Tree Avenue
One of the earliest bursts of autumn colour is waiting almost as soon as you arrive.
Directly behind the visitor centre, Cherry Tree Avenue’s 111 great white cherry trees (Prunus ‘Tai-haku’) are famous for their spectacular canopy of white blossom in spring. But in autumn the avenue takes on a completely different character.
From late September to early October, the leaves turn shades of auburn, copper, and fiery orange, creating a colourful tunnel along the avenue.
The flat, well-maintained paths also make this an accessible place to enjoy the season with wheelchairs, pushchairs and young children.
Look out for fiery maples and acers
As October progresses, Bedgebury’s maples and acers add another layer of colour to the collection.
Look out for leaves changing through deep amber and bronze to brilliant reds along the paths. Different species - and even individual trees - change at different times, so there can be something new to discover from one visit to the next.
Take your time and look up as you explore: some of the most spectacular colour can be found high above the paths.
Discover autumn around Marshal’s Lake
By mid to late October, Marshal’s Lake becomes one of Bedgebury’s most atmospheric places for autumn colour.
Swamp cypress and dawn redwoods around the water turn striking shades of rust, red and copper, contrasting with the darker greens of surrounding conifers and reflecting in the lake.
Unlike most conifers, swamp cypress and dawn redwoods are deciduous, changing colour before shedding their needles for winter. Their transformation makes this part of the collection particularly striking in autumn.
Catch the late-autumn gold
The show isn’t over when October ends.
As the season moves towards November, beech trees bring a later wave of colour, with leaves turning golden yellow and deep copper. Fallen leaves transform the paths beneath them too, giving the landscape a completely different atmosphere from the bright colours of early autumn.
Late afternoon can be a particularly beautiful time to explore, when lower autumn light catches the changing leaves against Bedgebury’s darker evergreen conifers.
Come once, and you’ll see a snapshot. Come back a few weeks later and Bedgebury National Pinetum may look completely different.
