West Lodge Park

About West Lodge Park

The Beale Arboretum is situated in the stunning grounds of West Lodge Park in Hadley Wood, Barnet, Herts.

It was founded in 1963 by Edward Beale along with Frank Knight, Director of the RHS, and Derek Honour, arboricultural consultant to the GLC. They mapped out some 18 acres of the grounds into zones of conifers (Pinus, Picea, Abies, Taxodium), Sorbus, Quercus, Carpinus, Acer, Fraxinus, Cedrus and Tilia among many others, with over 800 species represented.

Some 50+ years and three generations of the Beale family later, the Beale Arboretum has matured into a wonderful collection, all correctly labeled for easy identification, and with a series of hard paths to make access easy.

Furthermore a further 18 acres has now been planted out with Liquidambar, Sorbus, Carpinus, Taxodium, Castinia and Quercus – this top field section of the estate is particularly quiet and it is hard to believe that one is inside the M25 !

Particular trees of note include a rare Taxodium Ascendens Nutans, an intact Cedrus Libani / Atlantica, and a very old Arbutus Unedo believed to date from 1760.

West Lodge Park is a beautiful country house hotel with delicious lunches and afternoon teas for visitors. Spring and Autumn open days have been held for over 30 years in aid of the NGS, while groups are escorted round the arboretum on a complimentary basis midweek, finishing with a nice tea in the hotel !

For further information, a detailed guided tour to the Beale Arboretum, information on Open Days and group visits, and an archive of photos and quarterly Garden notes, see http://www.bealeshotels.co.uk/westlodgepark/the-hotel/arboretum/ or phone 0208 216 3904.