Silk Wood at Westonbirt Arboretum

The Silk Wood walk at Westonbirt is a 2.6-mile (4.2km) easy loop from the STIHL Treetop Walkway at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, about 3 miles from Tetbury. It is nearly level, on grass rides, gravel drives and woodchip paths, and takes about an hour. Dogs can run off the lead here, and it passes the arboretum's restaurant. Entry is paid.

The whole loop is inside the arboretum, so you pay to walk it, and you can easily spend the day there.

Silk Wood and the collection

Silk Wood is the western half of the arboretum, a working wood from the Middle Ages, named by 1292. Forestry England runs Westonbirt, which holds about 15,000 specimens of 2,500 species, around 100 of them threatened, and nearly all the native British trees in the collection are here. Robert Stayner Holford, who began the Old Arboretum in 1829, bought Silk Wood in 1840. The Holford family had owned Westonbirt since 1666, and in 1956 600 acres passed to the Forestry Commission.

On the way the paths pass Forestry England's signs on the trees: a sugar maple, a Bristol whitebeam and a silver birch among them, and boards about the maples on the Maple Loop by Oak Avenue.

The treetop walkway

The STIHL Treetop Walkway, where the walk starts and ends, is a 300m walkway of Scottish and Siberian larch, opened in 2016, that rises up to 13.5m above the floor of Silk Wood. Forestry England calls it the longest of its kind in the UK, and it is fully accessible for wheelchairs and mobility scooters, so it is worth the few minutes either before or after the loop.

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Dogs and access

Dogs are welcome on this walk, and Silk Wood is where they may run off the lead, under control. About two thirds of the arboretum welcomes dogs. They go on a lead on the Downs, at the Welcome Building, restaurant and shop, and on the treetop walkway, and they are not allowed in the Old Arboretum, apart from assistance dogs. This loop stays in Silk Wood. Our guide to the dog-friendly Cotswolds has more places to take a dog.

The paths are a mix of grass, gravel and surfaced drives. AllTrails’ surface data puts about 40% of this loop on grass, 28% on gravel, 18% on natural paths and 12% on paved ones. Forestry England has 10 miles of hard paths across the arboretum suitable for wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchairs, and mobility scooters, manual wheelchairs and trikes can be pre-booked with day admission, subject to availability. Walkers on AllTrails in 2025 and 2026 found it easy to park.

When to come and what it costs

Westonbirt opens every day except Christmas Day from 9am, with last admission at 4.30pm. Autumn colour is its peak, and Forestry England strongly advises booking ahead between 25 September and 15 November; at other times booking is optional.

In the peak autumn season, 25 September to 15 November 2026, adult entry is £19 on weekdays and £22 at weekends, falling to £14 and £19 from 16 November. Children aged 5 to 18 pay £5. Our guides to when to visit the Cotswolds and the great Cotswold gardens put it in season with the rest.

Food, parking and getting there

The restaurant by the Welcome Building is the place to eat, and the route passes close to it on the way back; it and the shop open from 9.30am to 4.30pm. The car park (GL8 8QS) is hard-surfaced, with 21 accessible bays less than 50m from the entrance. No separate parking charge is stated.

The 620 bus from Tetbury, Stroud and Bath stops at the arboretum from Monday to Saturday, and visitors who arrive by bus, train or bike pay a reduced price: £13 or £15.50 in peak autumn, £10 or £13 from 16 November. To stay nearby, see our places to stay in Tetbury.

Walks nearby

For a free walk from the nearest town, the Tetbury town walk loops round the Market House and the old railway, and Tetbury and Ashley heads out over the fields. To the north-west, the walk from Kingscote passes Lasborough Park, whose listing links it to the Holfords of Westonbirt, and the river walk at Malmesbury is about 5 miles to the east.