Detailed review by koshkha
koshkha
Northampton, United Kingdom96%
Whipsnade Tree Cathedral is one of the National Trust’s relatively rare free attractions and is located very close to Whipsnade’s much more famous attraction, the zoo. If a day of staring at big beasts leaves you in need of a quiet spiritual moment, or if you’ve programmed your Tom Tom to tell you where all the nearest National Trust properties are so that whenever you find yourself with time to spare you can pop off and have a look at something interesting, you could find yourself attempting to track down this very unusual and moving memorial.
First thing worth knowing is that if you have the same Tom Tom programme as me, it won’t take you to quite the right place. I was delivered to the car park of a rural village hall with no cathedral (made of trees or any other things) anywhere to be seen. Knowing that this is not uncommon, I headed back to the main road and drifted along until I found the proper entrance. I parked up in the car park which has space for maybe two dozen cars, grabbed my camera, locked up and went to find out more.
Checking out the information boards thoughtfully placed near the entrance I learned that the Tree Cathedral was the work of a World War I veteran called Edmond K Blyth who planted it as a tribute to three of his dearest friends and comrades whom he’d met in 1916 whilst doing officer training at Sandhurst. After an inspirational visit to Liverpool Cathedral in 1930 he got the idea to create a natural outdoor cathedral made entirely from living plants.
Blyth laid out the trees and hedging in the shape of a fairly conventional but very large cathedral with a nave, transepts and numerous chapels. He used a wide variety of native and imported trees laying them out carefully according to the part of the ‘building’ and choosing them for their shape, height and growth rates. He started work in 1931 and finished in 1939, ironically just in time for the outbreak of the Second World War to summon him back to active service. The cathedral became overgrown during the war but was returned to its intended state after and became a place used for ecumenical services in 1952 before it was handed over to the care of the National Trust in 1960.
I had no preconceived ideas about what to expect and I’d not read my NT guidebook or given any thought to it before I drove up. I visited at the end of August and despite the generally lousy summer we had this year, I was lucky to have a sunny day that wasn’t damp underfoot. If I’d not been told it was supposed to be like a cathedral, I’m not entirely sure I’d have spotted that it was more than just a nicely laid out arboretum.
Walking through the Hornbeam Avenue, I stepped through the ‘porch’ and into the nave with its towering tall trees. There were small ‘chapels’ either side. Around the perimeter of the cathedral were four so-called towers, made with particularly high reaching trees. Tall hedges split up the space between the rooms and alleyways of the cathedral and a large dew pond forms the centrepiece of the structure. In some places the trees spread and link branches about your head, in others they grow tall and straight like the pillars that hold up the roof of a conventional cathedral. Wooden benches, many of them with carved end posts are scattered around the site offering lots of opportunity to just sit and think, to pray if you want to or just to admire the vision behind this place.
The trees have many different textures and colours to their barks and leaves and some lay-outs are clearly room like in their planning whilst other areas need a little more imagination to see their purpose. I’m no tree expert (I can barely recognise more than half a dozen common species) but I didn’t feel it was necessary to know WHAT I was looking at in order to enjoy the atmosphere and the eerie spirituality of the tree cathedral. I took some photos, sat to stare and think and then headed back to the car and on to my next National Trust attraction. The Tree Cathedral was like nothing I’ve seen before or since and whilst some might be tempted to dismiss it as just a bunch of trees, I do think it’s worth a visit if you find yourself in the area.
Whipsnade Tree Cathedral8
Ratings
-
Accessibility
-
"Must See"-Factor
-
Budget Friendliness
-
Condition
-
Historical Significance
