Westonbirt, The UK’s National Arboretum is located near the historic market town of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England. Managed by the Forestry Commission, the Arboretum covers 243 hectares (600 acres).
The treetop walkway was designed by Glenn Howells Architects in partnership with engineers Buro Happold. It is reminiscent of the Czech Republic’s Sky Walk at the Dolní Morava resort. The big difference is that instead of spiraling upward, the UK’s walkway takes visitors on a snakelike path, starting and finishing at ground-level, using the natural contour of the land to rise up to as high as 13 meters (43 feet) in some places.
Gizmag quoted Glenn Howells: “The walkway allows all visitors, regardless of age or ability, to experience the site from the treetops for the first time.” Because of its unique use of natural land contours, the walkway is even accessible to wheelchairs, making it truly a pleasure for everyone.
The walkway has four enlarged areas where visitors can pause to take in the view and a crow’s-nest that rises up from the walkway to take would-be pirates a bit higher up over the canopy to get the most panoramic views of all. The crow’s-nest wraps around a 36-meter (118-feet) tall black pine tree, just one of the 18,000 trees and shrubs in the Arboretum.
The construction of the walkway itself resulted in a piece of architecture that has blended into the environment, creating a constant visual flow that complements the surroundings. Even the timber legs of the walkway are such that they will blend into the trees as they naturally age over time.
Glenn Howells used “advanced computational parametric principles” by using algorithms to calculate the design keeping within certain parameters. This also applied to the materials used in the construction of the walkway itself, using lightweight steel that minimizes the size of the structure.
The BBC is reporting that within two hours of the opening of the walkway, hundreds of visitors enjoyed the view from the canopy. Arboretum director Andrew Smith said: “People have been enjoying the views of Westonbirt from the ground for generations, so the time has come to offer our visitors a new and exciting way to see the arboretum by getting up close and personal with the canopy, just like our tree team.”
Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum raised the t £1.9 million that was used to pay for the construction of the walkway. Established in 1829, the arboretum is home to five national collections of trees and shrubs, comprising over 3,000 species.
