Westonbirt treetop walkway 'a reality' as £1.9m raised

The treetop walkway promises to offer visitors a "never seen before" view of the 600 acre arboretum near Tetbury

A 13m (42ft) high treetop walkway is to be installed at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire.

The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum have raised £1.9m to finance the 300m (984ft) long aerial walkway and a tree management centre.

Fundraising manager Lorraine Jones, said: "We are so thrilled to have reached our target."

Work on the walkway, which will take visitors up into the tree collection's canopy, is due to begin this summer.

Funded by donations from "hundreds of individuals", the walkway and management centre are part of the second phase of a £4.3m project.

Last summer, a new £1.4m visitor information centre was opened at the site in Tetbury.

"This is a momentous occasion for Westonbirt," said Ms Jones.

"Being able to make the treetop walkway and tree management centre a reality is fantastic."

Established in the 1850s by wealthy landowner Robert Holford, the arboretum was later developed by his son, George Holford.

Some 16,000 trees populate the 243ha (600 acre) arboretum, and feature 2,500 different species from across the world.