Platinum Jubilee: Burghley House to be site of new 70-acre woodland

Burghley House already has a 60 acre Diamond Jubilee Wood created in 2012

Burghley House in Lincolnshire will be the site of the first of 70 new woods to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The 70-acre forest will be planted in the grounds of the Elizabethan mansion near Stamford.

Dr Darren Moorcroft, chief executive of the Woodland Trust, said he was "thrilled" Burghley had been chosen to "spearhead the celebration".

The charity hopes to establish up to 70 Platinum Jubilee woods as part of its Queen's Green Canopy initiative.

Head forester Peter Glassey said the forest would create a lasting legacy

Burghley Estate head forester Peter Glassey said the scheme was "a wonderful vehicle to provide a lasting legacy of Her Majesty's reign".

He said the new woodland would be filled with a mix of species "which will grow and fill the landscape for the next 200 years".

The woods will also help the climate and nature by locking up carbon and providing habitats for wildlife, the Woodland Trust said.

The 16th Century manor house was home to William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Elizabeth I, and has a 300-acre deer park which was landscaped by "Capability" Brown.

A 60-acre Diamond Jubilee Wood was created by the estate and the Woodland Trust in 2012.

Queen's Green Canopy chief executive Dan Rex said the Platinum Jubilee woods would combine with those planted for the Diamond Jubilee to be a "truly wonderful legacy" for the nation.

He said: "The establishment of up to 70 Platinum Jubilee woods will be an exceptional contribution to the Queen's Green Canopy, and it is entirely fitting that the first wood will be planted at Burghley House, with its historic royal connections."