Blue Diamond Garden Centres has funded the planting of over 200 oak trees and their tree guards at National Trust's Croft Castle. Recently, the teams from both organisations gathered at Croft to celebrate this remarkable achievement.

These new trees will reinstate the lost former oak avenue, which formed the original entrance approach to Croft. This will emphasise and celebrate the significance of the parkland design and heritage, as well as contribute to the legacy of Croft's veteran trees and establish the next generation of ancient trees at Croft.

The trees have been planted by Croft Castle’s rangers and their volunteer teams. The sweet chestnut tree guards, made with timber from National Trust Herefordshire’s own woodlands at Pengethley, will protect the trees from livestock.

The veteran, dead, and dying trees of the original Spanish chestnut avenue (pictured above) sit closely to this newly created avenue. They are not only beautiful but also provide wonderful habitats for a wide variety of nature.

Hugh Warwick, Countryside Manager – National Trust Herefordshire said: "We're so excited to be able to restore this missing piece of Croft's designed landscape, especially at a time when planting trees is so important to mitigate the challenges of climate change. Through their lives these trees could sequester enough carbon to offset driving to the moon 1000 times. They will also provide habitat for the myriad creatures which currently call our veteran oak and sweet chestnut trees home, offering fantastic continuity of habitat as they mature. We've chosen to plant a mix of pedunculate and sessile oak, giving this avenue the best chance of surviving whatever changes climate change may bring in the coming centuries."

Croft is home to the largest collection of ancient trees in western Europe.

Visit nationaltrust.org.uk/croft-castle to plan a visit.