Day 1, Monday 10 May

We gather at the King’s Arms Hotel, Dorchester for a welcome drink followed by a private dinner. We are based here for all five nights.

The hotel has free parking to the rear of the building.

Dorchester West and Dorchester South railway stations both serve the town and there are taxis at Dorchester South which can be hired to make the short transfer. Arrivals at Dorchester West need to make advance bookings with Bob’s Cars Tel: + 44 (0)1305 269500

Day 2, Tuesday 11 May

Following an early breakfast we will travel via two minibuses to the ancient cathedral town of Sherborne. Described as ‘a classic English landscape’, the 42 acre Grade I listed garden that surrounds Sherborne Castle was one of Capability Brown’s first commissions and remains largely unaltered to this day. The castle was built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594 and is today the home of the Wingfield Digby family who have lived at Sherborne since 1617.

• Sherborne Castle from the Cascade and across the lake*

The arboretum holds fine examples of a collection of Cedrus libani, the Cedar of Lebanon, a number of national champion trees including the famous ‘Highclere Holly’, Ilex × altaclerensis, Quercus ilex and Cuprocyparis leylandii ‘Haggerston Grey’ and a particularly important Ginkgo biloba found on the Ginkgo Lawn and situated near to the Castle.

Cedrus libani, Sherborne Castle

Gingko biloba, Sherborne Castle

We will also have the opportunity to explore some of the many new plantings and projects being implemented and, if time allows, there is also an opportunity to view an exhibition of Capability Brown’s work and his original plans for the Sherborne Castle landscape.

A short distance away from Sherborne lies Melbury Park, and lunch!

Melbury Park is home to IDS member the Hon Charlotte Townshend who, together with Head Gardener Neville Evans will be giving us a private tour of the arboretum and garden. Home of the Strangways family since 1500, the deer park, arboretum and woodland cover some 740 acres with the central landscape and gardens covering approximately 38 acres. The original 17th century landscape has been added to and developed throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and further planting continues to this day.

View of the arboretum at Melbury Park

There are many notable trees within the arboretum and deer park including the famous Billy Wilkins Oak, plus a fine example of Juglans nigra, Taxus baccata ‘Lutea’ and Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium ‘Nutans’ as well as many rare ancient coppiced Quercus robur.

The famous Melbury Park pedunculate oak ‘Billy Wilkins, Quercus robur*, which we will visit and learn how it came about its name.

Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium ‘Nutans’

Taxus baccata ‘Lutea’

One of the rare ancient coppiced Quercus robur to be found at Melbury Park

At the end of this our first full day we arrive back at the King’s Arms in Dorchester. Later we will be collected and driven down to West Bexington on the Jurassic Coast where we will have supper at the Club House restaurant situated on the beach and overlooking this famous bit of Dorset coastline.

Day 3, Wednesday 12 May

Our day starts with an early visit to an area of ancient woodland just outside Dorchester and surrounding Hardy’s Cottage. Members may wish to visit here after the tour is over and if they are staying in town for longer. Thorncombe is a magical pocket of mixed woodland and heathland and listed on the Ancient Woodland Inventory, it covers some 64 acres and is home to a great diversity of trees.

Thorncombe Woods - an ancient beech allowed to decompose naturally undisturbed.

A line of beech thought to show an ancient boundary line at Thorncombe.

Pinus sylvestris at Thorncombe.

Ancient Oaks, Quercus robur, Sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa and Beech, Fagus sylvatica rub shoulders with small leaved limes, Tilia cordata, ash Fraxinus sylvatica, hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna and many other natives. Running through the site is a well preserved Roman road which originally stretched from Dorchester (Durnovaria) to Badbury Rings (approximately 13 miles) and beyond, part of the larger route known as Ackling Dyke which ran from London to Exeter, and a reminder of the ancient history of this area.

Our guide will be Ranger Claire Platten who is hugely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about caring for and protecting this important woodland.

From the Canal towards Forde Abbey.

Our next port of call could not be in greater contrast. The award-winning gardens at Forde Abbey have evolved over hundreds of years since the Cistercian monks made this their home during the 12th Century. They continue to be developed under the guiding hand of Alice Kennard whose family have been custodians of Forde Abbey for 160 years. We will be guided by Alice through the formal gardens and into the arboretum, much of which was planted by her grandfather Geoffrey Roper in the 1930s. We will see superb examples of mature conifers such as Pinus montezuma, Sequoiadendron sempervirens and an excellent rare specimen of Araucaria angustifolia, as well as a collection of magnolias, which might hopefully still be in flower, plus azaleas and rhododendrons and many other fine deciduous trees.

Araucaria angustifolia at Forde Abbey.

Pinus montezuma at Forde Abbey.

We will also be given a guided tour of the house and have the opportunity to see the stunning Mortlake tapestries, woven from the internationally famous Raphael cartoons, now housed in the V&A. The Abbey has a rich and varied history spanning 900 years but still remains a much-loved family home.

The Mortlake Tapestry Room at Forde Abbey.

We return once again to Dorchester and dinner will be at the nearby Duchess of Cornwall in Poundbury, energetic members may wish to walk there but it is a good half hour uphill walk – minibuses will also be available!

Day 4, Thursday 13 May

Today will be a full and busy day. We first drive to the famous Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens where we will be met by our guide for the morning Curator David Pearce.

Abbotsbury

Debregeasia longifolia at Abbotsbury.

Abbotsbury is a subtropical paradise and a haven for rare and unusual plants from all around the world. Originating in 1765, the 30 acres of Grade I listed gardens sit nestled in a sheltered woodland valley where babbling brooks, secluded ponds and a romantic 18th century walled garden set the scene perfectly for a vast collection of plants rarely seen in the British Isles.

View across the valley at Abbotsbury.

Following our private guided tour with David, we will have time to explore on our own. Debregeasia longifolia, Calocedrus macrolepis, Weinmannia trichosperma and Justicia floribunda represent just a small taster of some of the unusual and exciting specimens we will have a chance to see.

Calocedrus macrolepis

Weinmannia trichosperma

Abbotsbury really is a must for all dendrologists who visit Dorset!

We arrive at Sculpture by the Lakes in time for a late picnic lunch and then a guided tour with your tour organiser. Sculpture by the Lakes first opened its doors in 2011 and since then has grown to become a world-renowned sculpture park but also Dorset’s only botanic garden.

The artist pond at Sculpture by the Lakes.

Sculpture by the Lakes.

It is the home of a small but important collection of rare and threatened trees with a particular emphasis on conifers including Picea koyamae, Picea omorika, Fitzroya cupressoides, Torreya taxifolia and Cupressus gigantea. A project to identify and collect different clones of Glyptostrobus pensilis introduced to the west is also housed at Sculpture by the Lakes. Planting of the collection only started in 2007 so many of trees are still very young and have yet to show their true potential.

Glyptostrobus pensilis, photo taken at Val de la Mar Arboretum, Jersey.

Glyptostrobus pensilis cone

To end the day we take a short journey to the nearby Langham Wine Estate where we will be treated to a tour of the vineyard, followed by a wine tasting and a BBQ supper.

Cellars at Langham Wines.

Making traditional-method sparkling wines, Langham wines have won countless awards and in 2025 were named as Supreme Champion at the WineGB Awards as well as Best Producer.

Day 5, Friday 14 May

Our final full day will start with a couple of school visits... Our first stop will be to see the remarkable Plane Trees, Platanus × hispanica at Bryanston School just outside nearby Blandford Forum. After a quick visit here we then drive eastwards to Wimborne and Canford School.

Bryanston School Planes, Platanus × hispanica

The Arboretum at Canford School has a unique and varied collection of trees spanning nearly a thousand years of planting. Among these, an ancient Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa dates back to the 12th Century with other trees having survived since before the 17th Century such as Parkland oaks, Quercus robur and English yews, Taxus baccata.

Castanea sativa, dated to 12th century at Canford School.

Populus maximowiczii

Metasequoia glyptostroboides

The school has over 3,500 trees within the grounds representing 450 different species and cultivars.

The majority of the large trees were planted when Lord and Lady Wimborne lived in Canford Manor during the 1800s. These include the central drive avenue of Blue cedars, Cedrus atlantica glauca the avenue of Common limes, Tilia × europaea on Lady Wimborne Drive and the Oak Avenue leading up to the old iron gates.

Our guide for this private tour of the arboretum is Master of Trees Andrew Powell, who has a wealth of fascinating information about both the collection itself and the history of the buildings.

After a picnic lunch we travel to Knoll Gardens where we will be met by Neil Lucas who has run the garden since 1994 and has developed the naturalistic style that is Knoll’s trademark. Although known primarily as a garden and nursery for ornamental grasses, Knoll also has a remarkable collection of rare and exotic trees.

Knoll Gardens

John and Enid May, the creators of the garden, arrived in the late nineteen sixties and began planting the garden on what had been a carrot field alongside an existing market garden and nursery called ‘The Knoll’. In the 1970s, Wimborne Botanic Garden – as Knoll was then known – first opened to the public. John and Enid had a particular interest in rhododendrons and Australasian plants. Among the new plantings, were many interesting and unusual trees and shrubs (often raised from seed), many of which have now matured to provide a beautiful backdrop to more recent plantings. Some of the specimens we will see include Luma apiculata, Quercus phellos, Crinodendron patagua, Cladrastis kentukea and Styphnolobium japonicum.

Cladrastis kentukea

Crinodendron patagua

Quercus phellos

We return again to the King's Arms Hotel for an opportunity to put our feet up before being collected for a reception and the final dinner at Sculpture by the Lakes. Co-owner Simon Gudgeon will meet us in the Gallery and give a short talk about the history of the park and his own artistic journey while we also enjoy canapés and Langham’s sparkling wines before dinner in the Kitchen Restaurant.

Day 6, Saturday 15 May

This is the final visit of the tour and members who are ending their stay in Dorchester today will need to check out, the hotel will be able to store luggage if required. Those requiring taxis should book these if they need transfers to the train station at Dorchester South or Dorchester West.

Our final journey by minibus will be to visit IDS members John and Jenny Makepeace who live in Beaminster. John Makepeace is synonymous with furniture design and craftsmanship. His training centre, opened in 1976 at Parnham House in Dorset provided education and training for aspiring furniture designers and makers. On retiring from the Trust he and Jenny moved to Farrs in Beaminster where they created an intimate and very personal garden, styled around each of their interests.

Farrs Garden and greenhouse at Beaminster, home of John and Jenny Makepeace.

Farrs Garden, Beaminster.

John will talk to us about his continuing design work and the importance of the trees that have for so long inspired him and provided the raw materials for his work.

We return to Dorchester and this marks the end of the tour. Any members wishing to stay on can do so at the special rates negotiated with the hotel on our behalf and should contact the hotel directly to make any extra bookings.