If you fancy a day in the countryside surrounded by small white flowers, then Thenford Arboretum, not far from Banbury, is having its annual snowdrop days in February.
Thenford Arboretum is the large grounds that surround Thenford House, bought by the Heseltine family in 1976, and they’ve spent the past 47 years creating an arboretum and garden.
Amongst its many delights are the snowdrops — said to number in the region of 600 different varieties filling the 70 acres of the arboretum.
(c) Thenford Arboretum
The snowdrop days take place on:
- Wed 8th Feb
- Sat 11th Feb – Snowdrop sale and talks from experts
- Sat 18th Deb
- Tues 21st Feb
You can book tickets from here.
Note, that visitors can’t bring dogs unless they are Assistance Dogs. Afternoon tea is available at an extra charge.
How to get to Thenford Arboretum
If you drive, there’s parking on the very large front lawn.
If you don’t drive, the easiest way to get there is by train to Banbury station.
From there, you can take the half-hourly bus (route 500) which gets you to the nearest village, Middleton Cheney, and from there it’s a half-hour walk to Thenford.
Alternatively, if you like a walk, go via the church of St Mary Warkworth, which is delightful — but if coming back, I’d catch the bus. There are a couple of pubs in the town if you need to wait.
What else to do at Thenford
It’s a very small village, so don’t expect to do much, other than to pay a visit to the nearby church of St Mary Thenford, which is ancient, and looks it, and has a wonderful interior and from the graveyard, views over the arboretum.
Other open days during 2023
April
- Fri 21st April
May
- Wed 10th May
- Tues 16th May
- Thur 18th May
June
- Thur 15th June
- Sat 17th June
- Fri 23rd June
July
- Thur 13th July
August
- Fri 4th August
- Sat 5th August
Saturday
- Fri 8th Sept
October
- Sat 14th Oct
- Fri 20th Oct
