The Castle Howard Arboretum is 120 acres of peace and tranquility in the heart of North Yorkshire and it’s yours to explore!
Immerse yourself in our stunning landscape of parkland, lakes and ponds within a collection of more than 7,000 trees from around the world. Wander off to explore peaceful hidden glades and meadows, let the children go wild, and enjoy the very best in seasonal, home-cooked food in the café.
The arboretum is home to The Tree Health Centre, a fabulous teaching space with magnificent views over the arboretum from its picture window, it offers a unique space in a beautiful location.
View our latest training and events and plan your visit here.
Take a look at our information pages if you would like to get involved as a volunteer, sponsor a tree or enquire about hosting your own event with us.
With its wonderful blend of woodland, wild meadows and wide green fairways the arboretum has a natural feel. For me a truly inspiring place. J. Whitmore, visitor July 2024.
We look forward to welcoming you soon.
Red Squirrels at the Castle Howard Arboretum
In spring 2023 we introduced a small breeding group of native Red Squirrels Sciurus vulgaris, to our purpose built enclosure, allowing us to maintain a captive population for future reintroductions, and enabling us to tell the story of a native mammal lost from most of our woodland. Breeding in 2023 was extremely successful, exceeding everyone’s expectations with the birth of 14 new kits. At the end of 2023 we rehomed the kits to sites across the country, reducing our enclosure population to a more comfortable amount. 2025 saw 2 kits moving on to new homes.
Unfortunately over the winter we lost our two remaining red squirrels so took the opportunity to refresh the enclosure with new feeding stations and nest boxes.
Announcing a new arrival: A young male has arrived at the Arboretum. He is settling into his new home and has been seen exploring the tree tops and finding all the best places to have a snack.
We hope to have new females in the autumn to complete the breeding trio and then hopefully young next year.
The Red Squirrel Enclosure is open every day from 9.30am until 4pm.
For the latest information on the squirrels you can visit our squirrel page or if you want to find out more join a free talk on Tuesday and Saturday mornings from March 31st at 10.30am.
Latest News
The Wednesday Tree Murder Club: Investigating clues and protecting Yorkshire’s trees
Not all heroes wear capes
At the Castle Howard Arboretum, Wednesday mornings have become something of a tradition. A small group gathers, iPads, marker pens and flasks at the ready, with a shared mission: to investigate the health of our trees. Looking closely, they observe not just the obvious things, like the sweep of a canopy or the colour of autumn leaves, but the quieter clues most people walk past.