Winkworth

Autumn colours are starting to show!

I decided to go down to Winkworth Arboretum, which is well known for spectacular colours in it's seasonal vest. The wind before I left home was promising and I hoped for a few early autumnal shots. It's a good couple of weeks away from the explosion of colours you can expect, but some of the Acers were already putting on a good show. The wind failed as soon as I got through the gates.

The queue to get in was silly.
I have no problem with the National Trust as a whole and don't deny they do some incredibly valuable work, but most some of their volunteers need to be shot!

Why insist to fill in a form for every person that enters when the queue is ridiculously long? Let visitors fill them in on route. The woman a few paces in front of me was positively embarrassed that she couldn't afford to pay the subscription for a year!
Giving disgusted glances to interested students with dreadlocks doesn't do them any favours nor the intolerance they showed to a small group of Special Needs children.

By the time I arrived at the desk I was defiant. All dogs on a lead.
I know there are dogs that do as they like and rules are there for owners who don't have their dogs under control. I have two leads around my neck but I know my dogs won't leave my heel.

Surely after the first 1km they would have realised that I was sincere and my dogs are trained enough for the circuit! I expect they had nothing better to do, although, they could have been studying the plants.

Interested in a couple of trees, I asked information. A lot of head shaking and apologies later I'm told that I should buy a guide when I returned to the kiosk.

I'm being unfair. The National Trust use many volunteers, but my argument is just that they need more than that. Please, train your volunteers to welcome anyone who is interested. The blue rinses will not be around as long as the dreadlocks!