New family friendly tree trail at Alice Park in Bath

The first family friendly tree trail in Bath is set to be created at Alice Park following a public vote to identify residents’ favourite trees.

The trail will encourage more people to explore the city through its trees and will include suggested activities for children and families to enjoy.

The 12-tree family trail will award stickers upon completion and will be published later this year, alongside a longer 20-tree trail around the park.

A vote held in May as part of the Alice Park Larkhall Festival concluded that the most popular tree among more than 70 voters is the Blue Atlas Cedar, a large evergreen conifer with silvery blue-green needles.

The trail is being created by Urban Treescape, the Alice Park Trustees and Bathscape Landscape Partnership, a partner of Bath & North East Somerset Council.

Fiona Bell, founder of Bath Urban Treescape, said: “Alice Park is valued by generations of residents in Bath and this first family tree trail in the city will mean that more people will be able to identify and learn about the trees in the park. It was clear from the public vote that people’s favourite trees are those with striking colours or dramatic shapes, which Alice Park has an abundance of for residents to discover.”

Designed by a multidisciplinary team of tree enthusiasts, there are already four tree trails through the city of Bath and the council ward of Twerton, which are supported by free paper maps and a website. To access the current trails, visit the website: https://www.bathurbantreescape.com/. Free paper maps are available in the Bath Leisure Centre foyer, Prior Park Secret Garden café and the Bath Urban Garden. They can be requested via the contact page on the website or email the team at hello@bathurbantreescape.com

In the past 11 months, 11,000 tree trail maps have been enjoyed by a wide range of residents and visitors; from people staying in Bath hospitality locations to patients in doctors surgeries, from festival event participants to park volunteers.

Alice Park is an 8-acre green space with a family friendly playpark, community garden, wildlife pond, skate park and more.