UK Oak Open Days 2025

The 2025 edition of the UK OODs will of course focus on Quercus but will also take in other genera in the Fagaceae family (Lithocarpus, Castanopsis, Trigonobalanus). We will visit two collections in Cornwall with excellent collections of these genera. 

Caerhays Castle Gardens (Saturday, June 7)

Though best known for its collections of camellias and rhododendrons and world-famous National Magnolia Collection, Caerhays has an extensive collection of Quercus, Lithocarpus, and Castanopsis. We will be guided by Charles Williams, sixth-generation owner and long-standing IOS member. You can learn more about Caerhays in their informative website, and read about their Fagaceae collection in an account by Charles Williams of the Evergreen Oaks at Caerhays Estate and Béatrice Chassé's History of the Fagaceae at Caerhays Castle.

Tregrehan Garden (Sunday, June 8)

Like Caerhays, Tregrehan is one of the Great Gardens of Cornwall. a sheltered botanical oasis tucked into the head of St Austell Bay. The gardens have a long history and in the early 20th century attracted the attention of luminaries including W.J. Bean and B.D. Jackson of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Charles Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum. Owen Johnson, Registrar of The Tree Register, has declared Tregrehan to be "the finest private garden in Britain and Ireland for its range and size of recently introduced tree species." The collection of Fagaceae is outstanding, including many early introductions to the UK, starting with a Quercus semecarpifolia planted in 1894. We will be guided by Tom Hudson, a descendant of the original owner, who in 1987 was "young and daft" enough to take on the job of restoring the estate and gardens (learn more on the Tregrehan Garden website). Born and raised in New Zealand, Tom is a renowned plant hunter: read his account of how he found Q. utilis in Vietnam, published in the IOS Journal.

The approximate locations of the venues we will visit can be viewed on a map here.

Registration for this event is now open. Please write to the Tours and Events Committee if you are interested in participating. Registration will close May 15, 2025.

Map of Venues