Summer Open Evenings at the National Memorial Arboretum
The National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield is holding a series of summer opening evenings during May, June and July. These evenings will offer visitors the chance to witness this remarkable place at a time not normally permitted. Visitors might also be rewarded with a stunning sunset, framed by the Portland Stone walls of the Armed Forces Memorial.
Opened just eight years ago, the National Memorial Arboretum comprises 150 acres of trees, gardens and memorials, including the towering Portland Stone walls of the Armed Forces Memorial, honouring the 16,000 servicemen and women who have died on duty, or as a result of terrorism, since shortly after the end of the Second World War.
Most of the memorials are dedicated to the military, but the police service, ambulance and fire brigade and other organisations are also remembered, and help to make any visit to the Arboretum a powerful and uplifting experience. It is the nation’s only such place of remembrance, and now attracts around 300,000 visitors a year.
As well as specimen trees, the Arboretum is planted with all 32 surviving truly native British trees and attracts a diverse range of wildlife. Summer evening visitors may be privileged with sightings of brown owls, otters, brown hares, skylarks and lapwings.
“The Arboretum’s wonderful memorials have ensured it a position of national importance and as a focal point for remembrance and commemoration” said Lynne Barkas, the Arboretum’s events officer. “To see it in the stillness and beauty of a glorious summer evening promises to be an uniquely memorable experience.”
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