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.

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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.

Please note: Due to breeding regulations and to help with genetic diversity, we are currently awaiting our next set of adult Red Squirrels, and expect the new male Squirrel to take up residence in time for Easter, with females following at the appropriate time. This means that currently there are no Squirrels to see in the enclosure, however the space is a great spot for bird life including Tom Honks and Egg Ryan our Lesser White-fronted Geese, and has more information on the programme and the species.

The Red Squirrel Enclosure is open every day from 9.30am until 4pm. We are currently doing some work in there to improve the squirrel and visitor experience.

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.