Good news, reader: the first day of spring is within touching distance. After longs bouts of rainy grey days, the UK is finally going to get some colour back.
One of the prettiest signs of warmer days is, of course, cherry blossoms. There’s loads of places across the UK where you can walk through the glorious pink petals – but there’s one university campus that might just trump them all.
With 296 blossoms on its site, Keele University, just outside Stoke-on-Trent, is thought to have the largest collection of flowering cherry trees in the whole of the UK – and possibly even Europe. The first of its cherries were planted when the university was founded in the 1940s and the collection has kept growing ever since.
Did you know that there are actually over 300 varieties and hybrids of cherry trees, all slightly different shapes, sizes and shades of pink? Well, there are. And Keele’s collection includes some that can’t even be found over in Japan (the cherry tree capital of the world) and two so rare there’s only one other example in the UK.
This year, the uni is celebrating 75 years of existence and, naturally, is planting even more cherries to mark the occasion. Once they’re planted later this year, its collection will total over 300.
For the most picture perfect view of the blossoms, you’ll want to go to Keele Uni’s aptly named Cherry Tree Walk, which is next to the university chapel, between early March and late May. There’s also a memorial garden where the blossoms have been planted to mark special occasions or in tribute to Keele alumni.
Speaking of, one alum of the uni just so happens to be Time Out’s founder Tony Elliott, who studied economics, French and history there in the ’60s.
Here are some more pics of the cherry blossoms of Keele University’s glorious cherry blossoms.
You can find out more about Keele Uni’s collection of cherry trees (and how to visit them) on the university website here.
Flower power with Time Out
Cherry blossoms aren’t the only beautiful blooms we have to look forward to over the coming months. At Time Out, we’ve put together lists of all the best places to see wildflowers in the UK and where to find pretty lilac wisteria, gorgeous bluebells and deliciously scented lavender fields.
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