Yorkshire Arboretum to host International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition

The Yorkshire Arboretum will host the Celebrating Our Oaks exhibition, a special category of the International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) competition, from 2nd April to 7th May. Developed in partnership with Action Oak – a major initiative to protect the UK’s oak trees – the outdoor exhibition showcases the magnificence of our oaks and demonstrates why they hold such a special place in our hearts.

The exhibition is supported by HSBC and will showcase the competition finalists’ photographs, as well as those by a number of celebrities including Joanna Lumley and Alan Titchmarsh. Yorkshire Arboretum director Dr John Grimshaw says “We’re delighted to host ’Celebrating Our Oaks’, which will be located near some of our own finest oaks, planted in the mid-1700s. The stunning images demonstrate what we stand to lose if our oaks are not looked after properly.’
With the display located a short walk from the Visitor Centre, visitors to the arboretum will be able to enjoy the exhibition at their leisure. A ‘Celebrating Our Oaks’ photo book will also be available to purchase, reproducing the images on display with a foreword by Dame Judi Dench.

‘Celebrating Our Oaks’ will travel to sites in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales following its tenure here, having already appeared at Wakehurst and Westonbirt Arboretum.

Photograph – copyright Alan Price

Slingsby to host Ryedale Festival concert in July

The Ryedale Festival’s Spring Launch Weekend took place on 15-17 March and with it the full programme for North Yorkshire’s leading summer music festival was published.   We are now pleased to report that the Festival will be returning to Slingsby’s All Saints’ church on Monday 15 July, when pianist Jonathan Plowright will be playing Brahms. This concert will be preceded by a talk by BBC radio regular Katy Hamilton, exploring the public and private faces of Brahms.

The Spring Launch weekend featured BBC New Generation Artists and proved a big success.

The Aris String Quartet kicked off proceedings in Helmsley on Friday 15 March, with quartets by Haydn, Janacek and Dvorak.

On Saturday “Come and Sing with John Rutter” in St Peter’s Norton welcomed some 300 amateur singers from across Ryedale and beyond. By all accounts, they enjoyed the occasion immensely.

Saturday evening was jazz night. In the National Centre for Early Music in York, the Festival presented composer and bass player Misha Mullov-Abbado, with his talented group of young jazz names.

The weekend was brought to a close on Sunday afternoon with a piano recital by Mariam Batsashvili, a prodigiously talented young pianist from Georgia, who beguiled with her Haydn and Mozart and wowed with her Liszt, which rocked the Birdsall House ballroom with its power.

Booking for all July’s Festival events opens on 10 April. To book, go online at www.ryedalefestival.com  or book by post to Ryedale Festival Box Office, The Memorial Hall, Potter Hill, Pickering, YO18 8AA or by phone on 01751 475777.

Outline Planning Permission for 38 New Slingsby Homes?

AN application for 38 new houses in the village of Slingsby has been submitted to Ryedale District Council’s planning department.
At a meeting of the planning committee tonight, councillors will be presented with the application by Castle Howard Ltd and the Cundill family for the new homes on a 1.75ha site east of The Balk.
For more information see here.

Arboretum Closure Update

Please note that the arboretum and café will be closed at 2pm today, Saturday 16th March (last entry at 1pm) due to expected high winds.

The arboretum will reopen fully on Sunday 17th March.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

The Yorkshire Arboretum