Batsford Arboretum, England

This card arrived earlier this week from the not so far away Gloucestershire :) I'm a bit sad that the UK to UK tag in the British Isles community on the postcrossing forum isn't more active as I really like it and it's always nice to received postcards from the UK.



Batsford Arboretum is a 55-acre (220,000 m2) arboretum and botanical garden near Batsford in Gloucestershire, England, about 1½ miles north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh. It is owned and run by the Batsford Foundation and is open to the public daily throughout most of the year.

The arboretum sits on the Cotswold scarp and contains around 2,900 trees, with a large collection of Japanese maples, magnolias and pines. It maintains the national collection of Prunus (sato-sakura Group) — Japanese Flowering Cherry — under the NCCPG National Plant Collection scheme run by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens. Annie, who sent me this card, tells me that there is also a Falconry Centre there. It all looks so beautiful, I'd love to visit the place one day. There's more information about the place here.



The stamp is from a miniature sheet of 4 stamps issued earlier this year, regarding the tv series 'Thunderbirds'. The stamp is brilliant, but the scan really doesn't do it justice. It's one of these lenticular stamps where by tilting the stamp you can see a launch sequences from the show. Apparently these are also the first motion stamps ever issued by the Royal Mail.