Membership Policy (FAQs)

Your membership is valid for entry throughout the year (excluding Christmas Day) during the opening times stipulated by Forestry England subject to pre-booking for key dates (see key dates when pre-booking is essential). Forestry England reserves the right to close the site to visitors and members for special events, bad weather and health and safety reasons without compensation. For current opening times, please refer to Forestry England's website.

No, for safety reasons members are only permitted to visit Westonbirt Arboretum during opening hours specified by Forestry England.

Your membership card permits you to bring up to four of your own children or grandchildren free of charge (aged 18 years and under) into Westonbirt Arboretum. Children are not permitted to use their parents’ membership cards to gain free access into the arboretum. During key dates, you are required to pre-book a free time slot for yourself and accompanying children aged 5 years and above.

Please show your active membership card or purchase confirmation email to Visitor Services to be scanned to gain access into the arboretum at all times; along with your pre-booking confirmation if applicable. Please note that the barriers at the Welcome Building are no longer in operation.

Pre-booking is essential during key dates to ensure we continue to offer the best visiting experience, efficiently manage capacity and car parking as well as protect our landscape. Unfortunately, if you don’t pre-book to visit during the key dates, you may not be able to access the arboretum.

Time slots are available up to seven days in advance on a rolling basis and can be booked up until midnight the day before.

Entry will only be permitted with a valid membership card or a valid purchase confirmation email so please bring one of the items with you when you visit otherwise you may be required to pay for admission. Admission fees are charged by Forestry England and are non-refundable.

Unfortunately, cards stored in smart phone apps cannot be accepted.

Your membership card is for your use only. Visitor Services reserve the right to ask members for additional ID.

Free entry for your carer is at the discretion of Forestry England. If you require assistance getting around, please pre-book a mobility scooter ahead of visiting. At times, a shuttle service operates onsite.

When you join or renew your membership online you receive a purchase confirmation email which will enable you to gain access to the arboretum, subject to pre-booking for key dates. Instructions on how to pre-book are provided in your purchase confirmation email.

If you have joined or renewed by post, or paid by cash or cheque at the Welcome Building, you will be able to visit once you have received your membership cards within 30 days.

Yes, you can join or renew your membership at the Welcome Building with the volunteers when paying by Direct Debit*, credit or debit card (Visa or Mastercard).

You'll need to complete an online application form to join or renew your membership so please allow 10 - 15 minutes to do this when visiting.

The reciprocal arrangement we have with partner gardens is that only the named adult cardholder on the membership card can gain free entry to the arboretum. Time slots and any additional tickets must be pre-booked for key dates in advance. On the booking page you will see your partner garden ticket option to book a time slot. On arrival you will be asked to show your membership card or a letter about your membership.

Yes, we’re delighted to offer our members a 10% discount off your purchases in the Westonbirt Shop with all profits going towards caring for the arboretum. Please show your membership card to the Shop Team to receive your discount.

Please note that membership cards are non-transferable and the discount is only applicable to purchases made by the named membership card holder.

Your membership entitles you to gain discounted entry into our partner gardens. A list of these gardens with links to their websites can be found here. To gain discounted entry into these gardens, you may be required to pre-book a time slot to visit, as partner gardens operate varying entry policies. Please check directly with each garden prior to visiting. We are unable to facilitate entry on your behalf.

Please note that this benefit does not apply to children and they will be required to pay applicable admission fees when visiting partner gardens.

We love keeping you up to date with what's going on at Westonbirt Arboretum. Membership benefits which do not directly relate to your membership such as our monthly eNews, Forest Live pre-sale notifications and Enchanted Christmas earlybird, require your consent for us to keep in touch. Your details will not be passed onto third parties, so if you'd like to keep up to date with information about our charity plus Westonbirt Arboretum's news and events, please opt-in by filling out our contact form.

Yes, if you join as a new member you will be issued with at least 12 months validity.

Admission tickets are payable to Forestry England and are non–refundable. If you wish to visit the arboretum as a member, please join online here before you visit.

When you join online, you will receive a purchase confirmation email with a unique Order ID which will enable you to visit or pre-book for key dates for up to 30 days until you receive your membership card.

We encourage you to renew your membership online within 30 days of your membership expiry date so you can retain your supporter tenure status with us, as this helps keep our administration fees at a minimum. In this instance, your membership will be renewed for the month following your previous expiry date. Memberships renewed outside of 30 days of expiry date will be treated as new memberships and your tenure will not be retained.

Please request a replacement card prior to visiting the arboretum by using our request a replacement card form. You will receive a replacement card purchase confirmation email within 48 hours (weekdays) so you can visit the arboretum, subject to pre-booking for key dates in advance, whilst a new card is posted to you within 30 days.

A replacement card donation of £5 would be appreciated to help cover admin costs and you can donate online here. Please note that replacement cards automatically invalidate any previous membership cards, therefore if you find your old card please dispose of it.

We’re happy to help with specific membership requests. Simply email membership@fowa.org.uk providing us with your membership number (which you can find at the bottom of your membership card) and advise us of the changes you wish to make to your name, title or address. We'll then acknowledge your email and update your membership accordingly.

Your membership is issued for 12 months to the named applicants only and is non-transferrable. One month prior to your membership expiring, we will write to you asking if you wish to make any changes to your membership. Please add or remove members at this point by contacting membership@fowa.org.uk

As the named member, your membership is for your use only for the duration of your annual subscription and is non-transferrable. One month prior to your membership expiring, we will write to you asking if you wish to make any changes to your membership. Please make any changes at this point by contacting membership@fowa.org.uk

One month before your membership is due to expire we will contact you.

If you pay by Direct Debit, we will send you an Advance Notice Letter advising you of the due date of your next installment along with your new membership cards. These cards will be valid for use once your installment has been debited.

If you pay by credit card, we will send you a letter inviting you to renew your membership by signing up to pay by Direct Debit or to renew online at fowa.org.uk by debit/credit card. The easiest way to renew is by opting to pay by Direct Debit as your membership will be automatically renewed each year until to wish to change it.

If you don’t have internet access you can post a cheque to us made payable to ‘FOWA’.

As a registered charity, we can reclaim 25p in every £1 of your subscription fee from HMRC. This enables us to give an additional £285,000 a year towards the arboretum's conservation; so if you're a registered tax player please Gift Aid your membership donation.

If you change your bank details, your bank may provide a service which enables you to notify this change to your Direct Debit Service Providers. However, if you've chosen to notify your Direct Debit Service Providers personally, simply download, complete and return this printable bank mandate form by post to us.

If your first Direct Debit is unsuccessfully claimed, we will attempt to collect it again the following month. If your donation fails on two consecutive collection attempts, you will only be able to apply for membership using your credit/debit card for all future applications.

You can purchase a gift of membership online by debit/credit card only and the membership card/s will be sent directly to your giftee. Approximately four weeks prior to the membership’s expiry date, we'll send you an invitation to renew the membership gift.

It is not possible to purchase memberships as a gift by Direct Debit.

We hope you don't need to cancel your membership, but in the event your circumstances change and you pay by Direct Debit, please advise us by email at membership@fowa.org.uk or post of your intention to cancel a minimum of 7 days notice before your next Direct Debit due date. Alternately, you can cancel your installment directly with your bank.

Unfortunately, we are unable to refund any portion of your unused membership and voicemails cannot be actioned.

We ask all members to abide by Forestry England notices and instructions when visiting Westonbirt Arboretum, displaying respect for staff, volunteers and other visitors at all times. Conduct which causes distress, harassment or defamation by members will not be tolerated and Forestry England reserves the right to retrieve membership cards from abusive members. The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum reserves the right to revoke arboretum access rights as a membership benefit.

Your membership payment is a charitable donation. Therefore we are unable to refund any portion of your unused membership.