Champion tree trail

Bute Park contains a nationally significant arboretum collection. Dr Owen Johnson of the Tree Register of the British Isles (TROBI) described the park as ‘unique in public parks in Britain or Ireland for its scope and its quantity of rare material’.

An arboretum is a planned collection of trees where specimens from around the world are planted for ornamental and/or educational reasons. You can think of it like an exhibition of trees.

Bute Park has the highest number of “champion trees” in any UK public park (the park with the second highest number of champions is Roath Park, so Cardiff is uniquely blessed with special trees!) A champion tree is the tallest specimen recorded in the British Isle or has the largest trunk girth measured at 1.5m off the ground.

Don’t expect all our champions to be giants as some trees are naturally grow small when compared to other species. Also, some trees may be classed as champions due to their rarity rather than stature. There is simply a lack of competition from other known UK specimens.   

We are in the process of 

• Removing posts in the ground from the 2016 trail 
• Installing new posts and plaques for the 2024 trail

The Champion tree trail list is current to August 2024 and the locations given as W3W will show you the accurate locations of the current champions.

Click through to our 3 trails –