New walking tour in Caistor boasts the great outdoors featuring the diverse tree species the town has to offer

Those with a love of the great outdoors should take note of Caistor’s Tree Trail, a new walking tour of up to two miles around this historic market town, featuring 27 different species of trees.

The Tree Trail launches with two guided tours by tree specialist Dan Kendall, on Saturday 24th September at 1pm, and Sunday 2nd October at 10am. The tours are free to join and start at the Caistor Arts and Heritage Centre on Plough Hill, no booking is required. An informative 20-page printed guide supports the trail and is available for just £3, raising funds for Caistor GO², a group which is on a mission to reduce the town’s environmental impact.

These initial events coincide with the Great Big Green Week, a nationwide celebration of action on climate change. Beyond them, the Tree Trail has been designed to be a self-guided activity for individuals, families, and groups. The guides will continue to be available at the Caistor Arts and Heritage Centre. They include a map of the full trail, as well as shorter versions, with the location of trees highlighted. There are tips on how to identify each tree, accompanied by information on the uses, folk law, and ecological benefits of each tree. The trail features some of the UK’s oldest species of tree, the world’s tallest species, those that helped build the British Empire and those used in modern medicine to fight cancer!

Caistor’s Tree Trail is a collaborative project, inspired by teaching professional Nick McCann and the initial research of Elodie Hodges, a student from Caistor C of E and Methodist Primary. Experienced arboriculture consultant Dan Kendall applied his technical knowledge to the project, before local creative business Systematic led the design and production of the Tree Trail guides. The Woodland Trust also supported the project.

Dan Kendall commented, “Trees are at the heart of sustainable communities and surrounding yourself with nature has many benefits for mental and physical health. The Tree Trail aims to inspire a greater appreciation of the variety of tree species around us. It is an accessible, educational and fun activity for everyone and takes in a beautiful market town, on the northern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds.”

The Tree Trail guide is printed in the UK on FSC® certified paper. Endorsement by the Forest Stewardship Council® ensures that the raw material of wood fibre is sourced from sustainable forests, where land is responsibly managed, natural habitats of plants and animals are conserved, and the rights of forestry workers and local communities are respected. Paper is one of the few truly sustainable products, as wood is a natural and renewable material. The guide is proud to reflect Systematic’s link with the Love Paper initiative, a global campaign promoting the sustainable and attractive attributes of print, paper and paper packaging.