Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, takes to treetops during Arboretum visit

The Duchess of Cornwall took in the colourful display of Autumn today when she visited The National Arboretum.

“There’s nothing better than working outside,” Camilla declared as she met staff and toured the 600 acre arboretum at Westonbirt, just down the road from Highgrove, the home she shares with Prince Charles near Tetbury in Gloucestershire.

It was almost like normal times again as the Duchess strolled around the botanical gardens, saying hello to tourists who had no idea she would be there.

Since March she and most of the Royal Family have avoided going to places where crowds could gather. There was a more relaxed atmosphere at Westonbirt today but, in line with government guidance, there was no shaking of hands or breach of social distancing during the hour-long visit.

Camilla, 73, is patron of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum, and a regular visitor over the years. She took the opportunity to walk the picturesque Maple Loop and see the spectacular autumn displays of the national collection of Maples and Japanese Maple Cultivars.

Started in the early 1980s, the collection contains around 297 different types of cultivar, including some of the finest specimens in the UK.

Camilla also walked across the gardens’ 300 metre long and 13 metre high treetop walkway to see the canopy.

She also spoke to staff facing the heartbreaking task of removing trees infected with Chalara Ash Dieback.

The disease, first identified at Westonbirt in 2015, causes thinning in the crown and ultimately the death of ash trees and is likely to cause significant damage to the UK’s ash population.

Mark Ballard, curator at the arboretum, told Camilla that cutting down ash trees was also dangerous work because they are so brittle and liable to collapse.

“I was always taught when I started out that an ash would kill you as soon as look at you,” he said. “We are looking at what can replace the ash and thinking about other native broadleaf trees.”