WESTONBIRT School is to open its historic private gardens to the public during the summer holidays.

There is an extensive terraced pleasure garden, Italianate walled gardens, water features, a grotto, grass amphitheatre and wooded walks to the lake.

There is free on-site parking and level access to ensure the gardens can be enjoyed by people of all ages, including users of wheelchairs and buggies

Westonbirt School is on the A433 near Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

Visitors are advised to follow the brown tourist information signs for the Weston- birt Arboretum and then look for the gated entrance to the school, which is between two lodge houses a few hundred yards to the east of the main entrance to the Arboretum.

The opening times will be from 11am to 4.30pm, with the last admission at 4pm, and the gardens will only be open from Thursday to Sunday, starting on July 13 and ending on September 5.

Admission charges will be £3.50 for adults and £2 for children of school age, with no charge for children aged under five. For more information, call the school office on (01666) 880333 during office hours on weekdays only.

The garden's attractions include many rare and exotic shrubs and trees, including six designated Champion Trees, which are the largest or tallest of their kind in the country.