Harcourt Arboretum, in the village of Nuneham Courtenay, has the best collection of trees in Oxfordshire set within 130 acres of historic picturesque landscape.
In 1835, Archbishop Vernon Harcourt commissioned artist and landscape designer William Gilpin to create an eight-acre Pinetum and Serpentine Ride in the parkland next to Nuneham House, where the Harcourt family lived. The Serpentine Ride is a grassy path that defines the layout of the Arboretum and guides visitors along a winding route among beautiful glades which include collections of flowering trees and shrubs. Between May and August, this area is filled with a spectrum of dramatic colors, particularly while rhododendrons and azaleas are in flower, and is a favorite spot for small birds and dragonflies.