Tag: forestry england

Deacon Blue Announced as Latest Forest Live Headliner for show at Forestry England Westonbirt Arboretum 

Featured Image Credit: Jamie Carter

Special guests Lightning Seeds to Support

Forest Live, Forestry England’s summer concert series presented with Cuffe & Taylor, has announced much loved and revered Scottish hitmakers Deacon Blue as the latest headliner for its 2026 shows. Deacon Blue will be joined by Lightning Seeds at the stunning Forestry England Westonbirt Arboretum on Thursday June 25rd June…….

Speaking about hitting the road, and hinting at the band’s recent album title, frontman Ricky Ross said: “No one knows where The Great Western Road ends up, least of all us! For now the road goes on and next summer we are taking the shows to some beautiful venues. We can’t wait to see you there and we promise to make every night very special.”

Celebrating 40 years since Ross and Dougie Vipond first formed the band, Deacon Blue’s Westonbirt headline show will be a career-spanning night of hits including ‘Chocolate Girl’, ‘Wages Day’ and ‘Fergus Sings The Blues’ — alongside highlights from ‘The Great Western Road’, their most successful studio release in more than three decades, reaching Number 3 in the UK and topping the Scottish Album Chart. Recorded at the legendary Rockfield Studios, the album reunites Ross and guitarist Gregor Philp as producers, with engineer Matt Butler, who worked on Deacon Blue’s classic debut ‘Raintown’. The record captures the band’s journey across four decades, reflecting on life, love and longevity. 

With more than 7 million albums sold, two UK Number One albums, and a songbook filled with heartfelt, singalong hits, Deacon Blue remain one of the UK’s most enduring and best-loved live acts. Their headline show at Westonbirt promises to be a celebration of their remarkable story – and a showcase of a band still creating, evolving, and connecting with fans new and old.

Joining them as very special guests are Liverpudlian indie icons Lightning Seeds, the masterminds behind timeless favourites ‘Pure’, ‘Lucky You,’ and ‘The Life of Riley’.

Bursting on to the music scene in the late ’80s with their shimmering debut ‘Cloudcuckooland’, the band quickly became one of the UK’s most cherished indie-pop acts. Led by songwriter and producer Ian Broudie, their catalogue spans era-defining hits like ‘Sense’, and ‘Change’. Renowned for melodic brilliance and feel-good live shows, Lightning Seeds continue to delight fans across generations – the perfect addition to an unmissable night at Westonbirt Arboretum.

Deacon Blue and Lightning Seeds join confirmed headliners for the event’s 2026 Forest Live shows – Becky Hill (Cannock Chase), The Kooks (Delamere), Snow Patrol (Thetford Forest) and UB40 ft Ali Campbell (playing all sites) – with many more phenomenal names to be added. 

Merging stellar performances from world-class acts with beautiful outdoor locations to create an atmosphere like no other, Forest Live will celebrate its 25th Anniversary in 2026 with stunning shows in four forest venues: Forestry England Cannock Chase, Delamere Forest, High Lodge Thetford Forest and Westonbirt Arboretum.

Forestry England manage and care for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests. They use the money Forest Live raises to maintain these beautiful natural areas for everyone to enjoy, run important conservation projects and keep growing trees.

Last year they planted some 7.4 million trees and welcomed 313 million visits in 2024/25. Everyone in England lives within a one-hour drive of one of the nation’s forests. Over two million people have enjoyed the Forest Live gigs over the last 25 years. 

Following a hugely successful run of shows over the past 25 years, this year sees Forestry England present the concert series in partnership with Live Nation’s Cuffe & Taylor for the third year running. 

Deacon Blue and Special Guests Lightning Seeds

Forestry England Westonbirt Arboretum – Thursday June 25

General tickets will go on sale on Friday November 7 at 10am.

Fans can sign up for information, announcements, and exclusive pre-sale access at forestlive.com.

More From Deacon Blue here:

Pumpkins are No Treat for Woodland Wildlife

Dumping pumpkins in the woods is bad for wildlife says Forestry England.

As millions of pumpkins hit supermarket shelves and make their way to gardens, porches, and windowsills across the region, Forestry England is reminding members of the public not to leave spent pumpkins in forests or woodlands. 

Each year, well-meaning social media posts circulate that encourage people to leave pumpkins in the woods for wildlife to eat. But pumpkins are not natural to woodlands and can make some animals very poorly, such as our declining population of hedgehogs. Decomposing food waste can also attract pests and spread disease. 

Instead, Forestry England recommends getting creative in the kitchen to use up Halloween pumpkins or recycling them at home. 

Forestry England senior ecologist, Sam Pegler said, “While it’s wonderful that people want to do their bit for nature, leaving rotting pumpkins in the countryside isn’t good for wildlife. Some animal centres may accept a small number of pumpkins for their residents, but these are carefully given to appropriate species and removed before they rot down. This isn’t possible in a forest setting, so is best avoided completely. 

My favourite way to use pumpkin is to explore the countless free and tasty recipes online. It isn’t all about soup, pumpkin is brilliant for stews, curries, pies, and even pasta and risotto dishes. If pumpkin really isn’t your thing, it can be disposed of in your food recycling container or composted at home. The high water content of pumpkin makes it a great composting material to add nitrogen and moisture to your compost bin.” 

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Forestry Operations Due to Start at West Woods

Featured Photo: Forestry England/Crown copyright

Planned timber harvesting is set to begin at popular walking destination, West Woods, from the end of September until March 2025….

The forest will be open to visitors throughout, but Forestry England is asking walkers to help keep themselves and workers safe by following essential route diversions.

In areas of the forest where mature beech trees are growing densely, they will be thinned out. This will give the remaining trees more space to grow to their potential and allow more light onto the forest floor, which improves conditions for ground flora and the wildlife it supports. Operators will also remove ash trees which are close to access routes around the forest and showing signs of chalara ash dieback. This is a destructive disease that causes trees to become brittle, drop branches, or fall altogether so these trees will be removed for safety.

At the same time, they’ll be working to protect the Wansdyke and Long Barrow scheduled monuments in West Woods by reducing bracken, removing trees in poor condition that might cause damage, and clearing any new trees trying to grow. They work with Historic England to plan how to conserve and improve these irreplaceable monuments.

Throughout the works, Forestry England will be taking steps to protect West Woods’ famous annual display of native bluebells. Vehicle movements will be carefully managed to minimise their impact on soils and bulbs, and timber will not be stacked in areas that are important for wild flowers. All the timber felled in West Woods is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) as sustainably produced and supplies UK timber mills.

Area Manager, Nikki Morgans said, “West Woods is a working woodland producing certified sustainable timber, which is a strong, versatile, and renewable material. Many people see forests and woodlands as natural environments, but they are often working landscapes being carefully managed to benefit people, wildlife, and our economy.”

“Our work this winter is not only producing timber, it is essential to support the
future of West Woods and the features that make it so special. The forest is open
to visitors throughout the work but there will be some necessary disruption to the easy access route, and the Wansdyke path will be closed to allow us to work safely.”

Visitors can help us to re-open these routes as quickly as possible by following
safety signs and instructions. Find out more about Forestry England’s work in West Woods at Here.