Volcji Potok arboretum

 
Another outing from Ljubljana, this time to the Volcji Potok arboretum, about about 45 mins from the city. It was surprisingly easy to find, being signposted from the motorway. It was once a Baroque mansion surrounded by a park. The mansion was destroyed during the second world war and the arboretum was established by the University of Ljubljana in 1952.

You walk up a tree lined avenue from the entry to reach the arboretum proper. In the photo above there is a cleverly constructed projection of what the mansion once looked like. The grounds are arranged in a kind of V shape around a central hill. We followed a clockwise route around the various areas, starting with the red Maple lake.



We then followed the left side of the V past a colourful group of azaleas and rhododendrons.



On the right was another pond from which ear-splitting sounds emerged from time to time. Close study revealed the presence of natterjack toads, presumably engaged in their courtship ritual.



The next large area was mainly given over to grass on which a number of plastic replica dinosaurs were strategically placed. We were unmoved by this, but it was lovely to her the excited shouts of small children as they entered the area. Off to one side was a typical flower meadow, with the usual, frustrating, lack of butterflies.

We walked back down to the base of the V for a restorative drink and ice cream and then addressed the right hand side which had a more park-like quality, with some large variously coloured trees.



Another nearby lake had colourful yellow flags and we were surprised when disturbances to the water surface were revealed to be turtles, rather than the large fish we had seen in the other ponds. There was also what seemed to be a replica heron, but it wasn't, as it soon took off and perched in an ungainly fashion in a tree.

Finally, we went to see the orchid house which we had missed on our initial route round. This purple one caught the eye.



Conditions: very hot - mid 20s.

Distance: we walked about 3 miles.

Rating: four stars. An oasis of quiet and calm. Probably better for flowers and wildlife than for trees. The trees perhaps needed more signage and information to highlight for us what we were seeing.