Tallest tree in UK declared
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Related articles
Measuring a tree the same height as eight double decker buses is no easy task but not one the National Trust has shied away from.
The organisation has declared a Norway Maple at Prior Park Landscape Garden in Bath the national champion tree after being measured at 36 metres (118 feet).
This makes the Maple the tallest in the UK by a clear six metres.
The previous champion tree, growing at Glamis Castle in Angus, Scotland, is 30 metres tall.
Matthew Ward, National Trust head gardener for Bath, said: "For years I've looked at this tree and thought it was unusually big but when we finally measured it ourselves we realised it was one of the tallest in the country."
The tree is in a sheltered part of the park growing among other trees on a bank making the process of confirming its height all the more tricky.
The measuring was done by a team from the Tree Register who climbed the Maple and used a combination of poles and tape measures to find the exact height.
"It hasn't been planted up as a specialist arboretum and because, in the past it had been left alone, there are a lot of self seeded trees creating quite a natural feel to the woodland," Mr Ward said.
"We are in a hollow close to the city and it is a sheltered pleasant spot which the trees certainly seem to like.
"As well as this superb Norway Maple we have a number of yew trees which grow particularly well."
The National Trust is maintaining Prior Park in the spirit of Ralph Allen, the 18th century entrepreneur who created it, as his vision of blending a garden with the natural landscape.
In addition to the work at Prior Park, the Trust is carrying out a three year survey to reveal the full extent and condition of the estimated 500 tree avenues in its care.
The project began last year to help prioritise funding and bring together the stories associated with them.
PA
From the blogs
Dish of the Day: The Reluctant Vegetarian’s recipe for Triple the Greens Risotto
As a reluctant vegetarian (so reluctant that I'm not vegetarian at all) and a reluctant risotto eate...
“I’m not going to do ANYTHING for you”
Time for the monthly treat from David Hayes, who writes about British politics for the Australian In...
Nadine Dorries’s new business: an engineering consultancy that has become a media consultancy
Nadine Dorries talks freely about many things, but not whether she was paid to go on I'm a Cleberity...
Children’s Books: Recommended read – ‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness
Thirteen-year-old Conor awakes in bed one night to discover that the yew tree outside his house has ...
-
Lord Lawson's climate-change think tank risks being dismantled after complaint it persistently misled public
-
'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong': The true effect of the badger cull
-
Mind how ewe go: the sheep-eating killer plant that’s ready to bloom
-
The 10 best folding bikes
-
10 best hiking boots
- 1 Disability campaigners celebrate 'victory' after government rethink over plans to make it more difficult to claim disability benefits
- 2 'Jail reckless bankers': Report urges the Government to introduce new criminal offence for reckless management
- 3 Breaking the Silence: In the reality of occupation, there are no Palestinian civilians – only potential terrorists
- 4 Uri Geller psychic spy? The spoon-bender's secret life as a Mossad and CIA agent revealed
- 5 Vice pulls 'breathtakingly tasteless' fashion shoot glorifying the suicides of famous female authors from Sylvia Plath to Virginia Woolf
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
How will you make today delicious?
Tell us how you plan to make today delicious and you could win a £50 M&S gift card.
Learn a new language
Add another string to your bow with Rosetta Stone, whether it's Spanish, Italian or Mandarin...
Win a Nook® Simple Touch eReader
Find out how Nook® is supporting the Evening Standard's Get Reading campaign - and your chance to win one.
Free reading festival for families
Follow The Standard's campaign to get London's children reading - and experience this unique event at Trafalgar Square on 13 July.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
iJobs General
FATCA Project Manager
£600 - £750 per day: Orgtel: FATCA Project Manager - Banking - London - £600-...
Ambitous PR Account Manager for Top London Agency!
£30000 - £35000 per annum: May & Stephens Recruitment Group: If you're an ambi...
PR Account Director - Top Healthcare Communications Agency
£43000 - £50000 per annum + £5K Car Allowance + Bens : May & Stephens Recrui...
PR Account Executive & Social Media Guru-Top Tech PR Agency!
£18000 - £22000 per annum + Bens : May & Stephens Recruitment Group: If you're...
First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan
Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention
Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title


Comments