A Scots pine at the National Trust’s Cragside in Northumberland has officially become the tallest native conifer in the UK and the 200,000th record on the Tree Register of Britain and Ireland.
Measuring 40 metres tall – the same height as 10 London double-decker buses stacked on top of each other – the conifer is Cragside’s fifth champion tree.
In total, the charity cares for 200 champion trees across England, Wales and Northern Ireland including the UK’s overall champion tree, the Pendunculate (English or Common Oak), measuring 40.4m tall which can be seen at Stourhead in Wiltshire.
Christopher Clues, tree and woodland manager at Cragside, said: "We’re thrilled that Cragside is home to the tallest native conifer in the UK; it is a truly wonderful specimen.
"This Scots pine is not like other commercially grown Scots pine trees, which are usually grown and thinned out after 30 years; this one has been left to its own devices and has a deep bushy crown to it.
"I’ve been climbing and measuring trees at Cragside for 10 years and scaling this tree is both challenging and rewarding. With over seven million trees on the estate, including Noble and Douglas Firs, it’s really satisfying knowing that I’ve climbed one of the tallest ever recorded."
The wooded landscape at Cragside was originally planted under the direction of the Victorian inventor owners, Lord and Lady Armstrong.
Consisting of seven million trees and shrubs, it sprawls across this dramatic landscape creating a fantasy woodland garden.
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