I like the distant “elephant trees” on the ridge when you’re riding thru Weardale
Me too!
Gibside is also a great place woody goodness, with some great vistas (sorry, not the best pic):
I also like the way trees can transform even relatively humble places into something spectacular in winter:
Wych Elm. I know a small wood that's just hanging on. It just feels different when your in it... Very special.
And the....
Silver Birch. Hazel and the Blackthorn.
Basically all trees, shrubs and brash and bramble. Even grass.
One of my favourite stands of trees. The Caterpillar
Im not sure I have a favourite 'tree' as such, as most of the time its in plank form. Maybe not socially acceptable currently 😆
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But the thing I like about trees is the way the internal structure arranges itself. You can understand that the grain direction runs pretty much straight, or slightly wavy as the grain grows and each layer is laid down. But with some trees how that process happens is quite beyond my understanding.
Please understand, trees are great, and they have propelled society forward. Sure they have an earthy presence about them, especially the singular standing alone on a hillside, but also as a material they need to be celebrated more.
So I suppose my favorite tree is the west African Bubinga tree. As its internal structure is both fascinating and beautiful to look at.
Please understand, trees are great, and they have propelled society forward. Sure they have an earthy presence about them, especially the singular standing alone on a hillside, but also as a material they need to be celebrated more.
I won’t argue with that, wood is a wonderful resource, it’s constantly renewable, and as a material for constructing and making things both practical and of great beauty, almost without equal. Just the infinite variety of grain patterns alone, plus colours makes it hugely satisfying and rewarding as a material for making things that just satisfy the soul.
Wooden items are turning up in melting glaciers from several thousand years ago that are teaching us about our own human history, for example. Yew bows that were found in the Mary Rose, that were still well enough preserved to be able to shoot arrows have thought us new things about our own history.
I’ve recently taken up archery, and I was talking to an archer from another club who uses a longbow. Most these days are laminated, but his are one piece of yew. The wood mostly comes from Italy, (he has seven bows, one he made himself, and the wood takes five years to season) and apparently there was so much demand for raw timber from yew trees during the 100 Years War, that there wasn’t enough available in Britain to supply the necessary numbers for the armies involved, so Italy became the main source! Every day’s a school day!
I’ve made several forage sticks, a type of walking stick with the top shaped for comfort, but also to be able to hook branches and harvest whatever is on them. I’ve got two made from Holly, two from Hazel, one from hazel and Yew, so next I’m looking for a yew stem growing in such a way to make a one piece forage stick. Because of the type of growth needed, it may take a while…
Here’s my yew/hazel stick…
and this one’s all Holly, you can see the difference in colour where there’s new and older growth, the stick is effectively upside-down, which is why it’s difficult to find exactly the right stem. But it’s very satisfying when you do!
I like them all.
But round here, we do some really nice old Beeches so those tend to be my faves.
We have an amazing one just outside the village, but fires, wind and age are getting it close to it's end now I reckon. Sad.
But did find another cool one on tonight's ride.
Yew wood takes five years to season
The Yew tree is an interesting tree and theres no doubt. Incredibly long lived, it is said that the likes of oak or ash may reach maturity in a hundred years, but thats a flash in the pan to the Yew, which isn't considered mature until it reaches 900 years.
The Fortingall Yew for example is one of the oldest trees in Europe. Its in Perthshire and is judged to be between 3000 and 5000 years old. Although I did hear somewhere it was much older than that.
Mine are multiple, and are the ancient oaks that make up Brocton Coppice.
My absolute favourite place on Earth.
Another birch fan here. I love how the small leaves flutter in the breeze. They look particularly stunning in the autumn, when the leaves turn a beautiful copper orange/brown. Like someone's hung a load of twinkling pennies on the tree.
My specific favourites are the two I planted in my garden - one each to commemorate the birth of each of my two boys. Thought it would be nice to watch them grow as the boys grow - and it has been! They both refer to them as 'my tree '.
I also love the autumnal colour of a nice beech - such a vibrant copper orange.
Tough choice but have a soft spot for silver birch
Wish wisha wisha (Faraway Tree anyone?)
Is it just me that likes weeping willows, hanging in the river, beautiful in reflections, but especially when theyre covered in ice. (?)
Like this:-....
Bristol people. Is the stand of trees on the skyline, over East towards Bath, generally well recognised? Kelston Hill I think?
I have stopped to admire the "roughly symmetrical" form and dazzle of cornus controversa variegata aka wedding cake tree enough times to resolve to plant one in my garden.
@52.791139,-3.8871228,2a,75y,213.34h,95.11t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sV2VjvpBXHfB3Vt_GmSeAGQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?authuser=0&entry=ttu">love the trees @coedy great place for a bbq.
some famous trees in the grauniad today
Drive past this regularly (Its in a field next to Burnley Rd in Mythomroyd) and TBH have no idea of what type of tree it even is. But it looks very out of place in the middle of a field surrounded by lush greenery. Known locally as the 'dead' tree, I think its beautiful always catches the eye when I'm passing.
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Poss my fav is a veteran ash in the middle of the new forest. I love a decent old ash as they are a bit rarer here than oak and beech which are also amazing as old trees. Poss my other fav is a field maple in the autumn showing its dainty yellow leaves in an otherwise green canopy. I think I like most trees, each occupying a niche that just works. Funnily enough sycamore are some of my least favourite trees but obv the sycamore gap tree was perfect in the niche that it once existed in. Same for Scot’s pine on heathlands even Sitka spruce up on the hills or gnarly old yews in churchyards.
Probably an old oak tree on our childhood dog walking footpath, it had a small split between the roots which me, my sister and the dog could just fit through. We would crawl inside in near dark and just about be able to stand up. Dad would then put his arms through another small gap in the roots to scare us! It’s still standing, I can’t fit in anymore though.
Stow on the Wold Church doorway yew trees are cool if you are a fellow Tolkien nerd.
Visited the local Beech on a dog walk tonight. Another big old branch has come down and the access paths have been fenced off by FE now for safety. Full of White Rot and being left to a "managed decline". Around 350 years old (UK Beeches have a lifespan of 300-400 years apparently).
I’m really quite sad that the lovely Monterey Cypress in Birdham church yard has come down in the recent storms 🙁
This little clump in Teesdale that I used to look at out of my back window.
How did I not see this thread until now?
Anyway... probably beech.
I know they're a bit nasty in the way that they tend to kill off everything else underneath, but I love 'em.
There's a few massive ones around here, amazing things, great root systems showing sometimes too.
Plus they're edible! Tasty leaves & nuts.
Love the smooth bark and running my hand over it feeling the shapes underneath, often looks like muscles.
Big trees are an odd mix of incredible power and utter helplessness: they can smash down walls and grow through concrete, hold up many tons of weight, yet can be cut down or harmed by anyone. I find it very sobering sometimes, sitting there and contemplating it.
Glen Etive, should have fallen into the water a couple of hundred years ago. Always the promise of a good day when I walk past her and also thankfully far enough away from the risk of being sawn at. 
Not sure if it's my favourite, but the old yew at Fortingall always hugely impresses me, plus it's on one of my favourite road ride routes. I'd love the Pontius Pilate thing to be true (that he was born under it's shade) but sadly it's almost certainly a myth. Still a lovely tree though.
I love Aspens. They are called tremble in French, which is what the leaves do.
Given my surname (of which my user name is an anagram) I'm a fan of rowans too.
So many that I get to see, could probably narrow it down to a 100. Maybe. 😂
Hard to pick one. There's an amazing sessile oak in Bishop's Knoll in Bristol. Apparently it's 5 planted closely together so they are now one. It's just vast and because of the steep slope you can view it from all sorts of angles.
My kid's favourite is a monkey puzzle that someone has put in the tiny front garden of their 2 bed terrace. It's way past the 'ornate' stage and definitely into the 'problematic' stage as it's already taller than the house. Glad I'm not their neighbour. I find it fascinating that a tree originating from so far away seems to thrive anywhere.
Their other favourite is the crumpetty tree which is of course fictional 😉
This is a Blackbutt ( eucalyptus pilularis) about halfway up my driveway.
I love coming home to it. Probably about 100 years old.
A few years back the crown came down across the drive, which tends to happen. It was home to cockatoos.
