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Infrared Winter View of 9.55m Girth Giant Trunk of Ancient Sweet Chestnut Tree (Castanea sativa), Croft Castle, Yarpole, near Leominster, Herefordshire
The giant ancient Sweet Chestnut has a trunk circumference of 9.55m and is surrounded by its fallen deadwood. The trunk is wide with the bark spiralling up the trunk, full of burrs and nodules.
This is part of a row of ancient giant sweet chestnut trees in the beautiful grounds of Croft Castle in Herefordshire. This avenue of chestnuts is about 1km long and called Sweet Chestnut Avenue (for obvious reasons). Many of these trees are now dead or dying due to Ink disease (Phytophthora cinnamomi) which will eventually take most of the trees in this avenue due to the intermingling of the roots. The only hope is that some of these trees will develop resistance to the disease. The National Trust, who look after the property, has a tendency to leave fallen deadwood as it is of benefit to the wider community of nature.
The parkland has a very large number of these ancient sweet chestnuts. It is thought that most of these trees are about 400 years old, which ties in with the story that the chestnuts were taken from the ships of the defeated Spanish Armada. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Infrared Winter View of 9.55m Girth Giant Trunk of Ancient Sweet Chestnut Tree (Castanea sativa), Croft Castle, Yarpole, near Leominster, Herefordshire
The giant ancient Sweet Chestnut has a trunk circumference of 9.55m and is surrounded by its fallen deadwood. The trunk is wide with the bark spiralling up the trunk, full of burrs and nodules.
This is part of a row of ancient giant sweet chestnut trees in the beautiful grounds of Croft Castle in Herefordshire. This avenue of chestnuts is about 1km long and called Sweet Chestnut Avenue (for obvious reasons). Many of these trees are now dead or dying due to Ink disease (Phytophthora cinnamomi) which will eventually take most of the trees in this avenue due to the intermingling of the roots. The only hope is that some of these trees will develop resistance to the disease. The National Trust, who look after the property, has a tendency to leave fallen deadwood as it is of benefit to the wider community of nature.
The parkland has a very large number of these ancient sweet chestnuts. It is thought that most of these trees are about 400 years old, which ties in with the story that the chestnuts were taken from the ships of the defeated Spanish Armada. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.