The City of London is often dubbed The Square Mile and that’s more or less right – it is 1.2 square miles. But the writ of the City of London extends to a further 10,000 acres of public green spaces: Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, etc.
One of its far flung purlieus is Burnham Beeches. BB is 375 hectares, bigger than the City of London itself (311 hectares) and excellent for dog walking. It’s good for me to expand my vocabulary so I was pleased to see a pendunculate oak; an oak with peduncles. It is known as the Druids’ Oak and is the oldest tree at Burnham Beeches, some 800 years old. Its girth is almost the same as its height; both are about nine metres apparently, although my picture makes it look taller.
At least one oak in Windsor Great Park was planted in Charles II’s reign but this specimen is more than twice as old. How did it achieve such longevity? A story board has the answer.
Since you have an interest in ancient trees and walking ( as do I ) you should consider Richmond Park for both. According to the current edition of The Oldie, the Park has as many ancient trees as Germany. These include the 750 year old Royal Oak which is hollow and can be entered. In the same connection, you may have seen a recent report about ancient yews. A new method of dating them shows, I recall, that the oldest are only a couple of thousand years old rather than four or five.
Richmond is on the agenda when Bertie’s third vaccination kicks in – middle of July. Wimbledon too, when the tennis is over.