John's Blog

Whilst clearing away some of the regeneration of Silver Fir on the high bank overlooking the Fishpool Valley I wandered into an area of the Parkland I hadn’t been to before. I saw a tree that look quite unusual and on inspection found myself looking at a tree that had growing from the bole, seven large stems, quite mature size.

From a distance this looked like a clump of trees

Surely this can’t be just one tree

They all seem to share the same root system

Seven good size tree trunk all look quit healthy and are very tall.

There had been ten stems at one time but three were now dead, one of which looked as though it had been used a nest site.

This dead trunk too had once been a good size and a part of this amazing configuration.

The split has been the home to something and judging by the number of holes is looks a bit like a multi story sanctuary.

The tree is (I think) a Sweet Chestnut the seven living stems are very tall and look as though they have been competing for sunlight; much like many of the trees in the Fishpool Valley. This is just another example of the wonderful trees that are dotted around the parkland.