Giant redwoods are typically associated with the sunny state of California and not so much the rolling countryside of the Lakes.
But the Lake District is actually home to dozens of redwoods – and they could become an even more prominent feature here in years to come.
Forestry experts across Cumbria are currently looking to plant more redwoods as a way of strengthening woodlands against disease and climate change.
The giant trees can live for over 3,000 years and grow as tall as a 26-storey building and because of their lofty size, they excel at reducing carbon emissions which damage the planet.
Some of Cumbria’s giant sequoias, coastal redwoods and dawn redwoods have lived for over 150 years and despite the differences between California and the UK – the trees are thriving.
National Trust ranger Richard Tanner, who works in the South Lakes, said that for a giant redwood, Cumbria’s climate isn’t all that different to California.
He said: “I think parts of the West Coast of America are very similar to Cumbria in many ways. Cumbria is warm and wet and the coastal redwoods in particular grow in clouds on the West Coast, so they collect a lot of water and rainfall.
“In the states they’re huge – they’re the tallest living things on the planet and it’s interesting because we don’t really know what’s going to happen with them.
“In their native country a redwood might live for 3,000 years, but they’ve only been in Cumbria for 150 years, so we’ve no idea how tall they’ll end up. They could end up as big as some in the states, which would be great.”
Richard added that redwoods are being actively considered by the National Trust as a way to help stop mass felling that occurs as a result of rapidly spreading tree diseases.
He said: “We have talked about planting the odd grove of redwoods mixed into some of our plantations, which we would potentially not harvest and would look at retaining as a grove of impressive trees for potentially thousands of years.
“It could be going forward that there will be more mixed woodlands, similar to what Grizedale looks like. People are now starting to think about redwoods as a commercial plantation tree, rather than just a landscape tree.
“When we’re planting woodland and we’re looking to have a more diverse mix of species, it’s because it makes woodlands more robust and better able to resist exposure to new diseases and climate change.
“So for example if you have a Larch plantation and phytophthora arrives, you have to cut all of it down and you end up with nothing. But with a more diverse mix of trees, that doesn’t have to happen.
“But redwoods are definitely becoming part of our landscape here in the Lake District.”
Isn’t it wrong to plant non-native trees in the Lake District?
While most of the old redwood trees living in Cumbria today were brought over by the Victorians – it isn’t the first time they’ve grown in the UK.
Redwood expert and forest manager at UK Forestry Consultants, Brian Elliott, of Penrith, said giant sequoias in particular have been documented as part of the plants and trees that grew in the UK back in prehistoric times.
He said: “What’s quite interesting is giant sequoias used to grow in this country. They grew naturally here until about 125,000 years ago when they were wiped out in an ice age.
“They’re like a dinosaur tree and very cathedral like and special. 50 million years ago they covered all of the UK and Northern Hemisphere, so people talk about not liking them being brought to the UK but they were here beforehand.
“There are too many people worried about native forests. They have their role and they were here before us, but if you look at English Oak, that’s actually from Europe.
“It evolved in Europe and moved here due to environmental opportunity, it’s not even a proper native. Trying to recreate a certain point in the past is not right, it’s a natural part of evolution for trees to move over time.
“Beech is not native, sweet chestnut is not native, ash is not native, but they have evolved to move and live in this country. Natural England has found pollen and sequoia in peat bogs, so they have always been here.
“We’ve always had a changing landscape, change is inevitable.”
As well as being one of the UK’s leading silviculturists, Brian is also involved with The Great Reserve – a charity project that is aiming to plant 100,000 giant sequoia’s in a network of forests across the UK to combat climate change.
He said: “We’re a millisecond of life on this planet, and I’m very conscious about the damage and impact we have, so I’m desperately trying to do something about it.
“We’re planting the sequoias as a carbon storage mechanism on a private basis and the trees never get cut down and because sequoia’s never stop growing, they never stop locking up carbon that we as people produce.
“Their capacity for locking up carbon as a group of trees especially when they hit 150 years of age is greater than any other forest type, forget about the Amazon, it doesn’t even come close.
“By planting more trees we are naturally creating more of an eco balance that this world has lost.”
Some of the tallest giant sequoia’s in the UK have been recorded at 55 meters tall – which Brian said they were unlikely to grow larger than.
He added: “It’s physically impossible for the giant sequoia’s in the UK to grow bigger than the ones in the Sierra Mountain’s in California.
“Here, they’re constrained by soils and wind. The wind here caps off then young growths at the top once they reach that height. To get taller they have to grow close together.
“But they still get to an impressive size here and we should be planting them in extensive groves as it’s much more conducive for the trees to grow really well.
“I’m currently growing these giant sequoia’s and I’ve got a nursery of them and projects all over then UK involving them. We just sold 200 to the National Trust and I have around 250 in my nursery at the moment.”
Can I visit the giant redwoods in Cumbria?
There are redwoods located all across the Lake District – but there are several places in particular to visit them.
Brian said the most significant giant sequoia in Cumbria is located on National Trust property Acorn Bank, behind Temple Sowerby, near Penrith.
Walking trails featuring giant sequoias and other species of trees include the High Close Tree Trail, between Elterwater and Grasmere, where a giant wellingtonia sequoia is located.
The Ambleside Champion Tree Trail in Skellghyll Woods also features some of the tallest trees in Cumbria including a giant wellingtonia sequoia and a grand Douglas fir.
Several original plantings sequoias can also be visited in the Wray parkland, when the Dawson’s built Wray Castle on the shores of Windermere.
Other redwoods can be spotted at Tarn Howes and Aira Force as well as around Coniston and Eskdale.
Redwood trees can be identified by their reddish-brown, fibrous bark and slightly drooping branches. They often have a carpet of orange needles surrounding them.
