A reply for Abram

Anyone holidaying out this way?

Come and visit the old country.

Polite host extending his welcome

Bareroots,

I did the Coast-to-Coast walk from St. Bees to Robin Hood's Bay in 1996. I loved rambling the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moorlands. But I don't remember much in the way of trees. We were told that they had been cut down over the centuries, and were only now being slowly restored. Where do you climb in No. England, and what species?

Harv

harv, cheers for the mail.

The coast to coast is a walk i've been meaning to do for some time. I've criss-crossed it down the years but that's not the same. a protracted journey has a special significance.

In the uk the great forests have indeed been plundered. The woodland trust and variace other charities are doing their best to secure that which is remaining and plant more. they have a current campaign to plant a new tree for every child in the country.

because of the lack of primary forest i find that the best trees are found on old estates. where trees where land owners deliberately kept trees in the field to offset the aesthetic tedium of grazing land. These trees often stand alone or in small copses. because of that they have tremendous spread. what our species lack in height can be recouped here.

I find myself most enamoured of the beech. these grey ladies are our most common large tree. although they rarely get past 25m. when in copses you often get branches close enough to allow a cross over. it's always nice to get down a different way then the one which you went up.

in urban parks and avenues the plane tree is often found due to its resistance to polution. i love these for their great flexibility, smooth bark and inner connectivity. you can end up on branches more akin to ropes when out on the periphery of the tree.

opps, my pregnant lady is calling for me to go to bed. it's late and i've work tomorrow. we'll have to finish this another time. I work with kids from social services over a 3 day shift so i won't be around for a while. (I'm taking one to climb a silver fir planted in 1820. it take four grown men to link arms around the base. I'll have to try and get some pictures. Its over on the NW shore of Thirlmere)

take care

Bareroots,

Thank you for your detailed reply and descriptions. I love the idea of planting as many trees as there are children. Are you having twins?

You mentioned you've crisscrossed the Coast to Coast, suggesting to me the Pennine Way, which I've not had the pleasure of trodding. Some day.

The beeches and planetrees in Colorado are unremarkable. There is a European Beech in Denver with a height of 21-22m and a London Planetree somewhere in our state, at 26m. As you have estates in England, in Colorado we have cemeteries where I go to find some of our best trees. I have yet to climb in a cemetery though; perhaps it's the karma.

Our most substantial trees are cottonwoods. They are fun to climb, with dynamic and eccentric personalities. Great views as well, as they normally overlook riparian areas. Saturday, I climbed a cottonwood we've named Treebeard, got to a height of about 25m, overlooking the South Platte River with a view of the Rockies and Pikes Peak. Lovely climb. The US champion plains cottonwood is about 30mi from me. At 11m around, not sure how many arms it would take to encircle it. I've attached a pic.

Hope all is well.

Harv

[img]Disk 8900:Documents:Tree Climbing Colorado:Picture Folder:Cottonwood champ resized.jpg

Sorry, having trouble with the pic.

Harv, try reposting the pic, but put a check in the box that says "Disable Smileys".

In general, how strong are cottonwoods? Are they considered a soft wood tree? To climb them, do you choose a thicker branch than you would for an oak? We set up some lines for a climb in a cottonwood, and I stood on a 3 inch thick healthy branch right where the branch came out from the trunk. The whole branch broke right off! Needless to say, I was quite surprised.

Patrick

Hence, the eccentricity part. Sorry about your experience with cottonwoods. They are among the most brittle, least dense, of all the hardwoods. Even live limbs can become weak and cottony.

TCI preaches 6 inches as the minimum diameter for a sufficient attachment. Where 3 inches might be OK for some species, cottonwoods are made to fall over or drop limbs into creeks and waterways as part of the ecology of riparian development. On cottonwoods, I follow the 6 inch rule religiously, in addition to staying close to the trunk line and avoiding leaners (which is most of them).

That said, they are still great fun to climb, my second Colorado favorite.

Thanks for the tip on the pic. Here goes. (I apologize for the quality of my shot. No good place to stand.)

Harv

Hello Bareroots;

Your invitation to join you over a holiday and to climb with you has stimulated my spirit. Could you please give some details as to where one would fly into, car rentals, motels in your area, etc.

Have you ever thought of hosting or joint hosting a Tree Climbing Gathering? We at treeclimbingusa.com could/would be interested in helping once we found out the logistics and details of such an adventure.

Over the past two years we at TCUSA have joined with others and taken climbers to Panama and climbed in the tropical forests there. Your offer sounds as exciting though much different in that it would be in temporate trees that are large in size as to dripline rather than in height; much the same as many of my favorite climbs here in the S.E. USA. Also your offer brings climbing opportunities into areas many of us would never venture without the support and local guidance of someone such as yourself.

Even if no others are interested I can say that the idea is of interest to my wife and myself and we will be in contact. My email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Until; Safety in and for the trees worldwide! Abe

The idea of coming to U.K. got me going as my last post indicates and I failed to reply to your sharing of ideas and techniques. This can be done between just the two of us, but if a group was to come I am sure much could be and will be available for all to learn something from their participation.

Once I have concluded teaching my students the Basic techiniques I employ them to observe and learn from others who may do things just a bit differently then they were taught. So long as the new ideas are sound and the climber has a good grasp on the original data and they are willing to except the consequences of their actions they should proceed. Learning new and different methods/techniques is a good way to increase ones knowledge base and personal skills. Heaven knows there are many ways to do anything. My only requirements are that a practice be safe and kept as simple as possible

Until; Safety in and for the trees worldwide! Abe

What a great idea!

The moment I saw in Thomas Pakenham's book: "Meetings with Remarkable Trees" I knew that I have to see the 1/4 mile long planting of beech trees.


These were planted decades ago but each tree was spaced only 18" apart.

Now after decades of growth leads one to believe they would form a solide wall of living trunks.

Can you ask around and see if any one on your side of the pond can confirm?

See you at the top,
Dan House

Folks, I'm not sure if Bareroots is still participating in this forum. I had hoped he would continue, but I don't know if he opted in. I agree that a rendezvous in England would be wonderful. Like you Dan, I was amazed at Pakenham's book and the 100 foot high hedge, among other wonders. Couldn't help thinking how great it would be to be up in some of those old yews and oaks.

please forgive me.

i got a little lost in ante natal classes et al

never give up the ghost. it's just busy in the house right now. we got ourselves a funky new purple nursary

hi there tree tramp,

the hedge exists

"Standing adjacent to the busy A93 road, the beech (Fagus sylvatica) hedge at Meikleour Estate, near Blairgowrie in Perthshire, is officially the tallest in the world. Approximately 530m long, the over-powering green wall stands at an average height of around 30m (100ft) and in places reaching 120ft (moret than 41m). The hedge is believed to have been laid out and planted in the autumn of 1745, the year of the Jacobite uprising, by Jean Mercer and her husband, Robert Murray Nairne. Legend has it that the men who planted it took up arms for Bonnie Prince Charlie and perished on the battlefield of Culloden. Their hedge was left to grow untended towards the heavens as a living monument to their memory."

an interesting website to start researching a trip over here.

http://www.treefestscotland.org.uk/website/FavouriteTree.nsf/(HeritageByName)/063CD1BF31A67DFB80256B820056DCFC


Pakenham's book is great. when it came out I recieved several copies from family and friends, such is life at xmas if you have an interest.

Unfortunately we've had some severe gales and all over the country some of our oldest and dearest have fallen. I'm eager to get back to my folks in Nottingham to see if my childhood trees have survived.

Ponderosa... I could introduce you to some fine old oaks that i'm sure you could converse happily with for many a hour but alas i have never fond a yew that would dance. They grow very slowly and despite reaching remarkable ages they never grow vast in scope, just old knarled and dense. They are more suited to a quiet meditation. Predominantly planted, they are found in graveyards and stately homes. Often they were planted by the druids in their holy sites many centuries back. When the Christian faith penetrated the country they then sited their churches on these sites.

I'm tickled pink that someones interested in crosssing the waters. I'm not sure what scale visit you had in mind. If it's just the two of you my wife and I could put you up. If its a larger group the Lake District is cramed full of Bend Breakfasts, Youth Hostels, Camping Barns, Bothies, 5* hotels (Tom Cruise and Madonna used to frequent)... what's your budget.

If there was a group interested I could do some research and put together a package for you. I'm just excited by the prospect of getting some tree climbers here..

The UK is so small by US standards that you could fly in anywhere and it wouldn't take too long to get to the lakes. Usually international flights come into Heathrow and Gatwick in the SE but some come into Manchester which is closer. However internal flights to Blackpool, Glasgow, Newcastle etc bring you within one to two hours drive.

if you really are serious in coming then lets talk on these pages or email me, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. heck, give me a call 0044 1539 821278

anyone out there?