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| The Tallest Tree in Britain SCOTLAND has regained a national record after a Highland tree was re-measured and found to be the tallest in Britain. A Douglas fir at Powys Castle in Wales recently measured at 62.5 metres (205ft) high was thought to be the tallest tree in Britain, overtaking a Douglas fir in the Highlands, which was measured in 2003 at 62 metres (203ft). A Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, called Dughall Mor, which translates as ‘big dark stranger’ from Gaelic, has been confirmed as the tallest tree in Britain, at just over 64 metres (nearly 210ft). Planted as recently as 1882, this is a tall and elegant specimen which forms part of a small grove of very tall Douglas fir. These represent the largest concentration of trees exceeding 55m anywhere in the British Isles. The tree was re-measured using the latest laser technology. Readings were taken from three locations and gave an average of a few centimetres over 64 metres. The record-breaker is in Reelig Glen Wood, Inverness-shire, a mixed woodland of old conifer and broadleaved trees that had been in the same Fraser family for 500 years until it was sold to the Forestry Commission in 1949. The re-measuring confirms that Dughall Mor remains the tallest tree in Britain, and possibly in Europe. It is well known that the British Isles have an immense repository of ancient trees compared to our European neighbours. The tree is one of a number of very fine trees at Reelig Glen, which attracts around 25,000 visitors every year. The tree is obviously thriving in the fertile and sheltered environment of the glen, with a ready supply of moisture from the Moniack Burn. This rather deceptive champion has a relatively slender trunk and its great height is difficult to appreciate, surrounded as it is by neighbouring giants. The National Trust for Scotland has some equally impressive Douglas firs at the Hermitage wood in Perthshire, which can be up to 59 metres (193ft) tall. |
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