LONDON TREES: Barney

I bet what I am about to say will come as a surprise and it certainly surprised me: London is said to be the largest Urban Forest in the world! Aside from the great number of trees, there are also some truly tall and huge trees too. One such beauty is a Barnes wonder, and it even has a name, Barney, the giant Barne's London Plane. The fabulous Ancient Tree Hunt of London lists Barney as having an astonishing girth of 8.2m and and as one of London's oldest plane trees it may date back from 1660. The London Plane is a hybrid between two species of normally geographically isolated planes  that may have occurred in Spain or possibly in Vauhall, London. It flourished at a time when London was mired in smog and soot and the 'magic' rejuvenating bark of the plane meant these trees could survive the clogging grime. See more of the history here, and here. Here are some more great trees of London to go out and re-discover. And don't forget to pop in and say hi to Barney!

Below are some other particularly notable planes...