A Saturday Of Monkey Puzzle Tree Heaven

Thanks to the recently discovered Monkey Map I realised that there were 4 new Monkey Puzzle trees to be seen that are quite local to me. So on Saturday I jumped into Nathalie's van Geoff and headed due East to Victoria Park to see the first 3 trees. Whilst there I planned to photograph the tree I had only seen as I had driven past a couple of times before. I was very excited as this would mean that I had passed the half century mark of Monkey Puzzle trees seen since I began my quest, a fact made especially sweet as I will soon be 'celebrating' my 50th year on Planet Earth.

Victoria Park (E1)

Victoria Park (E2)

Victoria Park (E3)

Victoria Park (E2, E3 & E1)

Victoria Park (E4)

Victoria Park (E4)

After photographing these four trees it was time to head off to Shoreditch Park to photograph a tree I'd also only seen driving past. The park is not that inspiring with large sections of the open space fenced off, which I can only assume is to let the grass regrow, however the presence of a very sweet Monkey Puzzle tree more than makes up for this.

Shoreditch Park (N3)

After Shoreditch Park I returned Geoff to Camden, had a quick cup of tea and then jumped onto a number 27 bus to Marylebone. It didn't take me too long to find the next Monkey Puzzle tree I was looking for, which lives in Paddington Street Gardens.

Paddington Street Gardens (W1)

After spending some time admiring such a beautiful tree I decided that as I was in walking distance of the Monkey Puzzle tree pub in Paddington there was no better way to celebrate passing 50 Monkey Puzzle trees seen than a quick pint in my favourite named pub. It also meant I could take some more pictures as the last time I was there it was night and I only had my phone with me.

Monkey Puzzle Pub (W5)

Monkey Puzzle Pub (W5)

Monkey Puzzle Pub (W5)

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 52       Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 15

Three More Monkey Puzzles

A quick update on three new trees that I have been lucky to see since before the summer.  The first was seen whilst visiting friends in Sevenoaks.  The last time I'd visited them there had been a large tree in one corner of their garden, this had now been removed and its absence revealed their next door neighbour's beautiful, large tree!

Sevenoaks (TN2)

The second tree was spotted out of the car on the way home in Victoria Park, I've not been able to visit it yet but will do soon.

Victoria Park - Google Street View (E4)

The third followed a tip-off from a colleague at work, I managed to drive by after beekeeping but have yet to take any photos of it.

Shoreditch Park - Google Street View (N3)

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 16       Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 5

A Lovely Hackney Monkey Puzzle Tree & Another To See

A week after visiting the huge Monkey Puzzle tree in Tufnell Park I headed off to Victoria Park in Hackney to see the other tree I'd been told about by a work colleague. It didn't take long to locate it thanks to the previous use of Google Streetview and I have to say the Monkey Puzzle actually was a lot bigger than I'd been anticipating. As the pictures show it is a very pretty tree and seems to be thriving in what is a rather traffic heavy road. What surprised me more is that I'd travelled past this tree on numerous occasions when returning by bus from Beekeeping. It only goes to show if you keep your head buried in a book or using your smartphone then the chances are you will miss what's going on all around you and in this case I missed a Monkey Puzzle tree.

A Really Lovely Monkey Puzzle Tree

Surprisingly Bigger Than I Was Expecting (E5)

It was around this time I was sent a text by my mate DD telling me that he and his wife Zoe had spotted a Monkey Puzzle tree whilst driving through West London, so it looks like I'll have to be heading West again soon.

Old Oak Road (W6) - Yet To Be Seen (Google Street View)

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 13       Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 5