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

7 Days, So Many Monkey Puzzle Trees! Part 2

So after my unbelievable day out in North London resulting in me seeing three more Monkey Puzzle trees I little suspected that the very next day I would repeat this brilliant achievement. Nathalie had promised me a surprise afternoon trip during my holidays so when she picked me up the next afternoon, with only the instruction being to bring my camera I just didn't know what to expect. As we headed further out of North London it came to me in a flash where we were heading! Nat had often told me about the huge Monkey Puzzle tree they had in east Finchley Cemetery and it was indeed to there that we were heading.

I have to say the Cemetery is an amazing place full of mature specimens of a variety of beautiful trees and the Monkey Puzzle tree near the centre of the Cemetery was certainly one of the best ones I've ever seen. It stands so proudly amongst the other trees , with a beautiful shape and size that does the species proud.

East Finchley Cemetery- Tree 1 (N5)

East Finchley Cemetery- Tree 1

East Finchley Cemetery- Tree 1

As we were leaving the Cemetery we realised that we had actually missed another Monkey Puzzle tree by the entrance. A smaller tree than the first but still a very nice tree indeed.

East Finchley Cemetery- Tree 2 (N6)

As we had missed this one at first I had a look around just in case we'd missed any others and to both my delight and horror we had. On the opposite side of the chapel from the second tree was indeed another Monkey Puzzle tree but sadly this poor tree was dying! It looked so much like my Monkey Puzzle tree after the idiots next door had killed it that it was quite upsetting.

East Finchley Cemetery- Tree 3 (N-X1)

Still at the end of the day I had managed to see 3 more trees and it wasn't long before I was feeling pretty good! I never imagined for one moment that my Monkey Puzzle tree count was going to be added to so quickly.....

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 22       Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 5

7 Days, So Many Monkey Puzzle Trees! Part 1

My quest to see Monkey Puzzle trees has been progressing quite nicely but if I'm honest it has also been quite slow. Finding new trees or trees to see was always going to be a patient endeavour so I was really not expecting what happened in just 7 days in August. It all began when me and my mate David Dixon were travelling to Enfield to see our mate Dave Shaw about getting a label for our apiary's honey designed. As we made our way though the back streets of Barnet we drove past a house with not just one Monkey Puzzle tree but......

Barnet - Tree 1 (EN1)

...two in the front garden. I have to say I admire the owners for their dedication in keeping Britain's streets populated with such a magnificent tree.

Barnet - Tree 2 (EN2)

I was thrilled to see two more Monkey Puzzle trees and was still buzzing when I was convinced I saw another tree out of the window as we sped along to Mr Shaw's. As my view was obscured by a lot of roadside hedgerow I was chuffed to bits when DD took us back the same way to confirm my possible sighting. It didn't take long for us to find the place I thought I'd seen another tree and to my delight I was right!

Oakwood (N4)

So in just one day I had added 3 new Monkey Puzzle trees to my list, which was pretty rewarding, however I didn't realise at the time this was just the start of a particular good run for my Quest!...

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 19       Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 5

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

The Biggest Monkey Puzzle Tree I've Ever Seen!

On the last day at work before the Easter holidays a colleague approached me in a very excited state, she preceded to tell me that the other night she'd seen a Monkey Puzzle tree near Victoria Park! She then showed me a photo she'd taken on her phone to show me the tree, which looked a very nice tree indeed. I soon had Google maps open and in no time we'd located the tree using Streetview, which happens to be very close to where I keep Bees in Mile End.

I was in the process of thanking her for the tenth time when another colleague happened to hear our conversation as she passed by. Unlike my first colleague this one was unaware of my passion for Monkey Puzzle trees and told me that their was an incredibly impressive one near where she lived. Now I knew that this couldn't be too far from where I lived as I'd seen her cycling round the area on a few occasions. So I naturally asked where this tree was and was told in St Georges Avenue in Tuffnell Park, which happenes to be a 5 minute walk from my flat!

So in the space of 10 minutes I had 2 more local trees to see and started making plans of which to see first. As it was the nearest (and biggest) I first headed off to Tufnell Park and despite being told of its size I was till taken aback to be met by such a large beautiful tree!

The Biggest Monkey Puzzle Tree I've Ever Seen (N2)

I have to say this Monkey Puzzle tree is by far the biggest one I've ever had the pleasure to see. It literally towers over the adjacent building and must be at least 100 years old. It also had produced cones but they didn't appear to be fertilised but I can't say this for certain due to my lack of knowledge in this area. I can't even tell whether it's a male or female tree but I plan to do a bit of research into this and will investigate this lovely tree further.

What A Tree!

Simply Stunning!

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 12       Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 4