RIP Mighty Beech Tree *Updated*

It's one of the most iconic trees on the farm, defining the view down the valley, but today we say goodbye to the mighty beech tree that has stood tall at the bottom of the House Meadow for hundreds of years.

The view from the farmhouse will never be the same again!

We were all busy doing various jobs at the farm when we all heard, from our various locations, the loud crash that this huge tree made as it fell to the ground. The sheep scattered; fortunately none were sheltering underneath it, and everything seemed to fall silent as we all stopped what we were doing to observe its shattered carcass for a few moments.

Sadly the tree had been dying for many years as we've witmessed it decline year-on-year. Fewer leaves, particularly at the top, and an increasing amount of fungus appearing at the base, so none of us were really surprised to see that it was unable to stand up to the forces thrown at it by Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis, and their aftermath, in February 2020.

Here are some photos of the tree, before, and after, captured by our webcam, as well as some photos that I took with my phone afterwards....

Beech tree

Beech tree

Beech tree

Beech tree

*Update*

I have spent this morning planting a replacement beech tree very close to where this beech fell. It was such a significant tree both to our family history and to the view, that it felt right to replace it. So I have now planted a lovely beech tree which will hopefully now last many more hundreds of years. Here is a photo of the new tree....

Beech tree