Colchester - Castle Park (Essex)
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Colchester - Castle Park (Essex) |
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 Giant Redwood - August 2005 |
 Giant Redwood - November 2019 |
| Castle Park is laid out around the old castle in Colchester, near the town centre. There are many well laid out flower beds, and a wide range of trees can be seen. One of the most important, of course, is the young Giant Redwood, which is shown next to the house above. |
 Dawn Redwood in Autumn colour - November 2005 |
 Dawn Redwood in Summer colour - July 2009 |
 Dawn Redwood - October 2017 |
| There is also a superb Dawn Redwood which used to stand near the Putting Green. The above left hand photograph shows it in its Autumn colour, the leaves having turned a deep orange. The year this was taken (2005) was not a great Autumn for the Dawn Redwood, Will Jenkins (Park Ranger) said that in other years the orange has been far more vivid. It is now in the centre of the children's playground, note the characteristic fluting of the trunk. |
 Dawn Redwood - October 2017 |
 Dawn Redwood - November 2019 |
 Coast Redwood - November 2005 |
| One type of Redwood the park did not have was a Coast Redwood. In November 2005, however, with the help of Will, I planted one that I had grown from seed and which stood at a height of 1.78m at 2 years old. |
  Job Done! Then my Dad inspects the growth rate three months later! |
 Will sent this photograph when it was about 8ft high - March 2007 |
Colchester Castle Park Tree Walk - November 2007 A friend recorded some of this warden-led walk around the park. It was made in three sections: 1) A Coastal Redwood in Colchester Castle Park 2) It's an amazing tree 3) Close to the bowling green Friends of Colchester Castle Park have produced a Tree Trail which mentions all three Redwoods in the park. There is also a Google map available of the specimen trees in the park. |
  Nearly three years after planting it is 18ft high - October 2008 |
  Nearly four years after planting it is 22ft high - October 2009 |
  Redwood World grows its first tree big enough to support a squirrel! - October 2009 |
 Tony took the above photograph - November 2011 |
 Over 30 feet high - November 2013 |
 Over 37 feet high - December 2015 |
 It's not likely to be the same squirrel from six years ago but he/she seemed to recognise us! |
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| The trunk is now classically red and fibrous and looking quite a lot wider for the squirrel to climb - December 2015 | |
 43 feet high - November 2016 |
 The broken leader has healed well |
 A shot from across the bowling green - November 2016 |
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 It is difficult to see the top now - October 2018 |
 From across the bowling green - October 2018 |
 Many trees were looking superb in the sunshine in their Autumn colours - November 2019 |
 Mr. Squirrel sheltering in our expanding Coast Redwood tree from the rain - October 2020 |
 Felt amazed on a cold and frosty day by the continued rapid growth of this tree! - December 2022 |
 Diana and Pauline helping to measure the Coast Redwood - November 2023 |
| In November 2023 the Coast Redwood had been planted for eighteen years. If my measurements were correct, it had grown over a metre and a half during the preceding twelve months, perhaps due to the large amount of rain we had this Summer and Autumn. I had some help measuring this year, Diana and Pauline kindly held the branches apart so that the measuring device could see the trunk. They are both members of the Friends of Colchester Castle Park group, which also has a Facebook page. Both web sites are well worth a visit. We had some pleasant conversations about the tree and the park over a cup of tea at the cafe, between them they have a wealth of knowledge on the park and of trees in general. It's great to know there are enthusiastic and capable people taking care of the park. |
 Armistice Day commemoration - November 2023 |
| Paul very kindly sent in the above photograph of one of the guns used during the Remembrance ceremony. |
 A growth graph of the Coast Redwood - height in metres (note the dip around 2012 caused by the leader breaking) |
| Common Names and Latin Name | No. | Latitude and Longitude | OS National Grid | Elevation (above sea-level) |
Height | Girth | Date Measured | |
| WGS84 | OSGB36 | |||||||
| Giant Redwood, Wellingtonia Sequoiadendron giganteum |
1 | N51.89239 E0.90210 |
N51.89191 E0.90384 |
TL 99791 25518 | 37ft (11.28m) |
16m 15.9m 16.9m 16.4m 14.8m 10.9m |
2.56m 2.5m -- 2.4m 2.04m 1.71m |
December 2021 November 2019 October 2018 October 2017 October 2011 June 2006 |
| Dawn Redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides |
2 | N51.89203 E0.90454 |
N51.89154 E0.90625 |
TL 99958 25483 | 80ft (24.39m) |
22m 22m 21.6m 19.5m |
2.76m 2.65m 2.4m 2.05m |
December 2021 November 2019 October 2017 July 2009 |
| Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens |
3 | N51.89421 E0.90499 |
N51.89373 E0.90673 |
TL 99981 25728 | 41ft (12.5m) |
20.2m 18.5m 17.9m 17.3m 16.5m 15.8m 14.4m 13.15m 11.4m 10.9m 10.2m 7.8m 8.05m 6.7m 5.5m 2.6m 1.78m |
2.23m 2.12m 2m 1.86m 1.75m 1.5m 1.48m 1.35m 1.17m 0.92m 0.8m 0.64m 0.61m 0.4m 0.3m -- -- |
November 2023 December 2022 December 2021 October 2020 November 2019 October 2018 October 2017 November 2016 December 2015 November 2014 November 2013 October 2012 October 2011 October 2009 October 2008 March 2007 June 2006 |
| Girth was measured at 1.5 metres from ground | ||||||||