Glasgow - Pollok Country Park (Lanarkshire)

Dawn Redwoods - August 2007

Tam who wrote to say "I got the surprise of my life on a walk by the River Cart in Pollok Country Park in Glasgow yesterday when I chanced upon 3 Lovely Dawn Redwoods. Pollok Country Park was gifted to the City of Glasgow by Sir John Stirling Maxwell's family in the 1960s. Pollok House itself is an 18th Century mansion that is now run by the National Trust and the park itself is one of the largest urban green spaces in Europe, a walk in the North Wood here can last hours. It seems that one of the Stirling-Maxwell family was a gardening enthusiast and there are some lovely areas with a walled garden, woodland garden, maze etc. Anyway by the river at the front of Pollok House there are 3 Dawn Redwoods. The trunks measure 1.5m in circumference and the trees are about 15m tall." Thanks for these photographs Tam. It is especially pleasing when you are not expecting to see any Redwoods and there they are right on your door step!

Coast Redwood - August 2008

Giant Redwood - August 2008

Tam sent an update on Pollok Park in August 2008. He says he "had a walk through Pollok Country Park today and came across this Coast Redwood in the walled garden area near the countryside rangers office. It is rather crowded by some pine, larch and a large spruce right behind it, but is around 12m high and measures 2.1m in girth. After finding the Coast Redwood in the park we were walking along the side of the River Cart and found this Giant Sequoia right on the water's edge. That completes the set for Pollok park with the three nice Dawns I found here last year the Coast and now this Giant. Not sure if they enjoy having their feet wet being right on the river. Again it was a rather crowded little space with it having to compete with some large Yews. The site did not allow for any decent kind of photo of it individually and I had to make do with just a trunk photo." Thanks Tam, after finding one type of Redwood, if time permits, it is often fruitful to search for the other types which may be planted close by.