Redwood World: New Forest - Rhinefield Road (Hampshire)

New Forest - Rhinefield Road (Hampshire)

Giant Redwood - November 2023

It is difficult to do photographic justice to these two Giants!

If you like Wellingtonia, take a trip deep into the New Forest to visit them - they can be found on the Tall Trees Trail, Rhinefield Road. The pair are reckoned by the forestry commission to be the tallest trees in the forest - of this there can be little doubt. They are huge. It is difficult to truly appreciate their height from the photograph, but with the full height of the tree in the picture, a person stood next to one would scarcely be noticed - and would definitely not be recognised.

They were planted around 1860, and have survived to this time relatively unscathed. They have no signs of lightning or wind damage, it is probable that being in a forest has protected them from the elements to some degree.

Giant Redwood - November 2023

Coast Redwood - November 2023

There is also an example of Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) a few moments walk away. It is interesting to compare this with the Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) - it is quite big (5 metres in girth), but it is too crowded to be able to appreciate its height. Further along the Rhinefield Road there is an area of mixed conifers where the ground is covered in Coast Redwood saplings of 10cm or so high, seeded from the larger examples nearby.

Giant Redwood - October 2019 - girth was 9.41metres
Giant Redwood - December 2019
Thanks to Aiden for these two photographs taken in October and December 2019 of the two Giant Redwoods on the Tall Trees Trail.

Giant Redwood - September 2019	Giant Redwood - September 2019
Thanks to Barry for these photographs taken in September 2019 of the two magnificent Giant Redwoods on the Tall Trees Trail.

Giant Redwood August 2014

This photograph is of Mary and her colourful umbrella! It was taken in August 2014 when she visited the Tall Trees Trail.
Mary also told us about a couple of Giant Redwood in Stoke Sub Hamdon.

In March 2014 I had an email from Reg who is aged 91, he wrote to say,

"A friend and I used to climb this tree in 1939 whilst on our apprenticeship for Forestry in New Forest during our lunchbreak.
It took 10 minutes to climb to the top where we could see the Isle of Wight and surrounding areas. Branches went right down to the ground in those days! "

Many thanks for your email and it was really good to hear about your climbing exploits whilst on your apprenticeship in 1939.
It is fascinating that it only took you ten minutes to climb to the top in those days, whereas nowadays it would take a lot longer!

December 2013: Redwood climbing and aerial filming by Height Club

Giant Redwood July 2010

During a visit in 2010, I believe I found the two additional Giant Redwoods mentioned by Radek, these are included as numbers 9 and 10 in the table below. Also discovered were two Dawn Redwood, another younger Giant and two Coast Redwood in the Arboretum (numbers 4 to 8). This visit was also an opportunity to re-measure the two champion Giants. They measured up at an amazing 52.73m and 48.5m!

I believe these to be pretty accurate records of their heights, obtained using a precision clinometer (not a professional grade device but certainly very accurate) and taking great care to allow for differences in base height. They had also grown in girth since the last measurement in 2005. Both trees have increased in height and girth by roughly two to three percent during the five year period, although a different and slightly less accurate instrument was used to measure the heights in 2005. In fact one of the reasons for this return visit was to reaffirm the highest one as being the tallest in the U.K.

Radek sent the photographs below of two more Giant Sequoia on Rhinefield Road. He says "I did not have any tool to measure them but I would estimate number 1 to be 30 m - 35 m and number 2 to be 40 m – 45 m."

Giant Redwood November 2008

Thanks Radek, unfortunately I must have missed them when I was there some years ago, I obviously spent too long admiring the others!

Giant Redwood October 2006

Thanks to Luke for providing the photographs (above and below) of his trip to the New Forest. These pictures all include people standing next to the trees as a comparison for size but you really have to visit them yourself to appreciate how very big they are. As mentioned above, in pictures showing the full height of the trees, it is difficult to spot the people next to the them (the bottom left picture).

Giant Redwood October 2006

Giant Redwood - April 2005

These pictures were taken on our first trip to the New Forest.

Coast Redwood - April 2005

Common Names and Latin Name	No.	Latitude and Longitude		OS National Grid	Elevation (above sea-level)	Height	Girth	Date Measured
Common Names and Latin Name	No.	WGS84	OSGB36	OS National Grid	Elevation (above sea-level)	Height	Girth	Date Measured
Giant Redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum	1	N50.84384 W1.62241	N50.84328 W1.62101	SU 26681 04993	67ft (20.43m)	49.7m 48.5m 47.5m	7.88m 7.86m 7.62m	November 2023 July 2010 April 2005
Giant Redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum	2	N50.84366 W1.62241	N50.84310 W1.62101	SU 26681 04973	48ft (14.63m)	56.7m 52.73m 51.5m	9.45m 9.1m 8.84m	November 2023 July 2010 April 2005
Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens	3	N50.84259 W1.62099	N50.84203 W1.61959	SU 26781 04854	102ft (31.10m)	47.1m 43.4m --	5.52m 5.14m 5.02m	November 2023 July 2010 April 2005
Dawn Redwood Metasequoia glyptostrobodies	4	N50.84185 W1.62308	N50.84129 W1.62168	SU 26635 04771	115ft (35.06m)	11.3m	--	July 2010
Dawn Redwood Metasequoia glyptostrobodies	5	N50.84155 W1.62428	N50.84099 W1.62288	SU 26550 04738	126ft (38.41m)	1.95m	--	July 2010
Giant Redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum	6	N50.84137 W1.62413	N50.84081 W1.62273	SU 26561 04718	97ft (29.57m)	31.75m	3.78m	July 2010
Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens	7	N50.84132 W1.62415	N50.84076 W1.62275	SU 26560 04712	89ft (27.13m)	34.3m	2.99m	July 2010
Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens	8	N50.84126 W1.62423	N50.84070 W1.62283	SU 26554 04705	83ft (25.30m)	33.9m	3.18m	July 2010
Giant Redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum	9	N50.83048 W1.61977	N50.82992 W1.61837	SU 26874 03508	118ft (35.98m)	40.2m	8.22m	July 2010
Giant Redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum	10	N50.82989 W1.62030	N50.82933 W1.6189	SU 26837 03442	119ft (36.28m)	33.1m	7.1m	July 2010
Girth was measured at 1.5m from ground.