This site refers to the three types of Redwood by the names commonly used in the U.K:
Giant Redwood / Giant Sequoia / Wellingtonia
Sequoiadendron giganteum
Coast Redwood / Redwood
Sequoia sempervirens
Dawn Redwood
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Top Trunks
On this page are table listings that, according to our measurements and opinion, are some of the Tallest and Broadest Redwoods in the U.K. This page originated from an idea by Luke who found, photographed and measured most of the trees growing in Haslemere in Surrey that can be found on Redwood World. These charts only include trees that we have actually seen and measured ourselves.
Measuring Rules
Just a quick mention about the rules we follow when measuring. The girth should be measured at 1.5m from the ground at the highest point around the tree, but there are sometimes difficulties in finding this level. There is generally a gradual slope of the ground up to the tree, and this is not really a problem, just treat the point at which it meets the tree as the zero point. The difficulty is that sometimes there is a very steep additional "shelf" of soil and composted material for the first six inches or more from the trunk, so one has to take a view on how much of this to include. And you thought the girth measurement was the easy bit!
The measurement of a tree's height requires a good line of sight to the top of the tree, from a point away from the tree equal to its height. When the tree is crowded by others this can be difficult, if not impossible to obtain. Consequently not all trees that might have been eligible will be entered in this category. This is a shame, because it is likely that some of the tallest Redwoods may well be those that are racing to grow above their neigbouring trees. Other than by climbing these with a tape measure between the teeth, there seems no easy way of getting round this problem.
Measurements are obtained on various dates so where there is a tie between sizes we will list the earliest date first. Also, as reported by Bob and by the Tree Register, there are some trees in a cluster of Redwoods at Center Parcs in Longleat that are up to 58 metres tall but unfortunately I was not measuring trees when I visited this collection. A re-visit is needed!