Walking trail: ginkgo biloba

The Ginkgo biloba situated close to the Cairn was planted by Dr Fothergill in 1763. Fothergill positioned the tree next to the Ham house for shelter and if you look closely at the trunk you will see that one side appears to be flatter said to be because the tree was growing very close to the house with the trunk growing flat against the wall of the house but no official records to confirm this. It is said, that the Ginkgo is one of the oldest in Great Britain and interestingly the only example of plant that was widespread during prehistoric times.

Opposite the Ginkgo you will find a classic example of a native tree, the English Oak, Quercus pendunculata (Syn robur), planted to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. This tree, planted in 1887 is the more common of the two native British Oaks and has an extremely long life span, possibly up to 800 years or more. Throughout history this species has been particularly valuable for timber, especially in ship building before the industrial revolution.