Felling trees

A large oak tree near our visitor reception has been felled today.

The tree has been braced with cables in the past, and dead branches have been removed to try and prolong it’s life.  The tree was tested by the National Trust foresters from Cragside – they have equipment that can send sound waves though the tree trunk, and they can tell how solid the wood is from the speed at which the sound waves travel.  The test showed that the tree has less than 25% solid wood left in the trunk, so it is no longer safe to leave it standing in such a busy visitor area, next to the reception building and Chapel Cottage.

We are felling it now because it is past bird-nesting time, and before the wet and windy autumn and winter weather begins.  There are many holes and cracks in the tree, so we carried out a dawn bat survey this morning to make sure no bats went into the tree to roost.  The tree surgeons also double-checked and looked inside all the holes with an endoscope before work began.

Now the tree is felled, we will grind out the stump, and another English Oak will be planted in its place.

The rotten trunk and stump of the oak tree.

The felled tree near the Chapel.