Veterans

Pete. Chris and I spent a day in the non-public areas of Burghley Park, surveying two spring-fed watercourses that feed into the Whitewater Brook. We found plenty of interest along the stream courses, including several seepage areas with an interesting flora, but were also stunned by the abundance of veteran trees, including many stag-headed Pedunculate Oaks and Sweet Chestnuts, which are being cared for sympathetically. The image in extra is the largest tree in the park, nicknamed El Magnifico - it's trunk has a girth of just under 10m above the very swollen base - definitely deserving of its moniker.