London plane trees should take their place alongside other London particulars like red buses, odd skyscrapers and unpredictable weather.
Category: Urban landscape
Over the last two years, I’ve been researching, and writing up, accounts of great trees in Britain and Ireland. I’m very relieved to say that I’ve finally completed this task, and the manuscript is now with the publishers.
I’m very excited to have been commissioned to write a book about the great urban trees of Britain and Ireland. Research is underway and, hopefully, I’ll be travelling all over these islands to see as many of its great trees as I can over the coming months.
In the first post, I wrote about how my lockdown urban nature rambles turned into my new book, London Tree Walks: Arboreal Ambles Through the Green Metropolis. Lockdown allowed me to really get to know parts of the city near where I live in north London, and as the rules eased, I ventured further afield, mostly on two wheels, and occasionally on public transport, allowing me to get to the tropics of Acton, Fulham, Pimlico, and beyond.
During Lockdown 1.0, I spent as much time as I could outdoors. Like many, I found it gave me an opportunity to appreciate nature on my doorstep even more than usual. Combined with a beautiful spring and the dramatic reduction in pollution, it seemed especially piquant. My lockdown urban nature explorations turned into a project which came to fruition in October with the publication of my new book, London Tree Walks: Arboreal Ambles Through the Green Metropolis.
A few months ago, I heard the strange tale of an oak tree in Ealing which marks the spot where an elephant is buried. I realised I had to find out more, so off to Ealing I went…
On Saturday, I made my second foray into live video presentations with the virtual launch of the Great Trees of London Map, recently published by Blue Crow Media.
I’m very pleased to announce that a new, expanded and fully revised edition of London’s Street Trees has been published by Safe Haven!
In 2019, I was asked by Blue Crow Media, the publisher of some very cool city maps, whether I’d like to edit a map of London’s greatest trees. Now, that’s a fascinating project I thought, and so I said yes straightaway. Nine months later, and after much discussion and whittling down I’m really pleased to say the very beautiful Great Trees of London Map has been published!
Ada Salter, was the driving force behind the transformation of Bermondsey from industrial slum to green oasis. By 1930, 7,000 trees were planted on the new estates and the streets of the borough.