Tree-Hunting

About the book

Discover the ultimate urban tree-spotter's guide

The Rebel Tree. The Climber's Lime. The Ecclesiastical Pear.

In Tree Hunting, Paul Wood seeks out the best individual trees - the most charismatic, quirky or downright spectacular - that grow in Britain and Ireland's towns, cities and villages (and, in one case, from the crack in a church steeple). From a stumpy sycamore in Shetland, contorted by wind and hard weather, to the shining jewel in Brighton's unlikely treasure trove of elms, Paul travels on a quest from north to south rooting out the legends and tall tales behind these marvellous specimens. As he delves into this rich ecosystem, he reveals how trees are inextricably bound to the story of our towns and cities: they have always...