Discover the UK's tallest Christmas tree with over 3,200 feet of twinkling lights

The UK's Tallest Living Christmas Tree dressed successful much 2,000 lights (Image: National Trust Images/Sheila Rayson.)

The awe-inspiring 160-year-old redwood, adorned with much than 3,200 feet of twinkling lights, soars astir 140-feet from the wood floor. Its 2,000 low-energy bulbs person turned the histrion – the tallness of 10 double-decker buses stacked connected apical of each different – into the UK’s biggest Christmas tree.

The wondrous spectacle is greeting visitors to 1 of the National Trust’s best-loved stately homes this winter.

The tree, astatine Cragside successful Northumberland, was selected for decoration owed to its otherworldly presumption adjacent to a 19th-century mansion atop a rocky outcrop surrounded by forest.

Curator Clara Woolford explains: “Our forestry squad are adept histrion climbers and utilized a cherry-picker to scope the top.

“They were untangling the lights – which are powered by a rechargeable artillery powered generator – successful large strands, with immoderate of america connected the crushed going, ‘Left a bit, close a bit’, similar immoderate family.”

The tallest Christmas histrion is 1 of 7 cardinal shrubs and trees planted astatine the 1,000-acre property by Victorian visionary Lord William Armstrong and his wife, Margaret. Lord Armstrong was a solicitor and self-taught technologist liable for devising the hydraulic mechanics that operates London’s Tower Bridge.

“We truly anticipation the Armstrongs would person loved this concern standard eco-light hanging, but I consciousness it is conscionable the benignant of madcap thought they would person approved of,” Clara continues.

That’s due to the fact that astatine Cragside, the communicative of energy goes overmuch deeper than Christmas frosting, and into affluent layers of past beneath. “Cragside House was the archetypal astute home,” says Clara, 34. “It was the archetypal spot successful the satellite that generated hydro-electricity – adjacent earlier Niagara Falls.”

Married successful 1835, the mates had commissioned their imagination location from era-defining designer and Royal Academician, Richard Norman Shaw.

As good arsenic having the novelty of an electrical lighting system, the pioneering hydro-electric strategy – drafting powerfulness from the adjacent stream – enabled Cragside to person a hydraulic assistance and adjacent a water-powered spit.

Artist's content of the UK's tallest Christmas histrion (Image: National Trust)

There was cardinal heating and a plunge bath. It was a location that genuinely acceptable the modular for modern living.

“As the self-taught proprietor of an engineering plant, Lord Armstrong was earnestly funny successful what helium called ‘the ember question,’” says Clara. The concern gyration was successful afloat plaything but Lord Armstrong knew ember was some a polluting and diminishing resource.

The innovative thinker gave a lecture astir what would hap erstwhile ember ran retired and the request to look astatine alternate energy sources. He adjacent posited the thought of extracting vigor from the sun, alert it was a assets that could beryllium exploited.

But though the location took 25 years to build, the trees are taking alternatively longer. For though galore of the specimens successful the nationally important postulation are already the tallest of their benignant successful the UK, they are inactive growing. And they are Lilliputian compared to their North American counterparts, which tin scope heights of 380 feet – the equivalent tallness of much than 25 double-decker buses stacked aloft.

“Seeing these trees mature was a imaginativeness the Armstrongs were destined ne'er to bask successful their ain lifetimes,” says Clara.

“The specimens astatine Cragside were each planted arsenic young saplings – tiny immature trees – and immoderate were adjacent grown from seed.” Devising a strategy for garlanding the soaring specimen was a caller task for 2024 that fell to caput forester Chris Clues, 47, who helped afix much than 30, 108-ft agelong swags of lights to the graceful branches.

“There has been a batch of readying progressive and we’ve been moving retired the challenges arsenic we’ve gone along,” says Chris, who has worked astatine Cragside for 20 years and been caput forester for the past 11.

“We chose this histrion due to the fact that it has a precise triangular Christmas histrion shape.

“It is besides adjacent to the house. I americium definite that if Lord Armstrong was going to airy a tree, helium would person chosen this one, close connected his driveway.”

Lady Armstrong was a precise keen botanist, arsenic good arsenic a philanthropist. Says Clara: “We are fortunate to person her annotated works books which uncover that she was decidedly pursuing a fashion.” It was a inclination known arsenic “the North American style” wherever the planting of elephantine trees was designed to emergence airily supra elaborately-planted undergrowth, featuring rhododendrons and alpines.

The robust span implicit the Debdon Burn illuminated for Christmas astatine Cragside (Image: National Trust/Steve Howard)

The undoubted stars of the amusement are the non-native trees the mates collected from North America, including Redwoods and Douglas Firs.

For the Victorians, keeping up with the neighbours was each astir plants. “Lord Armstrong saw a batch of these trees connected his travels, reasoning ‘What histrion person you got that I haven’t got?’

“Now, alternatively than histrion envy, it tends to beryllium which car oregon which boat,” laughs Chris, who manages a squad of three, liable for managing each the trees astatine the estate.

This immense little includes yearly checks connected each histrion to cheque it for pests and illness – sadly expanding arsenic the clime warms – arsenic good arsenic ensuring that stray limbs are removed successful a timely fashion.

“If we weren’t unfastened to the public, it wouldn’t substance if a subdivision fell off,” helium explains, adding that the warmer clime successful the UK leads fir trees to turn otherwise than successful their autochthonal lands.

“We don’t person the snowfall here, truthful the trees adapt, and extremity up with somewhat longer branches.”

The Armstrongs took the instauration of their phantasy scenery and “tree envy” to the adjacent level.

This included dynamiting their vale and instructing idiosyncratic rocks to beryllium placed successful positions wherever they would make the astir melodramatic stream cascades. “Their person John Hancock, a taxidermist, would basal successful the stream directing operations. There was a batch of Victorian chutzpah involved,” says Clara.

The epic Christmas histrion program is simply a likewise expressive conception that would person fitted precise good with the visionary zeal that was emblematic of Cragside’s custodians.

“Lord Armstrong would decidedly person approved of the idea,” adds Chris. “If the exertion had been astir successful his day, it is conscionable the benignant of thought helium would person had.”

Share your favourite National Trust memories and places (Image: National Trust)

The historical hydro strategy helium pioneered was inactive progressive until the location was requisitioned successful the Second World War, erstwhile the Army enactment it onto the nationalist grid.

“However, we bash person a modern Archimedes screw which generates hydro-electricity for the location by harnessing the powerfulness of falling water,” says Clara.

And astatine Cragside this Christmas, it is not conscionable the country’s tallest surviving Christmas histrion that is turning heads.

The interior of the Armstrongs’ location has been transformed into a wood scenery with earthy items sourced from the gardens and forest.

The intended effect is arsenic if the location were being overtaken by trees.

“There are saplings bursting retired of Christmas meal successful the expansive eating room,” adds Clara.

“There is simply a full-scale stream and cave successful the neo-classical drafting room, with its ten-tonne marble fireplace.

“We person tried arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable to root everything we are utilizing from the 1,000-acre estate, including flowers that the gardeners person been drying for months.

“It’s an ambition we’ve had for a while. But seeing it made existent feels magical.”