The Marton Oak

 Somewhere in the valleys and fields of Cheshire, there lives the greatest oak in the UK. Thought to be 1200 years old, the monstrosity known as the Marton Oak has a girth exceeding 14 meters. For these dimensions, this ancient sessile oak was designated as one of the 50 Great British Trees. The tree split into pieces centuries ago, but the huge 3 remaining parts are one single organism, even though the central part of the tree has collapsed. The tree grows in a private garden in Marton and, after seeing the oldest oak in the UK (King Offa's Oak), it was exceedingly important for me to visit this breathtaking organism. There were even larger oaks in the past, but which do not survive now- the Marton Oak is the greatest of the great. 

The trip started spontaneously on Saturday. I just decided, saw the distance, thought it would be a good idea, and so set off on a trip that would perhaps impress me more than any individual tree had until this point. Unfortunately for me, Cheshire's roads were a nonstop up-and-down rollercoaster ride which left me exhausted beyond measure. 

When I finally reached the tree, I was completely astounded. I had not seen anything close to that titanic size in my life out of trees. 

I started taking photographs- photographs from every angle of the tree. Although much of the tree has died and it is obviously past its prime and in the latter stages of its life, it was still a monstrous sight to behold without measure. The tree had an explosion of green above the split trunk, a very vigorous crown for something that old and looking like that

After I was done gawking, I circled the tree, wanting to get a good look from every direction. The side I started admiring first was good, but had lost much of its former glory over the centuries. The side next to that, however, looked a little better and perhaps even more photogenic at that

Nearby was a huge intact area of bark

I of course needed to conduct such a photograph, and so took a photo of myself standing next to the huge tree, looking tiny in comparison to the oak

The amazing tree in 2002 was designated as one of the 50 Great British Trees, and was identified as one of the UK's champion trees at that. I don't know for how long it will live, but it might be able to live for another century. Or might not. I also saw a group of larch boletes growing right by the road just as I was leaving.