Hertfordshire
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Panshanger estate near Hertford, the county town, has long cherished its massive oak tree, the Panshanger Oak. Gilbert White the naturalist is said to have ridden 80 miles (128km) just to see this tree in 1780. He had recorded many large trees in his writings. Said to be 17ft (5.25m) in circumference in 1850 it is now about 25ft (7.7m) round. There have been larger oaks than this but it is still a remarkable tree. |
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Hugh, six foot (1.80m) tall, gives you some idea of the scale of the tree. The USA West coast trees such as Sequoia grow bigger than an English oak. However, the Panshanger tree is very big for the 'old world'. We tend to call Sequoia trees Wellingtonias in the UK because a lot of them were planted to celebrate the battle of Waterloo. |
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These features of the Hertfordshire part of The Line corridor are explained in more detail in the E-books at www.linepublishing.com. |
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This monument marks the spot, at Standon Green End, just about 1000 yards[1km] from The Line, where Vincent Lunardi landed in the first Hydrogen filled balloon after setting off from the City of London. The date was 15th September 1784, not long after the Montgolfier brothers lifted off in their hot air balloon in Paris, France. Lunardi's machine had the classic form of a balloon with paddles. |
More on The Line at www.meridianline.com
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