Great Old Chestnut of Baamonde - Spain

Castaño de Baamonde, originally uploaded by FreeCat.

In the town of Baamonde, Galicia (Spain) there is a very old Chestnut tree with a small chapel in its trunk!

Castaño de Baamonde, originally uploaded by FreeCat.

The hollow has been converted into a niche (a place where small statures of the Virgin Mary or other saints are kept) Inside there are several small statues carved from wood taken from the inside of this same tree. The carver was Victor Corral.

Hollow Tree in Stanley Park - Vancouver, BC

**see below for new update (April 17, 2008)**

At the Hollow Tree, originally uploaded by AlmostJaded.

A sign by this tree reads…

“This now hollowed out stump with “nurse trees” growing from the crevices of its woody skeleton was once a thriving cedar tree. At one time its girth measured 18.3 meters (60 feet). In the early 1900´s this site was a very popular location for photographs either with horses & buggies backed into the hollow or those newfangled contraptions, automobiles!”

below is an old photograph of this same tree taken in 1897 by William Notman

Great Cedar Tree, originally uploaded by SqueakyMarmot.

**UPDATE - April 17, 2008**

I was able to visit this tree in March. The old hollow tree was damaged in a storm this last December and is hardly standing. It has a few cables keeping it from tipping over. The base has also deteriorated considerably making the hollowed out portion quite a bit smaller than in used to be. As of April 1st the Vancouver city council has voted to remove the old stump entirely. This tree has been in Stanley Park for about 1000 years.