Dunollie's Monkey Puzzle Tree
- florence7690
- May 23, 2023
- 2 min read
For the last 143 years, Dunollie was the proud home of a Monkey Puzzle Tree.
Monkey Puzzle Trees are originally from South America and were first brought to the UK in the late 18th century and became extremely popular during Victorian and Edwardian times. We have reason to believe ours was planted in 1880, whilst Charles Allan MacDougall, 27th Chief of his clan, resided in Dunollie House.
The monkey puzzle tree is in the background, at the centre of the photo taken in April 2023.
For the last couple of years, our team and many of our visitors noted that our monkey puzzle tree simply didn't look it's best. All of it's lower branches seemed to have died and fallen off with only those at the very top remaining. Recently, our fears were officially confirmed as large amounts of honey fungus was found in the tree.
It was no longer safe to have on a visitor's site as it might have come crashing down in the next storm. This could have been a disastrous in a number of ways. Firstly because it may have injured some of our staff and visitors. Secondly as it risked damaging part of the house which is a Scheduled Monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland as well as our collections store and our office space. Finally, if the tree had fallen in any other direction, it would have caused great damage to the rest of our grounds.
RM Tree Services removing the branches one by one in May 2023.
It was with a heavy heart but full understanding that we arranged to have it taken down. We called upon the assistance of RM Tree Services with whom we have worked with in the past. They did an excellent job and clearly aren't afraid of heights!
New Routes Health & Wellbeing participants pilling up monkey puzzle seeds and branches in May 2023.
Last week, our New Routes Health and Well-being Group finished clearing up the smaller branches and seeds left from the Monkey Puzzle Tree.
Whilst we were very sad to see it go, we know this makes our site a safer place and was the only way to protect ourselves, our visitors and our collection. It's also an exciting new beginning for our site with space for other amazing plants to grow and thrive.
Images of Dunollie's Woodland Grounds taken throughout the year.
Some of you will know that this isn't our only tree to have come down in the last few years.
For any enquiries about our wood, please contact us via email on info@dunollie.org
It's always tough to say goodbye to a landmark, especially one with such a rich history as Dunollie's Monkey Puzzle Tree. That tree truly was a magnificent specimen, standing for 143 years! It's clear from your account that the decision to remove it, while heavy-hearted, was absolutely the right one, prioritizing safety for visitors and staff, and protecting the historic house and collections. It's inspiring to see how you're embracing this as an "exciting new beginning." For those who might be documenting their visits and maybe stitching together photos, I find Merge JPG incredibly helpful for combining image files for reports or social media posts – it's so easy to use!
This is such a poignant story about Dunollie's Monkey Puzzle Tree. It's truly sad to hear about the passing of such a historic and iconic part of the estate, especially one that has stood for 143 years and witnessed so much history. The careful consideration for staff, visitors, and the Scheduled Monument status of the house, despite the heavy heart, shows a real dedication to preservation and safety. It's also lovely to read about the "new beginning" and anticipation of new growth. For anyone documenting such rich historical narratives, I highly recommend checking out Markdown to Doc for seamlessly converting notes into documents!
This is such a touching and insightful post. It's truly sad to hear about the Monkey Puzzle Tree, especially with its 143-year history at Dunollie and its connection to Charles Allan MacDougall. It's completely understandable why you had to make such a difficult decision for the safety of visitors, staff, and the historic house itself, even with the heavy heart you mentioned. The new beginning offers a silver lining! For anyone looking to preserve visual historical records or illustrations from such places digitally, converting images might be useful. You can find a good tool for that at Converter PNG to SVG.
What a bittersweet read! It's truly a shame to hear about the Dunollie Monkey Puzzle Tree, especially with its 143-year history and the connection to Charles Allan MacDougall. It's clear the decision was made with a heavy heart, but prioritizing safety for visitors, staff, and the historic Dunollie House is absolutely the right call. It's commendable how you're even turning this loss into an "exciting new beginning." Perhaps you could even use an AI image generator to visualize what the new space might look like with different plantings? I've been really impressed with the results from AI Image Generator By Nano Banana Pro for quick, creative visual ideas. Thanks for sharing this detailed and thoughtful update.
It's truly bittersweet to read about Dunollie's Monkey Puzzle Tree. While it's sad to see such a historic and iconic part of the landscape go, especially with its deep roots in Victorian and Edwardian times, the difficult decision to remove it for safety reasons, after discovering the honey fungus, is completely understandable. The responsible action taken to protect staff, visitors, and the Scheduled Monument itself is commendable. It's inspiring to see the positive outlook and the "exciting new beginning" for the site. For anyone looking to make a strong first impression, perhaps on a profile used for volunteer work or contacting organizations, I found the Attractiveness Test to be a useful tool for selecting the best profile photo.