A forest_park in New Forest, Hampshire, England featuring giant redwood / giant sequoia and coast redwood. Verified occurrence recorded by Redwood World. It is difficult to do photographic justice to these two Giants! If you like Wellingtonia, take a trip deep into the New Forest to visit them - they can be found on the Tall Trees Trail, Rhinefield Road. The pair are reckoned by the forestry commission to be the tallest trees in the forest - of this there can be little doubt. They are huge. It is difficult to truly appreciate their height from the photograph, but with the full height of the tree in the picture, a person stood next to one would scarcely be noticed - and would definitely not be recognised. They were planted around 1860, and have survived to this time relatively unscathed. They have no signs of lightning or wind damage, it is probable that being in a forest has protected them from the elements to some degree. Giant Redwood - November 2023 Giant Redwood - November 2023 Coast Redwood - November 2023 There is also an example of Coast Redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens ) a few moments walk away. It is interesting to compare this with the Giant Redwood ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ) - it is quite big (5 metres in girth), but it is too crowded to be able to appreciate its height. Further along the Rhinefield Road there is an area of mixed conifers where the ground is covered in Coast Redwood saplings of 10cm or so high, seeded from the larger examples nearby.
Visit information
- Access
- Access unknown
- Last verified
- 10 Apr 2026
- Official site
- redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/newforest.htm
Redwood species here
Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume and have thrived in the UK's mild, wet climate, often growing faster than in parts of their native range. Many Victorian-era plantings now rival mature specimens in California.
Present. Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume
Native to the fog belt of coastal California and Oregon, coast redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth. In Britain they thrive where rainfall, humidity, and sheltered woodland conditions echo their native range, forming narrow, soaring avenues and groves with reddish fibrous bark and flat fern-like foliage.
Present. The tallest trees on Earth, coast redwoods can exceed 100 metres in their native California. Less common in Britain than giant sequoias, they prefer sheltered, moist locations and can still reach impr
About this place
About New Forest - Rhinefield Road
New Forest - Rhinefield Road is located in New Forest, Hampshire, England.
Species Present
Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume and have thrived in the UK's mild, wet climate, often growing faster than in their native range. Many Victorian-era plantings now rival mature specimens in California.
Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
The tallest trees on Earth, coast redwoods can exceed 100 metres in their native California. Less common in Britain than giant sequoias, they prefer sheltered, moist locations and can still reach impressive heights in the UK. The tallest known coast redwood in Britain is over 50 metres.
Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
A deciduous conifer thought to be extinct until rediscovered in a remote Chinese province in 1941. Seeds were distributed to botanical gardens worldwide in the late 1940s. Unlike its evergreen relatives, the dawn redwood loses its needles in winter, turning a striking copper-bronze in autumn.
Data sourced from Redwood World (redwoodworld.co.uk) and enriched by Redwood Finder.