Waterloo Beech at Lowther
The Lowther Estate has a long and proud association with trees and woodlands which dates at least as far back as the first granting of Free Warren by Edward I in 1283, shortly followed by the emparking of two hundred acres of what must have been superlative pasture woodland to create the first Lowther Deer Park.
The Estate is home to fine examples of ancient and veteran trees, many of which have interesting stories attached to them. The Waterloo Beech are no exception. They are situated in a large grove which is part of the woodland adjacent to the river Lowther and the road and popular footpath which runs between the Lowther Caravan Park on the outskirts of Penrith and the Lowther North Park at Low Gardens. The trees form an awe inspiring cathedral stand in which the dwarfed observer can experience the true majesty of nature at work. Most of the specimens are in excess of thirty five metres in height and many will be over ten cubic metres in volume.
The story attached to the trees is that a notable member of the Lowther family was one of Wellington’s captains and an aide-de-camp at the Battle of Waterloo. The day after the heat and noise and smoke and carnage of the battle, Captain Lowther sought peace and solace with a few other officers by walking in the woodlands close by their encampment. Whilst walking he collected a number of seedlings which were growing profusely on the woodland floor which he took back to his home at Lowther and planted down by the river.
Those readers who are historians or fans of the Sharpe novels will know that the battle of Waterloo was fought on 18th June 1815 and, according to Wellington, was ‘’a damned close run thing’’. What is interesting is that if you walk in that woodland grove beneath those beautiful trees around that date in a good mast year, you will see the ground carpeted in the kind of beech seedlings which Captain Lowther may have collected and planted.
What is more intriguing however is that if you chance to visit the woodlands of the Foret de Soigne where the dwellers of the city of Brussels like to go to play and relax, close to the battlefield site at Waterloo, the trees are so similar in shape, size and form that you could be back in the grove by the river at Lowther.
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