In 1964 the Forestry Commission set a plaque at the foot of this plane recording 123 feet, then the tallest London plane known in Britain. It has not stopped growing. On 5 August 2026 the Forestry Commission and Sutton Council's parks service measured it again: 39.6 metres tall, about 130 feet, and 7.6 metres round the trunk, almost 25 feet. Since the plaque, its girth has grown by 19 percent and its height by 6 percent. The height record has moved on, though. On the Tree Register's list, as read by Secret Carshalton, the local site that published the new figures, two planes in Richmond stand at 40.40 and 40.25 metres. That makes Carshalton's the third tallest London plane on that list, still a giant and no longer the champion. Nobody recorded when it was planted, and the guesses do not quite agree. The 1964 plaque already called it likely over 200 years old, which puts it past 250 now. The Great Trees of London list, which counted it among its original 41 trees, gave about 200 years as of 2010. Both are estimates rather than records. It stands beside Festival Walk, on the stream that feeds Carshalton Ponds, with the plaque at its base and the Honeywood Museum a few dozen metres away. The path is open and free, and Carshalton station is roughly ten minutes on foot.
The line is our estimate of how much there is to see, not a measurement. Typical for this species where this tree stands; exact weeks shift with the year.
Festival Walk beside the stream feeding Carshalton Ponds, Carshalton SM5You can recognise it by the Forestry Commission plaque at its base and a trunk 7.6 metres round. It stands beside Festival Walk on the stream feeding Carshalton Ponds, a few dozen metres from the Honeywood Museum.
Free; stands beside the public Festival Walk by Carshalton Ponds, plaque at its foot (Geograph captions); no hours published, an open path
Carshalton station (Southern), roughly 10 minutes on foot (not source-stated; Carshalton Ponds are the landmark)
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
