30 trees for 30 years: a tree climbing challenge

Last November I turned thirty. The big 3-0. Adulthood. The age of real grown-ups. To bust all and any of these elusions out of the water (grow up? no thanks!) I decided to set myself the challenge of climbing thirty trees within the day.

I love trees and I love climbing. There's something about clambering up a tree, inspecting the gnarly bark, getting up close n' personal with crinkly lichen and being in bird territory that is very comforting and nostalgic. It's not the most conventional of pastimes for a self-respecting adult, but I can't recommend it enough. Some trees can be climbed like full blown rock climbing routes too - heel hook and knee bar a'plenty - which is pretty awesome.

This wasn't a challenge I had given much thought - a lockdown birthday meant I wouldn't be celebrating it in any conventional way and I'd never been much of a birthday person anyway. Thirty was a big one though and it felt fitting to take the day off work to do something I love (but to make it marginally unenjoyable by taking it to the extreme). I'm a sucker for a self-imposed challenge. I already knew the trees of Plymouth pretty well so my planning was minimal - I figured I'd just work it out on the day. Little did I realise that I definitely should have packed a head torch and I definitely should have done a few more preparatory pull ups.

As per any good challenge, the phrase blood, sweat and tears quickly came to mind. Some of the trees were pretty high climbs (~8m) (hello sweat), some were pretty gnarly on the hands (turns out hastily shoving your hands in rough bark cracks isn't great for dry skin - hello blood), and by the end of it I probably could have shed a tear or two (I didn't - but it would have been poetic).

Energy and enthusiasm started high as I whizzed up some of my favourites closest to home - an amazing Blue Atlas with a leafy perch looking over the sea, and a holm oak with an awesome crack for some knee-bar lounging. Knee bars are a great rock climbing move for resting up a climb - essentially it involves wedging your leg in some way to enable the rest of your body to chill for a bit. A few easy climbs around the waterfront were ticked off before heading to my favourite cemetery in the city. I say favourite because this particular graveyard is well managed for wildlife and is therefore great for a nature-filled perusal - I spent much of lockdown 1.0 here and had become well accustomed to my most treasured tree in the city - the copper beach. A big old pull up on a jug-like hollow was required before kicking a leg up and pulling my body weight over the branch. Up there - amongst the chattering crows - is a bunch of arboglyphs - engravings from others that have enjoyed this spot too.

Hello from ~8m high up a Blue Atlas Cedar!

Next up was Central Park - home to some impressive veterans and ornamentals. Sprawling atlas cedars and looming pines were scampered up, nest-like crowns of yew trees explored and overhung rhododendrons shimmied. By 15:15, around 6 hours into the challenge, energy levels were dwindling and psyche was running low. I needed donuts, and fast. A quick pitstop for supplies gave me the boost I needed to tick off a couple more parks through the city. Beaumont park is home to an oak with amazingly tangled and looped branches that I had initially found last year. Back then a young boy was climbing a nearby tree, with ropes, with his mum belaying from below. I rarely see others climbing trees - even seeing kids clambering amongst the leafy canopy these days is a rare sight. This time around, unsurprisingly, there were no fellow climbers so I ate my lunch at the base of the oak before pulling myself up into its lovely branches.

Next I was on my merry way to the National Trust Saltram estate. These beautiful grounds boast a huge array of old gnarled trees. Some of my favourite trees here are fairly delicate/committing climbs and are in some of the busier parts of the grounds. I visited one old faithful - a mossy holm oak with branches that swept down to the ground, before taking the opportunity to find some new natural climbing frames in quieter parts of the estate. I was especially grateful for a peaceful perch on an impressive protruding branch of some unknown species, accessed only by clambering up some thick ivy and by pulling up on the hollow of where a branch had once grown. My last stop was Devonport. A beautiful park full of beautiful trees. The light was dwindling and I admired the sky, now on fire, whilst perched upon a pine, branches entwined like a twisted plait of hair. A soggy shimmy across another mossy Holm Oak led me to my prize: the final climb and complete darkness.

What started out as a flippant decision to spend the day climbing thirty trees turned out to be a harder challenge than anticipated. My body ached and there were MANY bemused or quizzical "what ARE you doing?" kind of looks. However, type 2 fun is real, and in hindsight, it was a 10/10 day, and perfectly memorable way to spend the first day of my 30th year.

Trees are awesome, they are ecologically critical but they are also amazing for connecting people with nature. I'm a fully fledged nature nerd but my love of tree climbing has definitely made me pay even more attention to the threats trees face. Did you know that there are over 1000 ancient woodlands currently threatened by development? We need trees - to store carbon, to clean our air, to reduce flooding and for own health & wellbeing. Research published in Scientific Reports just last month suggest high densities of street trees may inadvertently reduce rates of depression - fewer antidepressant prescriptions were given when tree abundance was high close to home. Unintentional contact with trees is therefore important, and I can attest to intentional contact being excellent too!!

If you care about trees, it's definitely worth keeping an eye on the Woodland Trusts campaign page to see how you can help!