Energy & Climate
Growing British trees
Domestic tree production essential to hit climate and nature targets, says new report.
19 October 2025
Main image: the world’s tallest bedded Christmas tree at Cragside | © National Trust / Bec Hughes
A mighty decorated giant redwood at the National Trust’s Cragside in Northumberland has secured the Guinness World Records title for the World’s Tallest Bedded Christmas Tree.
The 44.7m giant redwood (Sequoia wellingtonia) has been dressed in over 1,300 dazzling lights to transform it into a towering festive showstopper that stands at more than twice the height of the Angel of the North.
The tree is one of millions planted in the 1860s by the estate’s founders, the Armstrong family; some are now the tallest of their kind in the country.
‘It’s been quite the year of planning. Last year we presented the UK’s Tallest Living Christmas Tree, and we kept wondering if we could go one giant leap further and secure a Guinness World Records title… and we made it!’
STEVE HOWARD
National Trust’s Visitor Operations Manager
Visitors will notice that in addition to the lights, the tree is also dressed in two large purple bows to meet the essential criteria to have two traditional decorations on the Christmas tree.
The tree was officially measured with witnesses present and signed off by a Guinness World Records adjudicator when the tree was dressed last month.
‘The breathtaking giant redwood, perched on the edge of the hillside, is a vision of growth and pure beauty in Cragside’s historic landscape. It was a privilege to give this tree the recognition it deserves.’
CARL SAVILLE
Guinness World Records adjudicator
Festooning a tree that’s more than 10 double-decker buses tall takes some industrial thinking: the team used a cherry-picker which can reach 51m, and it took three people two days to hang the lights.
Every bulb is meticulously checked and then draped and fastened vertically so as not to put too much pressure on the tree, which has been part of the Armstrongs’ ‘fantasy mountain landscape’ for over 150 years.
This is not the first time the grounds have been decorated in celebratory lights. In 1884, to commemorate a royal visit, the Armstrongs decorated the estate’s hillsides in thousands of lamps.
The then Newcastle Daily Chronicle reported: ‘Ten thousand small glass lamps were hung amongst the rocky hillsides, and an almost equal number of Chinese lanterns were swung across leafy glades.’
The tree’s multi-coloured lights echo the Christmas spectacle inside the house, with a theme that takes inspiration from a real Servants’ Ball held at Cragside in 1894.
It imagines that the Armstrong family have gone away for the festive season, and their staff are throwing a mischievous party.
The rooms are in topsy-turvy colourful chaos as servants have abandoned their tasks to don their finest attire, ready for an evening of energetic dancing, mingling – and maybe even a touch of romance.
‘With the rooms in the house decked out in vibrant decorations, it felt only right to dress the tree in glorious technicolour as well, and we can’t wait to welcome visitors to experience the World’s Tallest Bedded Christmas Tree throughout the festive season.’
STEVE HOWARD
National Trust’s Visitor Operations Manager
Christmas at Cragside is on until Sunday 04 January 2026.
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