Mapping the giants of the Victorian age.
Redwood Finder is a map of places across the UK where giant sequoias, coast redwoods, and dawn redwoods can be found. It maps where the trees are, tells their stories, and provides practical information to help people visit them well.
The product is designed to feel measured, exact, and outdoorsy. It is not a strict database or a verification system. Information is gathered from public sources and is updated over time.
Why redwoods in Britain?
Giant sequoias and coast redwoods have been growing in Britain for over 170 years. The Victorian enthusiasm for planting the newly discovered 'big trees' means that the UK has more mature giant sequoias than any country outside the United States.
Many people pass by these trees every day without knowing what they are. A sequoia in a Devon churchyard. A coast redwood avenue in the New Forest. A grove of wellingtonias on a Scottish estate. These are extraordinary trees with remarkable stories. Redwood Finder exists to make them easier to find and understand.
How Redwood Finder works
Sources & Updates
Places are researched from public sources — botanic garden websites, Forestry England, National Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, local records, and other publicly available information. Sources are cited on each place page.
Information is updated periodically as new sources become available or existing information changes. Some details — particularly opening times and access conditions — can change without notice. We recommend checking official sources before any visit.
Included Species
- Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
- Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
- Dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
Other large conifers — including western red cedar, Douglas fir, and Lawson's cypress — are not included, even if they are often planted alongside redwoods.
A living project
Redwood Finder covers the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Place pages will be enriched over time as more information becomes available. Some pages have detailed history and visit notes; others have only basic information. We prefer a page with rough but useful information over no page at all.