The Oldest Tree On Argyle St

You know, I wasn’t going to review a tree. Reviewing a tree seems like kind of a weird thing to do, I mean, how do you even go about judging how good a tree is? Well, following a (slightly tipsy) conversation about exactly this, I now know how to review a tree so I feel I have a duty to do it.
This is a deciduous tree, I think it’s a sweet chestnut but I’m not really up on my tree species. At the moment its leaves are still lush and green, with some of the higher ones starting to turn appealing autumnal colours. It shows no sign of disease and birdsong can often be heard coming from it. All in all it does a great job of cheering up Argyle street and adding a nice splash of green.
However, does that really make it a «good» tree? Surely one needs more than that? There are three reasons why I can only give this tree two stars and they are as follows:
1. This tree would be unsuitable for building a tree house in. The branches don’t begin until quite high up and their angle against the main truck is too narrow — there are no broad bows that branch out which would be suitable for supporting a tree house. Others have clearly noticed this unsuitability for tree house building since, at present, there are sign of tree house building.
2. This tree is not good for climbing. As I mentioned in the previous point the main trunk is quite sparse until quite high up. There are no handholds with which to swing yourself up and the trunk diameter would make shimming awkward. Additionally, the branches do not look thick enough to support the weight of a medium sized person. I think climbing this tree would prove unsatisfying and possibly dangerous.
3. This tree provides poor shelter from the rain, especially in winter. Due to it’s deciduous nature it sheds its leaves in winter, making it unable to provide any shelter at all. Even in summer, since its leaves are so high and since Glasgow’s rain does not normally fall vertically, it does a pretty poor job of keeping its visitors dry. I think that as a tree in Glasgow it should really focus on improving this if it wants better reviews.
So, although it doesn’t have much competition on Argyle Street, and although it does look quite nice, I really can’t justify a higher star rating. If you are in search of better trees your best bet is to try Kelvingrove Park, which is close by.

As promised, a seasonal update on our celebrated oldest tree in Argyle St.
Having had a full summer season to sprout and grow, the tree is now resplendent with leaves. It really is very tall, looking even more so with leaves, and is certainly a good big tree. I couldn’t see any birdies in it, but I imagine it could home quite a few, if they wanted to build their nests there.
Long may it thrive.

Did you know that on the whole of Argyle Street — from Trongate to Finnieston — there’s only one tree*? Well, now you do, and this is it.
I read about this tree on Hidden Glasgow and was inspired to pay it a visit. It’s not marked by any plaques so I’m not sure how much attention it actually gets, and the fact it’s surrounded by wee scrub bushes might confuse things. But there you go, it’s a tree and a quite magnificent one at that.
Based on my online readings, the tree is probably at least 150 years old — you can read more about it here:
It’s worth taking notice of these wee (or massive) things about Glasgow, even if it’s something you pass every day because it might just be something really special.
(* After some fact checking, it would seem that this isn’t the only tree anymore, but I am prepared to make the claim it’s the oldest!)