The Tree of Imagination.

The leafy affluent village of Lower Peover, where the average house price is £700,000+ is not the sort of place where you expect to come across a unique piece of art, however, that being said, full marks must go to the local people for coming together and creating what must be a one off creation which has generated widespread interest in both young and old alike.

Coincidentally while I was taking a series of photographs of the tree a blue van pulled up beside me. The chap who was driving was a fellow biker who had spotted my motorbike and stopped for a chat. It turned out that he lived in the property over the road, complete with electronic gates, the property at a conservative guess would probably be worth 1-2 million pounds. He went on to tell me that he had donated the shingles for the roof of the tree and he had also commissioned a wood carving of a huge buzzard that overlooks the tree of imagination at the end of his garden.

The buzzard carving on the opposite side of the road.

Getting back to the Tree of Imagination there is a sign next to it informing you that it was built in 2015. Apparently it was created from the carcass of an old oak tree. The roof on top helps to keep the rain from rotting the interior of the trunk and also serves as an owl box, a bat box and also a nesting box. The attention to detail is plainly evident and a canon can be seen pointing out of the tree between two window shutters expertly created by John Bryant a wood turner who created the canon and finials.

Other people who were involved in the building of the tree was Tim Burgess-a chainsaw sculptor, Tom Ollier and Mick Plant – local master joiners. Also praise must go to

local master joiner , Roy Chesworth and Atlantic Timbers – wood and wood care products. also Anthony Edwards – local builder who provided the scaffolding and David Willis who supplied the security fencing.

The tree even has its own Tripadviser page, with people leaving the following comments:

“Found this piece of art by accident, glad we did, well worth a visit to see it. A very clever and peaceful work”.

“I was driving down a country lane in Cheshire and came across this amazing tree. A great idea. You have to get out of your car or off your bike to have a look at the things inside the tree.

“Great idea in a beautiful village, superb tree with lots to see and great for encouraging creativity. Short walk from two great pubs”.

Just stop by and look at all the detail. Over the years, I watched this old oak gradually decaying until it was given a new purpose”.

“This was such a lovely idea and the attention to detail is just amazing. If you are in the area it’s definitely worth a stop by to see for yourself, especially if you have children”.