Giant Redwood takes Guinness World Records title

A magnificent giant redwood at the National Trust’s Cragside in Northumberland has earned the Guinness World Records title for the World’s Tallest Bedded Christmas Tree.

Standing at 44.7 meters, this giant redwood (Sequoia wellingtonia) is adorned with over 1,300 sparkling lights, transforming it into a stunning festive centrepiece that towers more than twice the height of the Angel of the North.

It is one of the many trees planted in the 1860s by the estate’s founders, the Armstrong family, some of which are now the tallest of their kind in the UK.

In addition to the lights, the tree is decorated with two large purple bows to meet the requirement of having two traditional decorations.

The tree was officially measured with witnesses present and approved by a Guinness World Records adjudicator when it was decorated.

Guinness World Records adjudicator said that the breathtaking giant redwood, perched on the hillside, is a vision of growth and beauty in Cragside’s historic landscape. It was an honour to give this tree the recognition it deserves.

If you’re decorating a Christmas tree at home, consider the team who unravelled nearly 800 meters of lights for this towering tree.

Decorating a tree taller than 10 double-decker buses requires industrial thinking. The team used a cherry-picker that can reach 51 meters, and it took three people two days to hang the lights. Each bulb is carefully checked and then draped vertically to avoid putting too much pressure on the tree, which has been part of the Armstrongs’ ‘fantasy mountain landscape’ for over 150 years.

This isn’t the first time the grounds have been adorned with celebratory lights. In 1884, to mark a royal visit, the Armstrongs decorated the estate’s hillsides with thousands of lamps.

Ten thousand small glass lamps were hung among the rocky hillsides, and an almost equal number of Chinese lanterns were swung across leafy glades.

The tree’s multi coloured lights reflect the Christmas spectacle inside the house, inspired by a real Servants’ Ball held at Cragside in 1894.

It imagines the Armstrong family away for the festive season, with their staff throwing a lively party. The rooms are in colourful chaos as servants abandon their tasks to dress in their finest attire, ready for an evening of dancing, mingling, and perhaps a touch of romance.

Christmas at Cragside runs until Sunday, January 4, 2026.