Private - visible from public access (permission not required to view)
Surroundings:
Hedgerow
Comments ({{comments.length}})(23)
Congratulations to the campaigners and all involved to protect this beautiful old tree. Its a wonderful victory. The "one" is as important as the many. The tree will know how much s/he is loved!
Ilona is the most beautiful iconic oak tree.
She has been standing proudly at the brow of the hill at the top of Leather Lane, overlooking the Chiltern Valley below through the reign of 10 monarchs, 65 prime ministers,2 world wars, the industrial revolution and now through the climate crisis. At a time when we need trees as valuable as her for the benefit of mankind, she is under threat of being felled for landscaping!
The community of Great Missenden have come out in solidarity to protect this precious and important tree that they consider a vital part of their heritage and identity.
She is connected to the 87 veteran oak trees that line Leather Lane by an ancient hedgerow; providing the only remaining connectivity between habitats for wildlife for 7km. Her contribution to the ecology and heritage of this community is monumental.
HS2 fall dismally short of all ecological promised mitigations, compensations, assurances and undertakings given to Parliament and the people of the UK. This beautiful tree is about to be felled by them without good reason, and with no attempt to mitigate or even compensate. It is in the way of a blind and deaf planner who doesn't know what a plan is. Ilona is a beautiful iconic oak, important in her own right, but as a symbol of everything wrong with developers, development and their regulation she is utterly priceless. If we can save her, we can save MUCH more......if not........
Ilona is the most beautiful oak tree I have ever seen. She has seen my family and I through many happy memories and provided shade for Hs2 workers in the summer months. Those same HS2 workers plan to fell her. We must not let this happen. Ilona is the perfect symbol of resilience when the world around her is so destructive and it is our duty to protect her at all costs.
Please can I add my voice to those who are asking to stop the felling of this ancient oak.
Beautiful ancient trees are part of our heritage and should be protected and revered. We are at a time in human history where we need to question the actions we are taking against the natural world which has supported and protected us and place greater value on its worth. We are all interconnected with our surroundings and we destroy it at our peril
Please leave this ancient and therefore priceless tree alone, there are alternative options and we implore you to take them. We are out of sync with nature and every tree like this that is felled continues the narrative that in some way it can be justified. But it can’t…
This tree is the past protecting the future. Whether you agree or disagree with HS2, unnecessarily felling more invaluable, ancient trees must stop immediately. This is not just for activists and tree huggers. This is for the future of the planet.
These National Monuments are more important than any monument created by man. These monuments give us the very air we breathe….. what could be more important or look more beautiful? Please make a special area for this spectacular living thing.
There was another Oak of a similar size and age about half a mile down the road just off King's Lane on the side of a footpath. It was felled by HS2 as it was in their compound. It didn't really need to be felled as not on the line of the railway or their haul road. At the time HS2 said it was felled by mistake! I have recently seen Fusion plans that show that it was on their intension to fell all along. I have my fingers crossed that this beautiful tree is saved and that the local people who have fought so hard will be rewarded. Let's hope HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester is cancelled and all the beautiful trees along that line will be saved.
It is imperative that this magnificent tree is NOT felled.
Far too many wonderful trees and woods have been needlessly felled and all in the name of this utterly horrible project.
This tree has stood for several hundred years and nobody has the right to chop it down-certainly not me nor anybody else.
As well as being a thing of beauty it is hugely important ecologically.
Some years ago (before HS2 was even in the planning stages) I saw a programme called ‘’A Year in the life of an oak tree’’ and it is probably the most fascinating programme that I have ever watched.
It was riveting.
The programme showed how much wildlife lived in and on the tree during the four seasons.
Please save Ilona for me.
This is another wonderful old tree at risk from the ecocidal insanity that is HS2. I can only echo the other contributions / comments on this site. Ancient trees and woodlands cannot be replaced. The fact that they have been and are being destroyed for a megalomaniacal and totally pointless high-speed train project is particularly appalling. Save Ilona the oak and save ALL the trees at risk from ruthless developers.
No tree should be unneccesarily cut down, especially not an ancient 'grandmother' oak where alternatives exist. HS2 need to start respecting nature rather than randomly destroying anything that stands in their way despite the slight inconvenience it might cause. Trees and nature are not there to be abused as we see fit. All living things are interconnected and we are part of that web. What we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
What a shocking indictment of our disregard for nature if this beautiful tree is felled. Well done to everyone campaigning to save it.
We must save this beautiful , ancient oak from HS2 , it is part of a row of trees that form a bat corridor where bats feed, rare barbastelle bats have been recorded there.
As a fellow Ilona, I'm so happy that this tree has been registered! I'll be keeping an eye on Ilona's progress from now on 🥰
A railway is no use on a planet that cannot support human society. Every tree helps to save the planet for all our benefit, and an ancient oak can and should outlive us all.
HS2 need to rethink their plans to remove this beautiful old tree. Railways and trees should not be incompatible and this one deserves to be saved. It is a host to wildlife and of immense value as a bat corridor and remover of carbon dioxide.
If we wish to avoid being needlessly destroyed by our own hand, perhaps we should consider reducing our tendency to needlessly destroy that which we encounter, so often with little or no awareness of the broader consequences, simply as we are blind to its inherent value to the complex systems of which both it & ourselves are interdependent parts?
As a home counties resident throughout my formative years and until a move to the west country in my 30's, I was very upset to see the unnecessary damage, being done by the HS2 project, on the natural environment and wildlife at Leather Lane. With Ilona now protected I hope the government and those in charge of the HS2 development will now ensure they pay due care and attention to all future issues of this nature.
Bernard Welch 17/11/22
Every single tree helps to improve and save the planet for all our benefit, and an ancient oak can and should outlive many generations of humans. Ancient and veteran trees should be valued and protected.
Saving a tree is more than just saving one tree - it’s saves wildlife, environment, the natural world and adds beauty. We should stop destroying what we have. When it’s gone, it’s gone and then it’s too late.
Ilona, it is nearly a year since we celebrated you and your inclusion on the ancient tree inventory. Still you are standing proudly against a backdrop of devastating earthworks and still the community are working together to ensure that you continue to be protected and remain part of our local heritage for generations to come.
A beautiful and venerable tree. And a symbol of the battle to protect our neighbourhoods and the world from desecration in the name of progress. Hopefully Ilona will outlive us all.
Congratulations to the campaigners and all involved to protect this beautiful old tree. Its a wonderful victory. The "one" is as important as the many. The tree will know how much s/he is loved!
Ilona is the most beautiful iconic oak tree. She has been standing proudly at the brow of the hill at the top of Leather Lane, overlooking the Chiltern Valley below through the reign of 10 monarchs, 65 prime ministers,2 world wars, the industrial revolution and now through the climate crisis. At a time when we need trees as valuable as her for the benefit of mankind, she is under threat of being felled for landscaping! The community of Great Missenden have come out in solidarity to protect this precious and important tree that they consider a vital part of their heritage and identity. She is connected to the 87 veteran oak trees that line Leather Lane by an ancient hedgerow; providing the only remaining connectivity between habitats for wildlife for 7km. Her contribution to the ecology and heritage of this community is monumental.
HS2 fall dismally short of all ecological promised mitigations, compensations, assurances and undertakings given to Parliament and the people of the UK. This beautiful tree is about to be felled by them without good reason, and with no attempt to mitigate or even compensate. It is in the way of a blind and deaf planner who doesn't know what a plan is. Ilona is a beautiful iconic oak, important in her own right, but as a symbol of everything wrong with developers, development and their regulation she is utterly priceless. If we can save her, we can save MUCH more......if not........
Ilona is the most beautiful oak tree I have ever seen. She has seen my family and I through many happy memories and provided shade for Hs2 workers in the summer months. Those same HS2 workers plan to fell her. We must not let this happen. Ilona is the perfect symbol of resilience when the world around her is so destructive and it is our duty to protect her at all costs.
Please can I add my voice to those who are asking to stop the felling of this ancient oak. Beautiful ancient trees are part of our heritage and should be protected and revered. We are at a time in human history where we need to question the actions we are taking against the natural world which has supported and protected us and place greater value on its worth. We are all interconnected with our surroundings and we destroy it at our peril
Please leave this ancient and therefore priceless tree alone, there are alternative options and we implore you to take them. We are out of sync with nature and every tree like this that is felled continues the narrative that in some way it can be justified. But it can’t…
This tree is the past protecting the future. Whether you agree or disagree with HS2, unnecessarily felling more invaluable, ancient trees must stop immediately. This is not just for activists and tree huggers. This is for the future of the planet.
These National Monuments are more important than any monument created by man. These monuments give us the very air we breathe….. what could be more important or look more beautiful? Please make a special area for this spectacular living thing.
There was another Oak of a similar size and age about half a mile down the road just off King's Lane on the side of a footpath. It was felled by HS2 as it was in their compound. It didn't really need to be felled as not on the line of the railway or their haul road. At the time HS2 said it was felled by mistake! I have recently seen Fusion plans that show that it was on their intension to fell all along. I have my fingers crossed that this beautiful tree is saved and that the local people who have fought so hard will be rewarded. Let's hope HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester is cancelled and all the beautiful trees along that line will be saved.
It is imperative that this magnificent tree is NOT felled. Far too many wonderful trees and woods have been needlessly felled and all in the name of this utterly horrible project. This tree has stood for several hundred years and nobody has the right to chop it down-certainly not me nor anybody else. As well as being a thing of beauty it is hugely important ecologically. Some years ago (before HS2 was even in the planning stages) I saw a programme called ‘’A Year in the life of an oak tree’’ and it is probably the most fascinating programme that I have ever watched. It was riveting. The programme showed how much wildlife lived in and on the tree during the four seasons. Please save Ilona for me.
This is another wonderful old tree at risk from the ecocidal insanity that is HS2. I can only echo the other contributions / comments on this site. Ancient trees and woodlands cannot be replaced. The fact that they have been and are being destroyed for a megalomaniacal and totally pointless high-speed train project is particularly appalling. Save Ilona the oak and save ALL the trees at risk from ruthless developers.
No tree should be unneccesarily cut down, especially not an ancient 'grandmother' oak where alternatives exist. HS2 need to start respecting nature rather than randomly destroying anything that stands in their way despite the slight inconvenience it might cause. Trees and nature are not there to be abused as we see fit. All living things are interconnected and we are part of that web. What we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
What a shocking indictment of our disregard for nature if this beautiful tree is felled. Well done to everyone campaigning to save it.
We must save this beautiful , ancient oak from HS2 , it is part of a row of trees that form a bat corridor where bats feed, rare barbastelle bats have been recorded there.
As a fellow Ilona, I'm so happy that this tree has been registered! I'll be keeping an eye on Ilona's progress from now on 🥰
A railway is no use on a planet that cannot support human society. Every tree helps to save the planet for all our benefit, and an ancient oak can and should outlive us all.
HS2 need to rethink their plans to remove this beautiful old tree. Railways and trees should not be incompatible and this one deserves to be saved. It is a host to wildlife and of immense value as a bat corridor and remover of carbon dioxide.
If we wish to avoid being needlessly destroyed by our own hand, perhaps we should consider reducing our tendency to needlessly destroy that which we encounter, so often with little or no awareness of the broader consequences, simply as we are blind to its inherent value to the complex systems of which both it & ourselves are interdependent parts?
As a home counties resident throughout my formative years and until a move to the west country in my 30's, I was very upset to see the unnecessary damage, being done by the HS2 project, on the natural environment and wildlife at Leather Lane. With Ilona now protected I hope the government and those in charge of the HS2 development will now ensure they pay due care and attention to all future issues of this nature. Bernard Welch 17/11/22
Every single tree helps to improve and save the planet for all our benefit, and an ancient oak can and should outlive many generations of humans. Ancient and veteran trees should be valued and protected.
Saving a tree is more than just saving one tree - it’s saves wildlife, environment, the natural world and adds beauty. We should stop destroying what we have. When it’s gone, it’s gone and then it’s too late.
Ilona, it is nearly a year since we celebrated you and your inclusion on the ancient tree inventory. Still you are standing proudly against a backdrop of devastating earthworks and still the community are working together to ensure that you continue to be protected and remain part of our local heritage for generations to come.
A beautiful and venerable tree. And a symbol of the battle to protect our neighbourhoods and the world from desecration in the name of progress. Hopefully Ilona will outlive us all.