Prehistoric?

I've never really looked at this tree before, though I've passed it countless times. It sits beside the ornamental pond in Benmore Gardens. Today I stopped to look, and learned that it's a sort of prehistoric redwood - Metasequoia Glyptostroboides, apparently. And when you look closely - and I'm sorry I clipped its head off - you can see that it has an odd look about it, with these branches continuing to grow round the lower part of the trunk, and the wonderful straight tapering of said trunk and the regularity of the boughs.

I took some much lovelier photos today, but this interested me. And we heard the cuckoo again (a major 3rd), as well as a woodpecker ( a 7-beat roll). And a small deer stood looking at us for ages before loping off into the wood. Great!