A Horse Chestnut with a Tale!

A countryside walk from our rented cottage in Holme next the Sea brought us to the Norfolk village of Great Ringstead and this 17th century coaching inn. The hostelry itself is somewhat overshadowed by the immense Horse Chestnut which is currently smothered in white "candles". 

The story goes that the monarch planted the tree. When just a sapling, a drunk coachman rode his coach and horses right over it. The following day he had plenty of time to rue his error. A similar sized sapling was hurriedly found to replace the squashed original and, going by the vigour of today's tree, it must have been planted with a generous helping of manure!  No one seemed to know how old it was but, going by its size, perhaps around 150 years?