Douglas Fir in Argyll named the tallest tree in Britain

Still, it wasn't until yesterday that the towering fir was officially named Britain's tallest tree at 63.79 metres, an incredible 209 feet - taller even than the Scott monument in Edinburgh.

It also happens to be slap bang in the middle of Robin Creelman's picturesque woodland garden in Glendaruel in Argyll.

Quirky features, both botanical and historical, litter this sloping slice of forest, which sits around 15 miles north of Dunoon.

A moss-covered rock called the Judge's Chair is mentioned in historical ordnance sheets and is where locals were once sentenced to be hanged.

A nearby copse of lime trees was once planted as a secret signal to indicate to Catholics that a family of that faith resided nearby.

Every few paces another towering tree catches the eye, including a vast Wellingtonia and a Western Red Cedar with its unusual curled boughs.

Mr Creelman, who hails originally from Greenock, says he regards himself more as a custodian of the tree than its legal owner. "When it was planted there was a kind of altruism where somebody plants a tree in 1848 and they are not going to see it in any great form and neither are their children," he said.

"These days are gone but it's nice that there are these living memorials. All you can do is look after the tree."

While the title may seem rather obscure to some, it can be expected to boost tourism in the local area.

However, Mr Creelman is keen to strike a balance between making the tree accessible to the public and destroying the surrounding foliage.

"While we welcome people to come in and see the tree and see the garden, we don't want to be trampled with people. It has survived there since 1848," he said.

The tree is part of an avenue of Douglas Firs planted by Archibald Fletcher of the neighbouring Dunans Castle. The layout of the trees was designed to lead to eye to the A-listed Telford Bridge, which sits on neighbouring land within the grounds of the castle.

The tree's vital statistics were confirmed by a team of five tree-climbing arborists as part of the Tall Trees Project 2009, which involved measuring four of Britain's tallest trees all located in Scotland.

The trees were chosen in conjunction with the Tree Register, who administer and keep records of the UK's tallest trees.

Mark Tansley, course manager for the National Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture at Sparsholt College Hampshire, organised the project to raise the profile of tree climbing and arboriculture.

"We were met by interested and enthusiastic people wherever we went," he said.

"The trip has generated a phenomenal amount of interest."

Chris Hunter, a member of the team and lead climber for Urban Forestry in Bury St Edmonds, said: "I've been climbing trees for 17 years and have never tackled anything so tall, challenging and rewarding.

"They were truly breath-taking trees in breath-taking locations."

A huge amount of equipment is required to climb these tallest of trees, including far longer ropes than those normally required in arboriculture, often up to 200m long.

To get a "line in", the team used a giant catapult to fire a bean bag with a thin line attached to it into the canopy of the tree.

Once this is secured, the climbing ropes can then be attached to it.

The new British champion tree was closely followed by the Diana's Grove Grand Fir at Blair Castle, which was measured at 62.70 metres.

Both trees beat the previous UK's tallest tree, the Dughall Mor Douglas Fir at Inverness, which the team measured at 62.02 metres. Standing at 61.31 metres, the Hermitage Douglas Fir at Dunkeld came a close fourth.

The trees are included in a list being compiled by the Woodland Trust. Using money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the trust launched the Ancient Tree Hunt in 2007 to find, record and preserve the oldest specimens.

The five-year project aims to create a database of at least 100,000 ancient trees by 2011 and will rely heavily on the public to find suitable candidates for the list in their own areas.