I mean just look at how big they are:

Yes, humongous - that ivy on the ground is normal sized ivy...

I saw this while out walking earlier this morning - yes it was a tad on the warm side but walking was way preferable to getting into the car.

I've no idea what type of tree this is, but it's behind the railings on Sir John Morden Walk - which is a well-used local thoroughfare which winds its way through the grounds of Morden College* towards Blackheath Village.

Behind railings for its protection, or ours?!

Looking at it more closely, the tree has actually been pollarded but as you can see it's still pretty virulent! You can see why this tree would be a candidate for pollarding, imagine what it's be like left to its own devices!

Does anyone know what it is?

*

Sir John Morden was a seventeenth century philanthropist who set up Morden College to accommodate those sea merchants who had lost their livelihoods through natural disaster. Although called a college it is actually a very sophisticated retirement and nursing home, providing sheltered accommodations. TheTrust that was bolstered by legacies from turkey merchants in the eighteenth century, runs four other similar homes in Blackheath and Beckenham.The building itself was designed and built by Edward Strong, Sir Christopher Wren’s master mason and is Grade II listed.

Back in my own garden, a lovely yellow rose has flowered