Can anyone identify this tree?

[AnnaFiveTowns]

I'm hopeless with trees. Is this a lilac tree?

Looks more like a horse chestnut.

Thank you. I've googled that and I think you're right. I knew Mumsnet wouldn't let me down!

It's a horse chestnut. Conkers. Lilac is in full bloom here though.

Definitely a horse chestnut (conker) tree

I was walking through the village today, admiring all the little lilacs... and wondering if I could shoehorn one in somewhere. I don't think so, sadly.

Not little lilacs. Damned autocorrect.

Anyone know if it could it be a sweet chestnut tree? I get very confused about the difference between the horse and sweet chestnut trees, I thought the sweet ones were dark pink but apparently not.

That's a horse chestnut. Sweet chestnut leaves are different - they're longer and thinner and more serrated. The flowers are completely different too, they are like long thin bunches of catkins.

Although they have a similar common name they are not related at all.

Thanks washinglions I'm more confused because we live between France and eng. . The French love their sweet chestnuts and I thought that the conkers\ones with the soft prickles on the outside are the sweet ones. So obviously they're not .

This is the flower of a sweet (edible) chestnuts

Thank you, yes , they don't look anything like the horse chestnut trees even the leaves are different. more like a large Laurel !

Plenty of sweet chestnuts eaten in the UK too, and it is the 'conkers' with many furry-looking spines on the case that are the edible ones. The nuts themselves have a more pointy end too.

Horse chestnuts are inedible, by the way, and are particularly toxic to horses.