There are some amazing ancient trees across Britain, many of which are hundreds of years old and some of them are thousands of years old. Here we look at six of the oldest trees in Britain that are around today, having stood testament to the history of Britain. If you get a chance to visit some of these trees, hopefully you’ll have a little knowledge of each one.
The trees
Fortingall Yew – Anywhere between 2000 and 5000 years old – one of the oldest trees in europe. The Fortingall Yew has a girth of 52ft (twice as long as a double decker bus). Yew trees and many other trees are single sex, meaning that there are both male and female varieties. The female tree has berries and the males pollen pods. The Fortingall Yew is male, however in 2015 scientists noted that one branch of the tree had changed sex and become female, known to happen in conifers.
Bowthorpe Oak – to be found on Bowthorpe Park Farm in Lincolnshire is over 1000 years old and has a girth of 40ft (twice the height of a giraffe). It has an opening in its trunk and you can fit 39 people in it. The Bowthorpe Oak is featured in The Guinness Book of Records and was filmed for a short TV documentary about its size. It also appeared in the documentary Oak Tree: Nature’s Greatest Survivor, hosted by George McGavin about the life of oak trees.
Big Belly Oak – To be found in the Severnake forest in Marlborough is coming up to 1000 years old, seeded around the time of William the Conqueror defeated king harold in 1066 – legend has it that if you dance naked around this tree the devil will appear – however it’s situated by a main road so it is more likely the police would appear.
Llangernyw Yew – 4000 years old and found in the village of Llangernyw, Conwy, North Wales. It has a girth of 35ft which is the same as the height of a telegraph pole. It is said that it is inhabited by an ancient spirit called Angelystor (translated to ‘Evangelist’) who twice a year appears at the nearby church and announces the demise of those locals who are to die in the next year.
Major Oak – Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire it is thought to be between 800 and 1000 years old. Legend has it that Robin Hood himself lived in this tree with his merry men, however this tree is not old enough to have been used as a tree house at that time. It is the Woodland Trust’s 2014 tree of the year. It is the largest oak tree in Britain weighing in at a whopping 23 tonnes (about twice the weight of a cruise ship anchor). And a girth of 33ft.
Ankerwycke Yew – somewhere between 1500 and 2500 years old in Runnymede – present when the magna carta was signed in 1215 it is also rumoured that henry the VIII courted Anne Boleyn under this ancient yew tree and proposed to her under the shadow of the tree.
All in all the ancient trees of great Britain are our last surviving witnesses to some of the Major events of the last 5000 years. Bringing wisdom and commanding respect from all that encounter them. Remember to enjoy visiting the trees and spend a moment wondering what they have been through.