The top 10 trees in Britain

A 400-year-old oak in Enfield was felled, and the ensuing uproar serves as a reminder that we often take trees for granted until it's too late. Only found on the Isle of Arran in Scotland, the Arran whitebeam is a native British species that is among the rarest and most endangered trees in the world. At the latest count, there were only 407 remaining.

As they are woven into our history, literature, art, and landscapes, celebrity trees inevitably find their way into our hearts. Take a look at the universal sense of loss brought on by the 2023 destruction of the Sycamore Gap tree. However, we must acknowledge both their aesthetic appeal and ecological significance.

For example, the 2024 Tree of the Year, the Skipinnish Oak, is home to a variety of lichens, including the rare black-eyed Susan, and the ancient trees of Sherwood Forest are home to a wide variety of animals, such as the rare hazel pot beetle, which raises its larvae in pots made from its manure.

Star status can increase a tree's chances of surviving, but it doesn't guarantee that it won't be destroyed. The 250-year-old Cubbington Pear, which had previously won Tree of the Year, was cut down to make room for HS2, but its stump has since been moved and is beginning to grow again.

The same cannot be said for the innumerable unsung heroes that thrive in hedges, line our streets, and adorn our parks and gardens, as well as scrublands. We must value these trees because they not only enhance the quality of the air and offer essential habitat for insects and birds, but they also profoundly and incomprehensibly improve our lives. When they're gone, we'll regret it.

England

1. Shrewsbury, Shropshire's Darwin Oak

This massive oak, which is around 550 years old and has a remarkable 7-meter girth, placed second in last year's Tree of the Year competition with 20% of the public vote. It is located near The Mount, where Charles Darwin grew up, on the edge of a field on the outskirts of Shrewsbury. But the Shropshire Council intends to cut it down, along with eight other old trees. to create space for the bypass at Shrewsbury. A petition to save it has been signed by over 100,000 individuals, however, it is unclear if they will be successful.

2. St. Mary's churchyard, Downe Yew, Kent

When Charles Darwin moved to adjacent Down House in 1842, the yew tree in the churchyard of the Kentish village of Downe was already very old, and it is reported that he would frequently stop to sit under it while taking a stroll. This arboreal monster is thought to be well over 1,000 years old and a Saxon relic, with a hollow heart, sculpted bark, and a girth of nearly 9 meters (30 feet). Darwin wanted to be laid to rest. Here, but was buried in Westminster Abbey since it was thought that he was too significant to be laid to rest in a lowly parish churchyard.

3. Ankerwycke Yew, Surrey's Runnymede

Yew trees are famously hard to date because the wood in the middle of the tree rots and finally hollows out. For example, this specimen, located on the opposite bank of the Thames from Runnymede, is 2,500 years old, according to the National Trust. But according to Tim Hills of the Ancient Yew Group, its 7.9-meter (26-foot) girth indicates a more likely age of about 1,000 years. Regardless of the reality, it still has an incredible history and may be the last surviving witness to the Magna Carta signing in 1215.

4. Newton's Apple, Lincolnshire's Woolsthorpe Manor

The tree in the Woolsthorpe Manor orchard that inspired Sir Isaac Newton to develop his theory of gravity when an apple fell from it has a significant part in the history of science. The tree, a rare Flower of Kent species, was mature enough to give fruit when Newton returned to his childhood home in 1665 after a plague epidemic. After being destroyed in the 1800s, it regrew from the ground up and is currently approximately 370 years old.

5. London's Hampstead Heath Constable Pine

After relocating to Hampstead Heath in 1819, John Constable produced almost 100 pieces of art depicting the landscape, chiefly its cloud formations. He was also motivated. Some of its trees still stand, including a veteran pine that he immortalised in 1820. It is located in Sandy Heath, a forested area with ponds and bog patches surrounded by oak, birch, and beech trees. The area's unique nature is a result of extensive industrial operations that took place there in the 19th century. The tree, which is supported by guy ropes, has a nostalgic appearance, as though it were remembering earlier times.

6. Gloucestershire's St. Leonard's Church, Tortworth Chestnut

This lovely chestnut tree, which is growing outside St. Leonard's church in Tortworth, was dubbed "the largest tree in England" in 1776 by dendrologist Peter Collinson, who measured its girth at 15.8 meters (more recent measures indicate it is approximately 11 meters). It is a testament to regeneration. According to Collinson, it originated from a nut. Planted about 800 AD, under King Egbert's rule.

That might seem fantastic, but it surely looks to be at least 600 years old. It appears to be multiple trees at first, but DNA evidence reveals that it is a single specimen that has undergone remarkable regeneration.

7. Hethel, Norfolk's Old Thorn

This amazing tree is in and of itself a natural reserve. It may have originated in the 13th century, making it one of the oldest hawthorns in Britain. It still blooms and yields vivid red haws, and it is located next to All Saints' church in Hethel. It is frequently referred to as King John's Thorn because, according to historical accounts, it served as a gathering spot for a rebellion under his rule.

According to some legends, it served as a boundary marker, was connected to local witches, and local boys would gather its blossoms for their sweethearts in May.

8. Charlton House Mulberry, London, close to Greenwich

One of London's oldest mulberry trees is this black one. It was planted sometime in 1608, while Charlton House was being constructed for Sir Adam Newton, teacher to Prince Henry, the son and heir of James I. even through black mulberries have been cultivated in England since the Roman era, James I encouraged their cultivation to create a silk industry because mulberry leaves are a food source for silkworms.

They prefer white mulberry leaves over black ones, though, and the business didn't go as well as he had hoped. Nevertheless, this twisted old tree continues to thrive and bears tasty fruit that the home staff may gather and preserve for jam.

9. Cumbria's Holker Lime, Holker Hall

With an 8.9-meter trunk that spreads out like a fan, this common lime has been growing in Holker Hall's gardens for about 400 years. Because they can easily be "pleached," or trained to form screens, tunnels, and arbours, lime trees gained popularity in formal gardens in the 1700s. This particular tree is most likely a holdover from Holker's first formal garden. Although lime bark was formerly used to create rope, the species' significance to nature is what truly sets it apart; the foliage and sweet-scented flowers draw a variety of insects. Give the caterpillars of moths a feast.

10. Brighton, East Sussex's Preston Elm

This 400-year-old English elm, located in Brighton's Preston Park, is arguably the oldest in Europe. There are about 17,000 elms in Brighton and Hove, most of which were planted in the 19th century. The trees flourished until Dutch elm disease struck in the late 1960s because they were able to withstand the chalky soils and saline breezes.

Approximately 25 million elms were felled countrywide in an attempt to contain the illness, but Brighton adopted a different strategy and fought the disease without extensive destruction. Once part of a pair known as the Preston Twins, this tree lost its sibling in 2019, ironically.