A 500-year-old yew tree rooted in a ruined monastery has been named Woodland Trust Tree Of The Year. The Waverley Abbey yew, near Farnham in Surrey, took 16% of the vote to win the contest, which has been going for eight years and aims to highlight how important trees are in the battle against climate change.
The yew won ahead of the Portal Tree in Midlothian, a rowan which is said to resemble a portal to another world. In third place was a layering horse chestnut tree in Kedleston, Derbyshire.
The Waverley Abbey yew is "dotted with holes, crevices and areas of decay that provide valuable habitat for wildlife" according to the Woodland Trust. It will go forward to represent the UK in the European Tree Of The Year contest.
Tom Reed, citizen science officer for the Ancient Tree Inventory at the Woodland Trust, said: “It is great to see that this magnificent tree has been recognised as tree of the year 2022." He added that the "way the tree is rooted within the ruins of the abbey is a great symbol of the fact that our ancient trees are intertwined with other aspects of our cultural heritage”.
Dr Michael Carter, English Heritage senior properties historian, added that the tree is a “truly spectacular reminder of the passage of time and a very worthy winner of tree of the year”.
