The Woodland Trust has announced the nominees for the Tree of the Year 2024 competition.
This year's theme is ‘magnificent oaks’. These wizened trees, synonymous with the British countryside, can live for more than 1,500 years and support 2,300 different species of wildlife, from birds and mammals to insects and plants.
"We chose the iconic oak because it captures people’s imaginations – from their leaves to their acorns, these trees are ingrained in our heritage," says Dr Kate Lewthwaite, Citizen Science Manager at the Woodland Trust.
"Some oaks that are alive today were already centuries old at the time of Queen Elizabeth I, or Charles Darwin."
A panel of tree experts chose 11 nominees from across the UK, plus one that was nominated by members of the public. Voting for the Tree of the Year is now open – pick your favourite from the gallery below and cast your vote on the Woodland Trust website. The competition runs until 21 October with a winner announced on 29 October.
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Tree of the Year 2024 nominees
Marton Oak, Cheshire
Sessile oak (quercus petraea) / Approximate age: 1200 years / Girth: 14.02 metres
Standing in a private garden on the aptly named 'Oak Lane', the tree must have long been a local landmark. The centre of this sessile oak is totally hollow, with just a few large fragments of the outer bole remaining, leaning outward under their own weight. It may well be in the latter stages of its immense lifespan.
Bowthorpe Oak, Lincolnshire
English oak (quercus robur) / Estimated age: 1000 years / Girth: 13.38 metres
The second widest tree on our list, the incredible Bowthorpe Oak has a hollow trunk, and it’s claimed three dozen people once managed to stand inside it. Ancient graffiti marks its inner from bygone visitors. It was named one of 50 Great British Trees by the Tree Council in celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002.
Gregynog Oak, Powys
Estimated age: 500 years / Girth: 9 metres
Standing alongside several mammoth trees in Great Wood in the grounds of Gregynog Hall, this incredible ancient tree could well have been admired by the likes of Gustav Holst and George Bernard Shaw, who are known to have visited the property. The area is immensely valuable for wildlife and considered one of Wales’ most important ancient parklands and wood pasture habitats.
Queen Elizabeth Oak, West Sussex
Sessile oak (quercus petraea) / Estimated age: 800-1000 years / Girth: 13.18 metres
This majestic, hollow tree is the second largest sessile oak on record (after the Marton Oak) and is one of a few ancient oaks associated with Queen Elizabeth I, who is believed to have been positioned by the tree on a hunting excursion in 1591.
Vote for the Queen Elizabeth I Oak
Skipinnish Oak, Lochaber
Sessile oak (quercus petraea) / Estimated age: 400+ years / Girth: 8 metres
A large, single-stemmed oak, surrounded by a monoculture of Sitka spruce. Despite its challenging situation, it supports a huge ecosystem in its canopy, with a host of temperate rainforest bryophytes and lichens along its bark. The tree is named after a ceilidh band, whose piper remembered the tree from his childhood, which led to it being recorded.
The Michael, Midlothian
Estimated age: 1000+ years / Girth: 10.32 metres
This colossal multi-stemmed tree is a hybrid of the UK's two native oaks, pedunculate and sessile. Its interesting name is probably a corruption of the Scots word ‘meikle’, meaning big, though some believe it was named after The Michael, the largest sailing ship afloat in the 16th century.
Tea Party Oak, Suffolk
English oak (quercus robur) / Estimated age: 700+ years / Girth: 12.80 metres
Situated on the National Trust's Ickworth Estate, it predates the 18th century Italianate palace by some margin. A significant tree for local people and wildlife, including bats, this gnarled old oak is thought to be the oldest on the estate and one of Suffolk’s finest ancient trees. It’s named for the tea parties held beneath its boughs for village children in the 19th century.
King John Oak, Somerset
Estimated age: 1000 years / Girth: 10.74 metres
Growing in the grounds of a school with over 500 years of history, this magnificent oak has seen countless generations of children grow up alongside it. The school was originally founded in 1519 – when the tree was already around 500 years old.
Darwin Oak, Shrewsbury
Estimated age: 550 years / Girth: 7 metres
This freestanding oak sits very close to The Mount, the childhood home of Charles Darwin, and it’s easy to imagine this impressive tree and its surrounding countryside helped to inspire a young Charles about the natural world. Sadly, Darwin’s Oak, as it is known locally, and 8 other ancient trees are threated to be felled to make way for the Shrewsbury Bypass.
Capon Tree, Scottish Borders
English oak (quercus robur) / Estimated age: 700-1000 years / Girth: 9.40 metres
One of the last surviving trees of the ancient Jedforest. Its sprawling, distorted form may have saved it from felling, as the wood would have been useless for shipbuilding. For 75 years it has played a key role in the annual Jethart Callant's Festival, with a sprig from the tree being used to decorate the leading man, or Callant.
Castle Archdale Oak, Co. Fermanagh
Sessile oak (quercus petraea) / Estimated age: 400+ years / Girth: 7.68 metres
This tree, with its vast, gnarled trunk now split into two towering stems, was likely standing throughout the building, capture, burning and abandonment of nearby Castle Archdale (County Fermanagh) in the 17th century, now in ruins. The area was a hive of activity during the Second World War too, when Castle Archdale was a military base.
Vote for the Castle Archdale oak
‘Elephant Oak’, Old Slode Inclosure, Sussex
Estimated age: 150-300 years / Girth: 3.96metres / Public wildcard nomination
This tree takes its name from its unusual shape, and was nominated by supporter Claire Sheppard, who said: “This is my favourite oak tree to photograph at Old Sloden inclosure, New Forest. It’s a pollard oak known as the ‘Elephant Oak’ due to its massive trunk! I hike for around 5km from Abbotswell car park to get there and back, and this wood always gives me goosebumps. It’s not the easiest place to reach and hence it’s always very quiet; I get a real sense of peace and solitude here.”
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