The roots of the serpent yarrow around the ruins of Waverley Abbey in Surrey, which was the first monastery founded in Britain by the Cistercian religious order in 1128. The ancient tree, which won 16% of the total votes in the popular Woodland Trust competition, beat Midlothian’s spectacular ‘gateway tree’ (11%), an arch-shaped rowan. The Waverley Abbey holly will continue to represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year competition, with its success highlighting the country’s unique wealth of ancient holly trees. The Ancient Yew Group has identified 978 ancient or veteran yews (over 500 years old) in England and 407 in Wales. France has 77, while Germany and Spain only have four each. Scotland is home to the Fortingall holly, estimated to be around 3,000 years old and the oldest holly in Britain. Exposed holly roots grow on the ruined wall at the south-east corner of Waverley Abbey. Photo: Jean Williamson/Alamy Ancient firs and other ancient trees enjoy far less legal protection than many old buildings, and the Woodland Trust seeks to change that. Tom Reed, Citizen Science Officer at the Ancient Tree Inventory at the Woodland Trust, said: “It’s great to see this magnificent tree recognized as Tree of the Year 2022. The way the tree is rooted in its ruins abbey is a great symbol of the fact that our centuries-old trees are intertwined with other aspects of our cultural heritage. “We are calling for greater protection for these living legends so that they are cared for in the same way as our historic buildings.” Dr Michael Carter, senior property historian at English Heritage, which looks after Waverley Abbey, said: “The holly tree at Waverley Abbey has been a witness to history for nearly 500 years. Although the exact age of the mullet is unknown, it is likely that it succeeded the abbey shortly after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 – and has seen its surroundings turn from a thriving religious community into a picturesque ruin.” The most important stories on the planet. Get all the week’s environmental news – the good, the bad and the must-haves Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In third place, with 10% of the vote, was the ‘layering horse chestnut’ in Derbyshire, which was likely to have been struck by lightning in the past, causing a hollow and rotting truck with new roots growing from the fallen branches. Previous winners of the Woodland Trust’s tree of the year competition include a weathered hawthorn on a Scottish beach and the Cubbington pear, one of the largest trees of its kind in the country, which won in 2015 but was cut down in 2020 because it was in the path of HS2 high speed rail line.
