Ancient oak named after band crowned UK Tree of the Year

A centuries-old histrion successful the Scottish Highlands named aft a fashionable ceilidh set has won this year's UK Tree of the Year.

The Skipinnish Oak, which the Woodland Trust believes is much than 400 years aged but could perchance beryllium up to 1,000 years old, is hidden distant successful a Sitka spruce plantation connected Achnacarry Estate successful Lochaber.

Modern histrion experts had nary thought the oak existed until a accidental brushwood with set Skipinnish.

The radical were playing for the Native Woodland Discussion Group adjacent and directed conservationists to its concealed spot, enabling it to beryllium added to the past histrion inventory.

Andrew Stevenson, from the band, said helium was "delighted" the histrion won the contest.

He added: "The histrion has held a peculiar spot successful my bosom since my begetter archetypal described it to me, and the archetypal clip I saw it galore years ago."

The Woodland Trust said the histrion is "impressive successful stature and history" and is simply a surviving remnant of the autochthonal ecosystem, playing big to uncommon lichens - including the uncommon black-eyed Susan which is seldom recovered extracurricular the westbound of Scotland - and different species.

This year's taxable was "magnificent oaks", with The Skipinnish Oak seeing disconnected contention from 11 different finalists to triumph 21% of the nationalist vote.

It volition present spell connected to vie successful the European Tree of the Year contention aboriginal adjacent year.

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The Darwin Oak successful Shrewsbury, estimated to beryllium 550-years-old and increasing precise adjacent to the puerility location of Charles Darwin but threatened with being felled for the Shrewsbury bypass, was runner-up.

The 1,000-year-old Bowthorpe Oak successful Lincolnshire, a hollow histrion with past graffiti wrong and boasting the assertion 3 twelve radical erstwhile stood wrong it, placed third.

Skipinnish program to constitute a caller opus successful honour of the winning oak and volition debut the tune adjacent September astatine a gig astatine the OVO Hydro successful Glasgow.

Dr Kate Lewthwaite, from the Woodland Trust, said: "The Skipinnish Oak is simply a magnificent illustration of the earthy practice we strive to protect, and its designation arsenic UK Tree of the Year shines a airy connected the unthinkable biodiversity that our trees support.

"We promote everyone to observe and sphere these captious features of our environment."