The nation’s four finest trees have been chosen

The nation’s four finest trees have been chosen and will now go forward to compete with trees from all over Europe for the title of European Tree of the Year.

The four trees beat 230 rivals for their titles in a public vote run by the Woodland Trust. Flying the flag for England is a 250-year-old wild pear tree – probably the nation’s oldest, but now under threat because it stands right in the path of the HS2 high-speed rail link. Wales chose an oak growing in the National Botanic Garden of Wales, now 75 years old but lucky to be alive as it was nearly cut down by a teenager earning pocket money. Northern Ireland puts forward the Peace Tree, another oak planted in 1919 in Belfast to commemorate those who died in the First World War. And for Scotland, the Suffragette Oak in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, is a fitting tribute to the women who fought for the right to vote in 1918.

“These four trees all demonstrate the intrinsic way our lives are linked to the natural world,” said Beccy Speight, Chief Executive of the Woodland Trust.

Voting for the European Tree of the Year is open to everyone: just visit the website at www.treeoftheyear.org.