The document summarizes several notable old trees in the UK, including: - The Crowhurst yew in Surrey, believed to be 4,000 years old and famous for having a wooden door built into its trunk. - The oldest tree is a 5,000-year-old yew tree located in the churchyard of St Cynog's in Wales. - The Marton Oak in Cheshire is thought to be over 1,000 years old, with a girth of over 14 meters. It is considered one of the oldest oaks in England. - The Fortingall yew in Scotland is estimated to be between 2,000-5,000 years old, making

1. Britain’s Protected Trees
Source: Woodland Trust

2. Crowhurst yew:
Believed to be as old as 4,000 years, this tree
is famous for the wooden door that has been
built into it. We don't know when the door
was added, but it was after 1820 when
villagers hollowed out the bole of the tree.
Whilst hollowing the tree they found a
cannonball, which may have embedded itself
in the tree in the 1600s.

3. The oldest : Yews are remarkable for their ability to renew
themselves and continue to live and thrive for thousands of years.
It’s unsurprising then that the oldest tree in the UK is a yew tree.
Sitting in St Cynog’s churchyard in Defynnog is a yew with a girth
over 11m. Said to be 5,000 years old it’s believed to be the UK's
oldest tree.
St Cynog's yew (Photo: Paul Wood)

4. The Marton oak:
The UK, and England especially, is abundant
in old oak trees. Of these it’s hard to know
which is the oldest but a good contender is
the Marton Oak in Cheshire. With a girth of
over 14 metres this huge tree is thought to
be over 1,000 years old.
Other oaks around this age include the Major
Oak, the Old Man of Calke and the Bowthorpe
Oak.

5. Fortingall yew: For a time the Fortingall yew was thought to
be the oldest tree in the UK. It’s at least 2,000 years old but it’s
hard to say just how old the tree really is. Best guesses place the
tree between 2,000 and 3,000 years old with some estimates as high
as 5,000. In 1769 the girth was recorded as 17 metres. Although
smaller now, it’s still thriving with new shoots growing.
Fortingall yew (Photo: WTML / Ed Parker)

6. The Preston twins : Until earlier this year
the Preston twins in Brighton were the
largest and oldest English elm trees in
Europe. Unfortunately after some heavy
winds just one tree now remains with the
title. It’s hoped the injured twin will grow
back over the next 30 years or so.
At around 500 years old the twins have
survived Dutch elm disease, which arrived
here in 1967. Unlike other areas in Brighton
the infected branches of elm trees were
pruned out, allowing elm trees to survive.