UK Tree of the Year: Why 400-year-old Skipinnish Oak is worthy of a fine tune, not a lament

The centuries-old 'Skipinnish Oak', named after a Scottish ceilidh band, has won this year's Tree of the Year contest (Picture: Woodland Trust)The centuries-old 'Skipinnish Oak', named after a Scottish ceilidh band, has won this year's Tree of the Year contest (Picture: Woodland Trust)
The centuries-old 'Skipinnish Oak', named after a Scottish ceilidh band, has won this year's Tree of the Year contest (Picture: Woodland Trust) | PA
The Skipinnish Oak represents ‘beauty, struggle, humanity in its best and worst forms’, says local Woodland Trust volunteer

Named after the well-known ceilidh band, the Skipinnish Oak in Achnacarry, Lochaber, is an ancient reminder of the once-mighty Caledonian Forest. At least 400 years old, this extraordinary tree is now surrounded and hidden by a modern plantation of Sitka spruce.

Given its status as both a great survivor and a living symbol of the changes to Scotland’s countryside, it is more than worthy of the title of the UK’s Tree of the Year. Woodland Trust volunteer Gus Routledge said that, for him, the Skipinnish Oak represented “a whole host of things”, including “beauty, struggle, humanity in its best and worst forms”.

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It was chosen by the public out of 12 trees on the shortlist, with 21 per cent of the vote, just ahead of the 550-year-old Darwin Oak, close to the childhood home of Charles Darwin, which is in danger of being felled for the Shrewsbury bypass.

In a world where ancient, native trees seem increasingly scarce, these gnarled survivors really are precious. Skipinnish now plans to write a song in honour of their namesake. Let’s hope it doesn’t need to be a lament.

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