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150-Year-Old 'Wonky' Elm Crowned UK's Favourite
8 Oct
Summary
- A 150-year-old wych elm in Newcastle, County Down, won the UK's favourite tree contest.
- The 'bendy tree' survived Dutch elm disease and local redevelopment.
- This marks the first time Northern Ireland has won the UK Tree of the Year award.
A 150-year-old wych elm, nicknamed the 'bendy tree', has been awarded the title of UK's Favourite Tree. This iconic plant, situated in the coastal town of Newcastle, County Down, captured the public's imagination and achieved over 30 percent of the votes in the annual competition organised by the Woodland Trust.
The tree's distinctive, near-horizontal trunk is attributed to enduring over a century of strong seaside winds. It has also demonstrated remarkable resilience by surviving Dutch elm disease, which devastated millions of UK elms in the 1970s, and the felling of other elms along the promenade in the 1980s.
This historic win marks the first occasion a Northern Irish tree has claimed the UK Tree of the Year accolade. The competition saw other notable entries, including a 200-year-old yew growing from a Devon church tower and a Scottish ash that survived a lightning strike.
