With lifespans of up to 3,000 years, yews are the oldest living trees in the UK. Here, the Woodland Trust rounds up some of the most ancient
Yew trees have witnessed some monumental moments in our country’s history. Robert the Bruce was said to have sheltered under a yew, while Magna Carta was sealed under the Ankerwycke yew – the same yew believed to have been a meeting place for Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Incredibly, yews need to be about 900 years old before they can be classed as ancient (oak trees, by comparison, only need to be 400), and if protected, they can thrive for thousands of years. Read on to discover some of the oldest in the UK.
Fortingall yew
Considered to be the oldest yew in the UK, it’s estimated to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old. It’s set within a churchyard in Perthshire, and in 1854 it was reported funeral processions passed through the arch formed by the split trunk. Today, the tree is protected by a wall and the trunk has split into several parts, so it no longer looks like one tree, but many.
St Cynog’s Church yew
Another tree vying for the oldest yew title is nestled in a churchyard in Defynnog. It’s a similar age to the Fortingall yew, although some believe it could be 5,000 years old.
Ankerwycke yew
Some estimates put this tree – which lies close to the ruins of St Mary’s Priory, a 12th century Benedictine nunnery in Berkshire – at 2,000 years old. If they’re correct, the yew could already have been more
