The UK has witnessed some of the most dramatic scenes play out over many thousands of years – but the longest-living observers of this drama? Trees.
The UK is home to far more ancient yews than any other country in Europe, outliving so many others. Among them, yews are some of the oldest. In fact, the UK is home to far more of these ancient giants than any other country in Europe.
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Oldest trees in the UK
Fortingall Yew, Perthshire
In the quiet Perthshire village of Fortingall sits a yew tree thought to be between 3,000 and 9,000 years old (likely to be around 5,000). Not only is it believed to be the oldest tree in the UK – it’s also thought to be one of the oldest living things in Europe. In 2015, it was believed to be “changing sex”, as red berries were discovered on one of the tree’s smaller branches.
There is now a wall around the Fortingall Yew, following vandalism in the 19th century, but visitors can still get up close to the tree and see it in situ, where it is still thriving – with new roots growing.
Ankerwycke Yew, Berkshire
The Ankerwycke Yew is the oldest tree in the care of the National Trust, which took over care of Runnymede and its surrounding land in the 1990s. The tree sits in the remains of an enclosure where an anchorite – a solitary nun or monk – once lived, along with the remains of a 12th-century priory. The 2,500-year-old yew is believed to have played a role as the backdrop for Henry VIII’s courting of Anne Boleyn. Some even believe this Berkshire tree is the site where the Magna Carta was sealed.
Llangernyw Yew, Wales
Believed by some to be between 4,000 and 5,000 years old, the Llangernyw Yew is fragmented, with the trunk split in two. This is because a church oil tank was placed there in the 1990s, before the history of the tree was fully revealed. It is the oldest known tree in Wales.
We named the Llangernyw Yew as one of the most famous trees in the UK.
Crowhurst Yew, Surrey
As with many of the trees in this list, the Crowhurst Yew stands in a churchyard. This tree is thought to be at least 1,250 years old – although some reports put it as closer to 4,000. Surprisingly, perhaps, the Crowhurst Yew has a wooden door at its base, and a hollow interior space, which is believed to have been built in the mid-19th century, at which time a cannonball from the English Civil War was also found lodged inside it.
Defynnog Yew, Wales
By a medieval church in Defynnog – a small village in the Brecon Beacons – sits a broad tree, believed to be around 5,000 years old. There are four ancient yews in the churchyard, but this one is the largest. In an interesting twist, the tree is female – with red berries – but has one male branch, making it a mirror image of the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire.
Bowthorpe Oak, Lincolnshire
The ancient Bowthorpe Oak is around 1,000 years old, with a 13.4-metre girth and a hollow trunk, believed to have once been the site for parties and gatherings. It is also the second widest tree in the UK, surpassed only by the Marton Oak in Cheshire, a much younger tree.
The Bowthorpe Oak was nominated for Tree of the Year in 2024.
World’s oldest tree
Methuselah is a 4,857-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine tree growing in the White Mountains or Inyo County in eastern California. It has the greatest confirmed age of any tree in the world. The tree is named after the biblical figure of Methuselah, who is said to have reached 969 years of age before he died. Methusaleh’s exact location is not known, as the United States Forest Service is keen to protect it from damage.
