Farewell to one of Europe's oldest oaks
Image by Henk van Boeschoten.
An ancient oak near Pontfadog village in Wales has died after a life-span of at least 1,200 years. The giant sessile oak, which was toppled by a storm, had a girth of over 13 metres, the largest recorded in Europe. It was so large that a missing bull reportedly once spent two days hiding inside it and in 1880 six men sat around a table inside it.
Ancient trees have always traditionally been very important to communities, being the one constant from generation to generation, as meeting places, shelter and landmarks. The annual village Easter egg hunt used to start from the Pontfadog oak, and it was used by the Brownies to make their promise.
'It was always a working tree, pollarded or pruned for its wood. It was part of the community. People built houses from it, cooked from it. That's why it lived so long. It always had a role,' commented Wrexham council tree officer Moray Simpson.