'Bendy Tree' in Co Down wins Tree of the Year competition
A 150-year-old wych elm in Newcastle, Northern Ireland, known as the 'Bendy Tree,' has won the UK Tree of the Year competition. The tree was recognized for its resilience in surviving extreme coastal conditions and urban development.
Why it matters
The competition highlights the cultural and environmental value of ancient trees and promotes conservation efforts.
The 'Bendy Tree' in Newcastle, Northern Ireland, has won this year’s UK Tree of the Year contest.
The wych elm in Co Down, is the first tree in Northern Ireland to be crowned the winner of the Woodland Trust’s annual competition.
A public poll ran from July to September, with people choosing their favourite from a shortlist of 10 trees.
Each tree had survived some kind of adversity in line with this year’s theme: "Against all odds".
A much-loved feature of Newcastle’s seaside promenade, the Bendy Tree has weathered extreme coastal gusts - apparent from its horizontal trunk - for more than 150 years.
The tree was planted as part of a row of wych elms along the town’s original promenade around the mid-19th century but is now the last one standing after many were felled during redevelopments in the 1980s.
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