Northern Ireland's Bendy Tree crowned Woodland Trust Tree of the Year

The Bendy Tree, a centuries-old wych elm standing on Newcastle’s seaside promenade in County Down, has become the first Northern Irish tree to win the Woodland Trust’s annual Tree of the Year contest. Its distinctive horizontal trunk reflects decades of exposure to strong coastal winds, and it remains the sole survivor of a mid-19th-century row of elms after many were felled in the 1980s. The elm also endured the second wave of Dutch elm disease that devastated millions of UK trees.

In a public vote held between July and September, it secured 30% of the votes from a shortlist of ten trees that each overcame significant challenges. As the UK’s representative, the Bendy Tree will compete in the European Tree of the Year finals next year. Woodland Trust’s ancient tree inventory lead May Chemais praised the tree’s resilience, while Laura Chow of the Postcode Lottery encouraged people to add veteran trees to the Trust’s inventory or support its work.