A much-loved ash tree in the heart of Glasgow has won the annual tree of the year competition organised by the Woodland Trust.
While many trees that have featured in the competition are located in the remote British countryside, the Argyle Street ash is on one of the city’s busiest roads.
Author James Cowan described the tree in his 1951 book From Glasgow’s Treasure Chest as “quite the most graceful ash I have seen”. This is a point of pride for those who live nearby, and the quote is displayed in the pub opposite the tree.
Cowan’s book also recounts an urban legend that a sapling grew by accident when a local family returned from holiday with primrose roots, one of which contained the ash seed.
It is the only tree in the street and stands 75ft tall, casting shade on the sandstone tenement houses.
Many ash trees across the country have been felled due to the fungal disease ash dieback, which kills them. So far the Argyle Street ash, planted in the Victorian era, has survived the Clydeside blitz, recent redevelopment and the disease.
The ‘King of Limbs’ oak tree in Wiltshire, which inspired a Radiohead album title. Photograph: Lee Cooper/Woodland Trust/PA
The tree beat beat the “King of Limbs” oak that inspired a Radiohead album title, and “the Lonely Tree”, which sits on the edge of Llyn Padarn in north Wales.
Also in the top five were the Lady Jane Grey oak in Bradgate Park in Leicester, and a majestic cedar with low-sweeping boughs where the Beatles were once photographed at Chiswick House in London.
Adam Cormack, the head of campaigning at the Woodland Trust, said: “Trees really matter to people, and this is clear from the response we’ve seen to the Argyle Street ash. Trees inspire us to write stories and create art, whilst connecting us to cultural legacies and a sense of place. We encourage people to notice and enjoy the trees around them, and learn more about how they benefit us – from boosting biodiversity and wellbeing, to mitigating the effects of climate change.”
The arborist David Treanor, who has been managing the ash in recent years, nominated the tree, which has been protected by a tree preservation order, thought to be one of the first in Glasgow.
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Among others who nominated the Argyle Street ash were the local MSP Paul Sweeney, and Stuart Murdoch of the band Belle and Sebastian.
It is a second victory in a row for Scotland, after the triumph of the Skipinnish oak last year.
The winner of the Woodland Trust’s tree of the year competition will go on to represent the UK in the European tree of the year contest in early 2026.
