Standing quietly in a field in rural Cumbria stands possibly the largest wild cherry tree in the whole country.
Measuring a massive 5.3m (18ft) around its trunk and located on the edge of the village of Maulds Meaburn, the tree weighs in at the size of mature oak and has been festooned in cascades of brilliant white blossom for the last week.
Until 2008 Yorkshire boasted the UK’s largest wild cherry at 5.7 m (18.8ft), but a freak storm snapped the tree’s crown.
During April and May the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Hunt has been running its Cherry Tree Bloomsday Proiect, in partnership with CherryAid (the FoodLoversBritain.com campaign to save the British cherry), in order to get people to add old cherry tree data on to its interactive website in hopes of finding a new champion tree.
Neil Cruikshank, who lives in a house overlooking the Cumbrian tree, said: “Unusually for a wild cherry, it produces the most deliciously flavoured cherries. In fact in July the tree bends to the great weight of fruit on the branches and we can usually gather enough to make 8 pounds of cherry jam without even having to use a ladder.
“It is a beautiful tree in every season with its white blossom in spring and deep red foliage in the autumn.”
Edward Parker, Ancient Tree Hunt project manager at the Woodland Trust, said: “This cherry must be one of the most beautiful and magnificent trees in the whole of the UK, yet cherry is not necessarily the first species people think of when looking for an ancient tree.
“It might not have the hulking grandeur of a thousand year old oak or the great age of one of our fantastic yew trees (which can live to over 4,000 years old), but with its beautifully fluted trunk and huge canopy of striking white blossom in spring this tree makes a truly spectacular sight.”
The Ancient Tree Hunt is run by the Woodland Trust in partnership with over 70 organisations. Its aim is to record at least 100,000 ancient, veteran and notable trees by the end of 2011, and to date over 63,000 trees have been registered. The database held at www.AncientTreeHunt.org.uk is the first living record of the UK’s old trees ever attempted.
Anyone can record an interesting tree by visiting the website and following the simple instructions.
Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, email: media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.