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European Tree of The Year
The UK Tree of the Year, the Argyle Street Ash, placed 12th in the European Tree of the Year 2026 competition.
Since 2011, Tree of the Year has been searching for trees across Europe with unique stories and strong connections to local communities. This year's UK entry, the Argyle Street Ash, placed 12th in the international competition.
The winner of UK Tree of the Year 2025 was an ash in central Glasgow. Our national contest celebrated how trees have shaped our cultural landscape, featuring in literature, music, poetry and art for millennia. Each tree had a fascinating story to tell, and incredible benefits for people and nature. The Argyle Street Ash won with an impressive 27% of the vote.
This defiant giant rises unexpectedly from the heart of a dense city street, standing 25 metres tall and aged around 170 years old. It has endured industrialisation, wartime bombing, urban redevelopment and now ash dieback disease – yet it continues to thrive.
This is a tree that was never planned, never planted, and never removed. It survives because generations chose to let it remain.
Loved by its community and standing alone in an unforgiving urban environment, the Argyle Street Ash is a powerful symbol of resilience, patience and coexistence, showing what can happen when nature is given space to endure.
The results are in
The ash was pitted against other special trees that have won national contests across Europe, but only one can be crowned European Tree of the Year 2026.
Following online voting throughout February, the results were revealed on 24 March. The Argyle Street Ash came 12th with 536 tree points.
- 1st place: Oak of Laukiai from Lithuania, 6,153 tree points
- 2nd place: The Old Wild Apple Tree from Slovakia, 4,766 tree points
- 3rd place: Crooked Tree from Poland, 4,720 tree points.