Argyle Street ash in Glasgow wins tree of the year competition | Trees and forests

A much appreciated ash in the heart of Glasgow won the annual competition of the tree of the year organized by the Woodland Trust.

While many trees that have appeared in the competition are located in the remote British countryside, the Argyle Street ASH is on one of the busiest roads in the city.

Author James Cowan described the tree in his 1951 book of the Glasgow treasure trunk as “the most graceful ash I have seen”. It is a point of pride for those who live nearby, and the quote is displayed in the pub in front of the tree.

Cowan’s book also recounts an urban legend according to which a young tree grew up by accident when a local family came back from vacation with primrose roots, one of which contained the ash seed.

It is the only tree in the street and measures 75 feet high, flowing the shadow on the sandstone houses.

Many ashes across the country have been slaughtered due to the deterioration of the ashes of fungal disease, which kills them. Until now, the ashes on Argyle Street, planted in Victorian times, have survived the Blitz Clydeside, recent redevelopment and illness.

The tree beat the oak “King of Stme” which inspired a title of Radiohead album, and “The Lonely Tree”, which is on the edge of Llyn Padarn in the north of Wales.

In the top five, Lady Jane Gray Oak at Bradgate Park in Leicester, and a majestic cedar with low branches where the Beatles were once photographed in Chiswick House in London.

Adam Cormack, the head of the campaign at Woodland Trust, said: “The trees really count to people, and it clearly emerges from the answer we saw at ASH on Argyle Street. The trees inspire us to write stories and create art, while connecting to cultural inheritances and a feeling of belonging. Climate change. “”

Arborist David Treanor, who has managed the ashes in recent years, has appointed the tree, which has been protected by an order for preserving trees, considered one of the first in Glasgow.

Among other people who named the ASH on Argyle Street were the local MSP Paul Sweeney, and Stuart Murdoch of the Belle and Sebastian group.

This is a second consecutive victory for Scotland, after the triumph of the skipinnish oak last year.

The winner of the Tree of the Year of the Woodland Trust Trust will take over the United Kingdom in the European Competition of the Tree of the Year at the beginning of 2026.