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Wonky wych elm in County Down named UK Tree of the Year 2026
Overview
A 150-year-old wych elm known as the 'Bendy Tree' in Newcastle, County Down, has won the UK Tree of the Year 2026 title, securing over 30% of the public vote. It is the first time a tree in Northern Ireland has won the competition. The annual Woodland Trust competition focused on the theme 'Against All Odds'. The surviving elm grew an almost horizontal trunk due to strong sea winds and also resisted Dutch Elm disease in the 1960s.
Key points
- The 150-year-old wych elm on Newcastle's central promenade won UK Tree of the Year 2026 with over 30% of the public vote.
- This is the first time a tree in Northern Ireland has won the national title since the competition started in 2014.
- The Woodland Trust's competition theme for the year was 'Against All Odds'.
- The tree grew an almost horizontal trunk after protecting the original 19th-century promenade from sea breezes.
- It is the last remaining tree of a row planted in the 19th century, with the others felled in the 1980s.
- The elm successfully resisted Dutch Elm disease, which destroyed millions of UK elms in the 1960s.
- Northern Ireland currently has one of the lowest rates of woodland cover in Europe at 8.7%.