By Amber Allott

Copyright northernirelandworld

A cedar scaled by The Beatles, a stand of ancient yews that inspired William Wordsworth, and a lone birch which Liam Hemsworth could soon make a lot more famous are fighting it out to be crowned the country’s best tree.

But which one wins will be up to you. Voting is now underway in the Woodland Trust’s 2025 Tree of the Year competition, an annual celebration of some of the oldest, most unique and storied denizens of parks and woodlands across the UK. There are only a few days left to cast your vote (which you can do online here), with the ballots closing at midnight on Friday, September 19.

After they’ve been tallied up, the winner will be announced next Friday (September 26). The victor will then go on to represent the UK at the European Tree of the Year finals.

This year’s theme was ‘rooted in culture’, meaning each of the nominees has inspired poems, graced our movie screens, or played a part in history. Actress Dame Judi Dench, who is also a patron of the Woodland Trust, says that our oldest trees “hold more stories than Shakespeare”.

“Some were putting down roots long before he began writing, more than 400 years ago. They are as much part of our heritage as any literature.” Each of the 2025 finalists were “trees that foster creativity and inspire”, she continued. “I hope you will join me in voting.”

Here are the ten trees from across the UK amongst this year’s finalists – and just what makes each of them so special:

Related topics:

Woodland TrustTreesCultureheritagePlantsBoost