Perthshire has been labelled the UK’s very own big tree country, as the nation prepares to celebrate the country’s woodland wonders.
National Tree Week kicks off this Saturday and the Perthshire Big Tree Country initiative is celebrating the occasion with some unique local tree facts and claims to fame.
The area has 9,000 hectares of woodland, which includes one of the densest concentrations of champion trees in the UK.
The area’s cold winters, cool summers, high rainfall and fertile soils makes it one of the best places in the UK to grow trees from across the temperate world from Japan to the US west coast, and Morocco to Chile.
As a result, Perthshire has more than 50 conifers that are the largest examples of their kind in the UK and Ireland.
Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust coordinates the Perthshire Big Tree Country Heritage and Access Project.
Trust manager Morag Watson said: “With Scotland’s most spectacular trees and woodlands, where there are lots of different experiences to discover and enjoy, Perthshire is big tree country.
“The combination of Victorian landowners with a passion for planting trees and a climate ideally suited to conifers means our woodlands are remarkable places to visit at any time of year.”
The region boasts the Fortingall Yew, near Aberfeldy, which is widely thought to be the oldest tree in Europe, estimated to be more than 5,000 years old, and now appears to be changing sex.
Perthshire is also home to Meikleour Beech Hedge, planted in 1745, which is the tallest hedge in the world.
Standing at 100ft or 30m it is said to reach heaven as a memorial to those who went to war and never returned.
Visitors can also experience the Falls of Bruar forest inspired by a Robert Burns poem. After visiting the Falls of Bruar in 1787, Burns wrote his poem The Humble Petition of Bruar Water, asking The Duke of Atholl to plant trees along the bare banks of the waterfall.
Following Burns’ death, the Duke of Atholl created the Falls of Bruar forest in his memory.
Mrs Watson added: “To celebrate National Tree Week, the Perthshire Big Tree Country team will be tweeting and Facebooking a Perthshire tree fact of the day to encourage everyone to get out there and enjoy our local tree heritage.”
ggibson@thecourier.co.uk