Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Politicians rooting for Perthshire trees in national contest

Dougie MacLean at the Niel Gow Oak in Dunkeld.
Dougie MacLean at the Niel Gow Oak in Dunkeld.

Perthshire communities are being urged to go to the polls in a vote which will decide Scotland’s favourite tree.

Two mighty oaks from neighbouring Tayside towns have been shortlisted for the prestigious honour.

The contest is organised by the Woodland Trust, which has whittled down a list of six Scottish entries.

The winner will go on to the fiercely contested European Tree of the Year competition, which was last year won by a 150-year-old oak in the middle of Estonian football field.

Among this year’s candidates are the Niel Gow Oak in Dunkeld.

Niel Gows Oak in Dunkeld
Niel Gows Oak in Dunkeld

According to legend, 19th century Scottish fiddler Niel Gow wrote many of his most famous Strathspeys and reels while sitting underneath the tree, which stands on the edge of the River Tay.

His patron the Duke of Atholl was said to have stood on the other side of the water, listening to the music.

Also nominated is the world famous Birnam Oak, the sole survivor of the ancient medieval woodland mentioned in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

The Birnam Oak.
The Birnam Oak.

It is believed the bard was inspired when he visited the area in 1599 as part of a troupe of travelling players.

The oak, which attracts visitors from across the globe, was the subject of a recent rescue operation.

Tree surgeons were drafted in to work on the oak and prevent it from splitting in half.

The winning tree will benefit from a £1,000 grant for future care and work, while runner-up trees that receive more than 1,000 votes will be eligible for awards of up to £500.

Perthshire North MSP John Swinney has urged locals to vote for the two local giants.

“Perthshire North is renowned for its beautiful scenery and woodland areas and I am very pleased that two out of the six finalists in this year’s Tree of the Year contest are in this area,” he said.

“I would hope that people from across the area would join me in rooting for these magnificent trees in the national contest, in order to secure the care grants that are available for the contest winners.”

Mr Swinney added: “Recent storm damage has particularly affected the Birnam Oak and I am certain that the grants available would be very warmly received by those who work so hard to maintain these fine specimens.”

Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart added: “I am proud to represent Big Tree Country and I am pleased to hear that two of this year’s finalists are in Perthshire.”

People can cast their votes at the Woodland Trust’s website.