AssetID: 56079545
Headline: Northern Ireland's 'Bendy Tree' is named UK's favourite
Caption: **VIDEO AVAILABLE: CONTACT INFO@COVERMG.COM TO RECEIVE** BY MARK WORGAN A 150-year-old wych elm in Newcastle, County Down, known locally as the ‘Bendy Tree’, has been named UK Tree of the Year 2026. Described as an “astonishing and bizarre” tree, it won more than 30% of the public vote in the annual competition run by the Woodland Trust to find the nation's favourite tree. The Bendy Tree is the first winner from Northern Ireland in the history of the UK-wide competition. Tens of thousands of people voted after the competition opened in July, choosing from a shortlist of 10 trees selected for their impressive, beautiful and sometimes baffling examples of how nature can survive adversity. The extreme seaside winds endured by the ‘Bendy Tree’ are evident from its near-horizontal trunk. Its unusual, rainbow-like shape provides shade for people sitting on a bench beneath its leafy branches in the town centre. The tree is a much-loved feature of Newcastle's promenade and has also survived Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi), a fungus which, during its second outbreak in the UK, destroyed most of the country's 30 million elms after it was accidentally imported from North America in the 1960s. Now more than 150 years old, the ‘Bendy Tree’ was planted as part of a row of wych elms along Newcastle's original promenade around the middle of the 19th Century, helping to shelter the main street from strong sea winds. Many of the other trees were felled during redevelopment work in the 1980s, leaving the ‘Bendy Tree’ as the last one standing. May Chemais, Ancient Tree Inventory lead for the Woodland Trust, said: “When you look at this astonishing and bizarre tree, there’s no doubt about what it has endured. “The Bendy Tree has been blasted by extreme winds, over and over again, for well over a century. But it has continued to exist and remain rooted, adapting to its surroundings and flourishing into this unusual shape that is providing shade and joy to its community. We've all been through changes and hardships that have shaped who we are: I think that's why the Bendy Tree has struck a chord with people. “Older trees like this one are providing our communities with so much – from shade, wellbeing and health benefits, to stories, culture and pride of place. Anyone inspired to protect ancient and veteran trees in their area can help by adding them to our Ancient Tree Inventory or by donating to the work of the Woodland Trust.” The ‘Bendy Tree’ has become the first Northern Irish winner of UK Tree of the Year in the same year that the Woodland Trust Northern Ireland celebrates 30 years since it was established. Other trees in contention included a small yew that has been growing from the masonry of a Devon church tower for 200 years, a Scottish ash that survived a lightning strike, and a Surrey yew in which villagers in the early 19th Century found an embedded English Civil War cannonball. The Woodland Trust's Tree of the Year competition is supported by Postcode Lottery players.
Keywords: trees,woodlandt trust,video,photo,feature,nature,natural world
PersonInImage: WINNER: Bendy Tree, Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland.