2,000 Year Old Tree 🌳

Today I paid the Ankerwycke Yew (Taxus baccata) a visit. We took a train from London Waterloo to Wraysbury.

To be honest we are not quite sure when exactly this yew first sprung into life. Its true age cannot be determined by tree rings because its heart wood has been hollowed out by fungi. This is what actually happens to all ancient trees.

Some people estimate that the Ankerwycke Yew is over 2,000 years old as its trunk is over nine metres around the middle. However, yews have a different way of growing compared to most other trees, so 2,000 is just a guess.

In the 1990s a section from inside the trunk was dated to 1160 by the Cambridge University. This suggests that the tree is at least 900 years old.

However, ancient yews usually sprout roots inside their hollow centres producing new wood. Therefore this sample could be much younger than the other parts of the tree.

This is where Henry VIII met Anne Boleyn to court her whilst he was still married to his first wife.