The Yew - Fortingall, Perth & Kinross
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creg-ny-baa
N 56° 35.887 W 004° 03.047
30V E 435482 N 6273145
Historical information on the Fortingall Yew, the oldest living thing in the UK and probably Europe.
Waymark Code: WM16DK5
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/08/2022
Views: 0
This historical information marker can be found on the south facing wall surrounding the Fortingall Yew, an ancient tree rumoured to be one of the world's oldest living things, possibly over 5,000 years old. The tree stands in a walled enclosure on the west side of the Kirk of Fortingall in highland Perthshire at the foot of Glen Lyon. The wall was built to try and preserve the tree which once had an incredible girth of 56 feet. The sign gives an illustrated history of the tree and how its surrounds have changed over the centuries. The text reads follows:
Rooted In History
Before you stands Europe's - and possibly even the world's - oldest living thing. Under the dark veil of needles are two relic trunks of a huge. ancient yew tree. Scholars believe the roots of this great survivor coil back some 5000 years.
The markers show you the size of the original evergreen giant in 1769 when it had a girth of over 56 feet (17m). Sadly, it attracted souvenir hunters who removed large sections. Children then lit fires inside the hollow trunk and funeral processions passed through its midst. Eventually, this wall had to be built to stop the tree disappearing altogether.
From Here To Eternity
Before the arrival of Christianity, the yew was known as the 'Tree of Eternity', and it's easy to see why, at about 500 years old - long after most other trees have died - the yew starts to grow again. This 'otherworldly' power meant early peoples revered the yew, and the tree marked their places of worship. Little wonder then that when Early Christians came to Fortingall in the 7th century they decided to build their new church next to the ancient yew.