Glasgow's Argyle Street Ash wins Tree of the Year title

An ash tree on a busy Glasgow road has been crowned Tree of the Year 2025 after being nominated by the public as a wildcard entry in the contest.

The Argyle Street Ash was named the winner of the Woodland Trust competition on Thursday after a public vote.

Other contenders included an oak that may have inspired Virginia Woolf and a lime representing peace in Northern Ireland, a nod to this year's theme of "rooted in culture".

A panel of experts selected nine trees of differing ages and species for the shortlist, while the public were allowed to choose a 10th option as a wildcard.

The Argyle Street Ash was then put forward by David Treanor - an arborist from Glasgow who has been managing the tree for the past five years.

Mr Treanor pointed to its reference in the 1951 book by journalist James Cowan, from a book called Glasgow's Treasure Chest, in which he describes the Argyle Street tree as "quite the most graceful ash I have seen".

The quote hangs framed in the pub opposite the tree, which hosts Gaelic live music events.

He told BBC Scotland News: "There are stories of people's mothers and fathers meeting underneath the tree, there are people who hail taxis and ask it to be sent to the big tree on Argyle Street - there are so many lovely wee stories about it.

"It was the people's tree, the only urban tree on the shortlist and people in Glasgow got behind it."

The ash from the archive, before trams vanished from Glasgow streets in 1962

Anna Perks, the tree equity lead at the Woodland Trust, said it "had been a delight to see the human connection" to the tree be shown during the voting.

She added that it was tied up in local people's stories in the area.

As the winner of the competition, the ash will now progress to represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year finals in early 2026.

The Glasgow tree narrowly beat the King of Limbs Oak that inspired a Radiohead album, and the photographic Lonely Tree, which sits on the edge of the Llyn Padarn lake in North Wales.

The ancient Lady Jane Grey Oak in Leicester's Bradgate Park, and a cedar with low-sweeping boughs where The Beatles were photographed at London's Chiswick House, completed the top five in the rankings.

The Beatles filmed a video for their song Rain at the cedar tree in Chiswick in 1966

Mr Treanor said he hoped the win for the Argyle Street Ash would be "a victory for misunderstood urban trees all over the world" and that other urban trees elsewhere would be allowed to remain in place.

The Woodland Trust said the "rooted in culture" theme was chosen to celebrate how trees shape the cultural landscape in literature, music, poetry and art.

Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the charity, said there had been a great response to the contest.

He added: "Trees really matter to people, and this is clear from the response we've seen to the Argyle Street Ash.

"Trees inspire us to write stories and create art, whilst connecting us to cultural legacies and a sense of place.

"We encourage people to notice and enjoy the trees around them, and learn more about how they benefit us - from boosting biodiversity and wellbeing, to mitigating the effects of climate change."

Another contender was the the Lonely Tree, which sits on the edge of the Llyn Padarn lake in North Wales

The King of Limbs oak tree in Wiltshire inspired a Radiohead album

Laura Chow, head of charities at People's Postcode Lottery, which supported the competition, said the Glasgow tree was a worthy winner.

She said: "These trees, rooted in culture, show how valued they are by their communities, and the significant importance they have in our wider cultural history.

"What a worthy winner the Argyle Street Ash is."

2025 is the second year in a row that a Scottish tree has taken the prize - last year the Skipinnish Oak in Lochaber came first in the vote.

Prior winners include a sweet chestnut tree in Wrexham's Acton Park, an ancient yew tree at Waverley Abbey, the Allerton oak tree in Calderstones Park in Liverpool and Nellie's Tree, also known as the Love Tree, in West Yorkshire.