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Ancient trees and sites to visit
London and the South East

Listed below are some individual ancient trees of interest, together with sites where there are concentrations of ancient and other veteran trees. We have only included sites which we believe are open to the public but recommend that you check before visiting.

Ankerwycke Yew, Berkshire

15 June 2015 marks 800 years since King John sealed the Magna Carta in 1215. Some accounts say that this historic event happened by the Ankerwycke Yew, while others say it took place on the other side of the River Thames at Runnymede.

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Ashdown, Berkshire

187 trees recorded including oak, ash, field maple, beech and lime.

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Walking holly at Ashridge (photo credit: Brian Muelaner)

Ashridge Estate, Chilterns

Ashridge Estate has recorded 3,600 ancient and veteran trees, more than any other NT property. The biggest are within the Frithsden Beeches, a lapsed wood pasture full of ancient beech pollards last pollarded 200 years ago. Sadly, the biggest and most famous of these wonderful trees collapsed several years ago. It had been featured in several films and TV programmes, including Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and one of the Harry Potter films.

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Basildon Park, Berkshire

Basildon Park is made up of 400 acres of parkland and woodland.

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Box Hill Estate, Surrey

Old beech, oak and yew.

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Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire

This site is famous for its ancient pollards.

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Cliveden

The gardens at Cliveden include tree-lined avenues and woodlands

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Cobham Wood

Cobham Wood is a lapsed wood pasture which had reverted to woodland and is in the process of restoration. Many of the ancient pollards were encased in woodland requiring immediate haloing to allow access to light.

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Greenwich Park, Greater London

Sweet chestnuts

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Hainault Forest, Essex

This ancient woodland is home to a wealth of wildlife and plant species, and was once a royal hunting forest. An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 ancient hornbeam pollards survive, which support a myriad of species including owls, woodpeckers, bats and whole communities of specialised insects, lichens, mosses and funghi.

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Hampstead Heath, North London

Hampstead Heath is one of London’s most popular open spaces. Its mosaic of habitats provides a resource for wildlife just 6km from Trafalgar Square.

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Hatfield Forest, Essex

Hatfield Forest is the best preserved ancient hunting forest in Europe with stunning ancient trees, deadwood, walking trees, exposed aerial roots and exemplar ancient tree management.

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High Park, Blenheim, Oxfordshire

World Heritage Site with a 1,000+ year old oak, beech, former wood pasture and many other veteran trees.

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Kensington Gardens, London

Kensington Gardens is a Grade I listed Royal Park, spanning 242 acres and receiving over 10 million visits a year. The Gardens are known globally for links with J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and the British royal family. Less known, however, is the significant number of veteran trees.

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