Pwllpriddog Oak
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The Pwllpriddog Oak (), also known as the Rhandirmwyn Oak, is a 600–700-year-old tree located in farmland near
Rhandirmwyn Rhandirmwyn (or Rhandir-mwyn) is a small village in the north east of Carmarthenshire, Wales. Located in the upper Towy valley, 3 km north of Cilycwm village, it extends on both sides of the river. It lies in the parish of Llanfair-ar-y-bry ...
in
Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...
, Wales. Recently it has served as a duck roost and a music venue. In 2018 the tree was named Welsh Tree of the Year in a public vote. __TOC__


Description

The Pwllpriddog Oak is known in Welsh as ''Derwen Pwllpriddog'', and an alternative English name is the Rhandirmwyn Oak. It is sited in a farm hedgerow by a country lane outside of
Rhandirmwyn Rhandirmwyn (or Rhandir-mwyn) is a small village in the north east of Carmarthenshire, Wales. Located in the upper Towy valley, 3 km north of Cilycwm village, it extends on both sides of the river. It lies in the parish of Llanfair-ar-y-bry ...
in
Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...
, Wales. The tree is described as a giant, being some in girth, and is completely hollow. The pub in Rhandirmwyn is named the "Royal Oak": there is possibly a connection to a local legend about the tree serving as a hiding place for a king. The hollow inside the tree has been used by farmers in the past as a
pig sty ''Pig Sty'' is an American sitcom that aired on UPN during the network's first season. The series premiered on January 23, 1995, ran on Monday nights, after '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and '' Platypus Man'', and was cancelled after 13 episodes on ...
– the current farmer uses its branches as a roost and nesting place for ducks. Bands and choirs have used the tree as a performance venue, and it is thought to be the only tree in Wales to have had live music performed inside of it.


Tree of the year

The Pwllpriddog Oak was entered into the
Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 68 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tru ...
's Welsh Tree of the Year competition in 2014 under the name of the Rhandirmwyn Oak. It came in third place with 20% of the public vote – the competition was won that year by the
Lonely Tree The Lonely Tree was a Scots pine on a hill near Llanfyllin, Powys, Wales. Visible from much of the town it was a local landmark with several traditions attached to it. The tree was blown over during a storm in February 2014, and despite effor ...
in
Llanfyllin Llanfyllin ( – ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. The community (which measures 41.8 square kilometres) population in 2021 was 1,586 and the town's name means ''church or parish'' (Llan (placename), llan) ''o ...
, Powys. The oak was re-entered into the competition in 2018 which it won, receiving a £1000 grant for tree care from the
People's Postcode Lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
. A subsequent public vote was held in October 2018, in conjunction with the BBC's ''
The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'', to select an overall British tree of the year from the four national finalists. The winner for 2018 was England's
Nellie's Tree Nellie's Tree (also known as the Love Tree) near Aberford, West Yorkshire is a group of three beech trees that have been grafted together in the shape of a letter "N". This arrangement of the trees is a result of a local man trying to impress h ...
.


References

{{coord, 52, 04, 31.9, N, 03, 47, 13.7, W, display=title Individual oak trees Individual trees in Wales Environment of Carmarthenshire