The Major Oak of Sherwood Forest
Nottingham, England
Who doesn’t love a massive tree?
And who doesn’t love the legend of Robin Hood?
The Major Oak of Sherwood Forest combines the best of both of these worlds.
A Quercus robur or English oak, it is the largest tree in Britain. With a girth of 33 feet (this tree may have been the result of a fusion of many saplings) and a canopy of 92 feet, it weighs in at an impressive 23 tons. At around 1000 years old, this old-timer needs to lean on some tree “canes.” And to protect it from root compaction from all its admirers, it is also surrounded by fencing. Only once a year for an acorn gathering festival (in a good year it can produce up to 150,000 acorns) can friends approach its mighty trunk.
The Major Oak got its name from Major Hayman Rooke who in 1790 wrote a book describing oak trees in that area. So the locals began calling the tree Major Oak in his honor.
Urban myths have Robin Hood and his Merry Men lounging under this tree. However, there is no historical record of one individual who could have been Robin Hood. Most likely, that figure was a conglomeration of many men.
On the other hand, Major Oak has seen Vikings, the Battle of Hastings, Waterloo, Shakespeare, Dickens, Darwin, Newton, two world wars, and over fifty monarchs! Truly a sentinel of time.
Sherwood Forest: https://www.visitsherwood.co.uk/explore-the-forest/the-major-oak/
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