22/01/2026
Hele oude boom🧙♀️💚
The Big Belly Oak in Savernake Forest, Wiltshire, is an ancient oak thought to be over 1000 years old.
It was already growing by the time King Harold fell at Hastings in 1066, and it stands as a rare survivor of the old Wild Wood that once covered much of southern England.
With a huge girth of about 11 metres, the tree has long attracted folklore too, including a local legend about summoning the devil by dancing naked around it at midnight.
In 2002, after a serious crack appeared in its main limbs, Forestry Commission specialists fitted a large brace to help stop the great tree from splitting.