The Pwllpriddog Oak (Welsh: ''Derwen Pwllpriddog''), 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-bryn. ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, 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.

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

, 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 A sty or pigsty is a small-scale outdoor enclosure for raising domestic pigs as livestock. It is sometimes referred to as a hog pen, hog parlor, pigpen, pig parlor, or pig-cote, although pig pen may refer to pens confining pigs that are kep ...

– 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 Natural heritage, heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972 ...

'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 in

Llanfyllin Llanfyllin ( – ) is a market town, community and electoral ward in a sparsely populated area in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Llanfyllin's community population in 2011 was 1,532, of whom 34.1% could speak Welsh. Llanfyllin means ''church or p ...

, 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 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 some degree of ...

. 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 weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'', to select an overall British tree of the year from the four national finalists. The winner for 2018 was England's Nellie's Tree.

References

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