In the Sherwood Forest, the world-famous Major Oak ("Great Oak"), about 1.2 thousand years old, died, in the branches of which, according to legends, Robin Hood and his team were hiding. This is reported by the Independent portal with reference to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Although past rumors about the death of the tree turned out to be false, the RSPB confirmed on Thursday, June 18, that the ancient oak tree did not release leaves this spring — despite the fact that a program to preserve it was launched in 2023.
"The fact that the tree has not released its leaves this year is a heartbreaking tragedy for everyone," society spokeswoman Holly Drake said in a statement.
It is impossible to say with complete certainty what exactly killed the tree, but the footprints of millions of people contributed to its fall, along with attempts to strengthen its massive branches with cables and poles. The warming climate in the UK has also led to debilitating heats and droughts, which compacted the soil and created an obstacle for rainwater to penetrate to the giant's root system.
According to experts, the roots of the "Great Oak" are "strangled and exhausted."
"The stories he gave us are his legacy. It is the most famous tree in the world. The legend will always live on," said educator Robert Brackley, who for many years showed the oak to thousands of tourists.
Judi Dench, patroness and ambassador of the Woodland Trust Foundation, recalled that this oak tree has been a source of inspiration for countless stories, poems, paintings and people for more than a thousand years, and all this time it has been a source of life for a huge number of wild animals.
The Great Oak will continue to stand in the heart of Sherwood as a natural monument that visitors can see while living in the legend of Robin Hood and continuing to support the forest ecosystem both during life and after death," she concluded.
Sherwood Forest is a national nature reserve located near the village of Edwinstow in Nottinghamshire, England, 25 km north of Nottingham, which is the remnant of a much larger forest historically associated with the legends of Robin Hood.
The name Sherwood was first mentioned in written sources in 958.
Major Oak (Great Oak), according to local folklore, was the lair of Robin Hood and his team. The age of the tree is estimated from 1000 to 1200 years. Sherwood Forest attracts from 360 thousand to 1 million tourists annually, many from other countries.
As reported by EADaily, in September 2023, a 16-year-old teenager was detained in Northumberland National Park in the north of England for the destruction of a 300-year-old cult tree, which is known to the whole world for its "participation" in the filming of the film "Rodin Hood: Prince of Thieves" in 1991.
The so-called sycamore Gap was cut down. The head of the local police station, Kim McGuinness, noted that these actions look like a "deliberate act of vandalism."