Llanfyllin's Lonely Tree may grow again
The spring sunshine has been shining down on Llanfyllin's storm-damaged Lonely Tree, as has good fortune, as it was revealed today that it has been given the "best chance possible" of survival.
The landmark tree, which has stood above Llanfyllin for about 200 years and become part of the town's history and legend, was blown down by fierce gales last month.
It was initially feared the tree had been lost for good because of the damage it suffered.
But hopes were ignited of its survival after it emerged some of the roots were still intact, despite the tree having toppled over, and emergency work has been carried out to protect the surviving roots by covering them with soil.
Llanfyllin's county councillor Peter Lewis, whose farming family owns the land where the tree once stood, said he was keeping his fingers crossed the roots had been safeguarded.
He said: "All we can say is that we have given the tree the best chance possible by covering the roots. We took about 30 tonnes of soil from the valley floor and took it up the hill using dumper trucks.
"We have covered the roots with the soil and we just hope that has been enough to protect them. We will find out in about 12 months if the roots have survived."
He said the next stage in preserving the site would be the installation of fencing around the tree to keep it safe from grazing livestock.
Meanwhile, Shropshire has enjoyed its warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures climbing to a balmy 16 degrees. The beautiful weather meant yesterday inthe county warmer than most of the Mediterranean.
People flocked to popular Shropshire tourist attractions such as Ironbridge and The Mere in Ellesmere to enjoy the warm weather.
And businesses felt the benefit as people came out to enjoy the sunshine.
Staff at the Boathouse café and the restaurant in Ellesmere said they had an exceptionally busy day.
Deputy manager, James Searle, said: "We've been jam-packed,even busier than we ususally are."
Average UK temperatures in mid-March are about 12C (53.6F) but yesterday the mercury hit 19 degrees in London and up to 18 degrees elsewhere.
Temperatures were dropping off slightly to 14C (57.2F) today although the coming week will remain mainly dry, forecasters said.
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