Welsh oak bypassed for top spot in favour of Polish tree with war legacy
The tree that bent the path of the Newtown bypass has come runner up in the European Tree of the Year competition.
It might have been last year's winner of the UK and Welsh Tree of the Year, but this time the 500-year-old Brimmon Oak Tree missed out on the top spot narrowly.
With 16,203 votes, the giant oak in Newtown, was pipped to the post by Polish Oak Józek, which received more than 17,000 votes.
Despite the Brimmon Oak's inspiring story, having fought off the threat of being felled for the £56 million Newtown bypass by altering the road’s route, the historic Oak Józef tugged at the heartstrings of the 17,000 people who voted for it, as the Polish tree gave shelter to a Jewish family during World War Two.
The results were announced at a prestigious award ceremony which took place last night at the European Parliament in Brussels, which Mervyn Lloyd Jones, who lives and works on the land at the Lower Brimmon Farm, and tree expert Rob McBride, from Ellesmere, who helped Mr Jones campaign to protect the tree, attended.
On behalf of Oak Józef, Robert Godek, head of the Strzyżów District Council, Poland, received the unique wooden trophy that passes from winner to winner every year.
He said: " A warm thank you to all the people of Wisniowa and all the European supporters for believing in Oak Józef’s candidacy. We will celebrate this honour back home as it deserves."
A total of 125,568 votes were received for the trees in the running for the competition from across Europe.
