Niel Gow's Oak

Species: Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)
Age: 300 years years
Region: Perthshire, Scotland

Niel Gow was the most famous Scottish fiddler of the 18th century, and today his tunes are played around the globe. Local legend says that many of them were composed under this ancient oak on the River Tay in Perthshire. A seat placed underneath the oak by Forestry Commission Scotland includes a lyric by singer songwriter Michael Marra, “I’ll sit beneath the fiddle tree, with the ghost of Niel Gow next to me”, a tribute to the legacy left to modern musicians by their ancestor.

Tree of the year 2014
1740 votes
7th place
Nominated by:
National contest organizer: Woodland Trust Scotland
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