In Sherwood Forest in the English county of Nottinghamshire, the famous Major Oak, associated with the legend of Robin Hood, died. The tree’s age was estimated at about 1,200 years.
One of the oldest and largest trees in the UK lost its leaves this spring. The forest’s conservation organisation, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said the oak tree had died.
The RSPB says a variety of factors led to the tree’s death, including climate change, as well as “well-intentioned intervention and too much human activity”.
The oak tree will remain in Sherwood Forest as a “monument to people and wildlife.” Its seedlings have been planted all over the world.
The tree became world famous after Major Hyman Rooke’s book was published in 1790. According to legend, the robber Robin Hood was hiding in the hollow of this oak tree.
In 2023, another ancient tree, linked to the legend of Robin Hood, was cut down in northern England. It was a white maple tree in Northumberland County.