The Big Belly Oak is a sessile oak tree (Quercus petraea). It is enormously fat, with a girth of over 11 meters.The oak has a large cavity in its centre, likely an effect of pollarding.
The Big Belly Oak is the oldest oak in the Savernake Forest; Wiltshire, England, estimated around 1,000 years old. It would have been a young tree at around the time that William the Conqueror defeated King Harold in 1066. As part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002, the Big Belly Oak was named as one of 50 Great British Trees, a collection of significant trees in the United Kingdom.
The Big Belly Oak grows by the side of the A346 road between Marlborough and Burbage, but a walk into the lovely Savernake Forest is the best way of viewing this ancient tree. It is one of many ancient oak trees in the Savernake Forest, including the New Queen Oak, the Queen Oak, the Saddle Oak 1, the Spider Oak; the Cathedral Oak, and the King of Limbs
Reference – Photo by Tom Hill
Ira Apriyani from ‘Trees’ fb page.
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