The winner of UK Tree of the Year 2025 is the Argyle Street ash in Glasgow.
This year's national contest celebrated the value of trees in our cultural history, shining a light on magnificent trees across the UK that are local landmarks, sources of passion, inspiration and creativity.
The 10 finalists included trees selected by our expert panel and one tree nominated by the public.
The Argyle Street ash tree was chosen from public nominations and won with an impressive 27% of the vote.
Image: Tree Wise Urban Forestry
Runner up with 24% of votes was the King of Limbs in Savernake Forest, an ancient oak that inspired Radiohead and gave its name to one of their albums.
In third place, the Lonely Tree of Llanberis received 13% of the vote. This tree is a popular subject for photographers and may also appear in the forthcoming series of The Witcher.
Over 30,000 voted and the winner will now go on to represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year 2026 contest.
The lofty ash stands alongside the tenements on one of Glasgow’s busiest streets. Also known locally as The Lone Tree of Finnieston or The Only Tree on Argyle Street, it's a people’s tree, one that lives in the hearts of Glaswegians and part of the city’s emotional architecture, says David Treanor who nominated it.
Standing proud for over 170 years, this tree is rooted in the social history of Glasgow, having survived the Clydeside Blitz, the rise and fall of industry, and now defying the odds to resist ash dieback too.
In recognition of its cultural and ecological value to the city, the tree was the first in Glasgow to be protected by a tree preservation order. In the 1930s, James Cowan praised the tree in a local newspaper column, calling it “a very tall ash tree, its highest branches reaching far above the top windows of the tenement. It is quite the most graceful ash I have seen.” The column was later published in the book From Glasgow’s Treasure Chest.
Among the tree's more modern admirers, Helen Babbs references it as 'one of Glasgow's best-loved ash trees' in her book, Sylvan Cities.
And Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch says: “It must have good genes to have made it. It’s hip now because it’s in Finnieston, but I say it was always cool.”
