Inverness oak at Culloden forest is nominated for Tree of the Year title
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A tree planted in Inverness in the middle of the 19th century is one of the most impressive in Scotland.
The Lord President’s Oak was nominated for the Tree of the Year title by Laura McNally of Forest and Land Scotland.
It is thought to have been planted around 1855 after a stone used as a seat by Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden, (1685-1747) and his wife Mary on walks in the area had to be moved to make way for the Highland railway.
Lord Culloden was Lord President of the Court of Session.
The tree is on the path to the famous St Mary’s Clootie Well which played an important part in pagan celebrations into the 20th century.
There are four other trees in the running for the Scottish Tree of the Year title in the competition run by the Woodland Trust: The Climate Change tree in Alloa; the Millarochy oak at Loch Lomond; Queen Mary's thorn in Fife; and the Survivor tree in the Borders.
The winner is decided by public vote, receiving a care package worth £1000 which can be spent on works to benefit the tree's health, interpretation signage or community celebrations.
Last year's winner was a lone elm in Glen Affric which has so far avoided the ravages of Dutch Elm Disease and was nicknamed the Last Ent of Affric because of a growth on its trunk resembling a face.
Ents are mythological tree creatures from JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
You can see all nominations and vote for your favourite tree here
The competition runs until September 24.
