Why an ancient Major Oak tree in Sherwood Forest linked to Robin Hood is in danger

ITV News

17-07-2025

The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is one of Britain's most famous trees, but it is now at risk of dying.
The tree is thought to be 1,000 years old and, legend has it, was once a hideout for Nottinghamshire's, and indeed England's, most famous outlaw, Robin Hood, and his merry men.
It is one of the biggest oak trees in Britain, with a canopy spread of 28 metres and a trunk measuring 11 metres in circumference.
Despite centuries of solid survival in the heart of the former royal hunting forest, this iconic East Midlands tree is now very sick.
So why is the Major Oak in danger, and what is being done to save it?
A victim of its own success
The Major Oak is suffering from its own popularity. Years of visitors treading admiringly around its roots have left the soil under the tree hard and compacted.
This means the water, oxygen and nutrients it needs so badly cannot penetrate through.
And this is not helped by the recent hot and dry weather. The sun has baked the ground hard, and the lack of rain has left it dry. This has made it even harder for the little rain the area has had to get through to the Major Oak's roots.
This has been the warmest June ever recorded in the UK, and there have been weeks without significant rainfall in 2025.
It was announced the East Midlands were officially in drought on Tuesday, 15 July.
And hot weather like this is becoming more common, with the Met Office saying extreme heat is the "new normal".
All this has meant the tree's roots are in poor condition, with analysis showing a lack of vital interaction with fungi and other organisms.
What is being done to save it?
In 2023, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) started a recovery plan to help the tree's roots and sustain the Major Oak.
They are now pumping the ground with more water to try and hydrate the soil. The team has also been working to break up the soil around the oak to add organic matter from the forest, which will feed the soil and encourage the soil microbe.
They have even put a younger oak tree out to rot next to Major Oak so it can release its nutrients into the ground.
Chloe Ryder, the RSPB's estate operations manager at Sherwood Forest, who has been leading the work, said the heat was providing "massive stress" for the ancient oak.
She said: "For the Major Oak in particular, we have been sourcing the best available scientific advice and evidence from tree and soil health experts to deliver a plan to enhance the health of the tree, if that is even possible at this stage.
"But this considerable task is not made any easier by climate change.
"We can already see that climate change is having a devastating effect on the natural world, and the warning from the Met Office that extreme weather is the 'new normal' for the UK gives us real cause for concern.
"The Major Oak has experienced three consecutive summers with prolonged periods of drought during its growing season, and unprecedented high temperatures of 40C in 2022.
"This year, once again, its leaf coverage demonstrates the massive stress that the tree is under.
"A tree this old, with such a complex history, faces gargantuan challenges as it is, which are being continually exacerbated by very hot and very dry summers."