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The Verdun Oak

Standing proudly in Forbury Gardens, this historic oak tree was grown from an acorn harvested directly from the World War I Battlefield of Verdun and planted in 1919 to mark the peace treaty.

Wargrave

The Historic Churchyard Yews

The parish’s oldest recorded trees are the magnificent ancient English yews flanking the churchyard of St Mary’s, carefully documented as invaluable historical landscape fixtures that survived the catastrophic 1914 church fire.

Pangbourne

The River Side Oak

A spectacular, gnarled ancient oak sits prominently on the banks of the Thames Path, acting as a historic boundary marker and highly photographed natural gateway where the River Pang flows into the Thames.

Caversham

The Ancient Survivor

Caversham is home to an English oak believed to be about 700 years old. This historic tree survived the English Civil War.

Woodley

Historic Arboretums

In the 19th century, owners of Bulmershe Court created a large arboretum. It introduced many non-native trees to the area.

Sonning

Riverside Canopy

The Thames paths surrounding Sonning boast mature deciduous trees, including weeping willows and crack willows.

Goring

The Executioner’s Yew

Right across the river in the adjoining twin village of Streatley, a famous ancient churchyard-style yew tree sits in the local pub garden, marking the exact 1440 burial site of a monk and a nun executed for misconduct.

Bradfield

The Assarted Ancient Woods

This area is famous for its heavily protected ancient woodlands like Greathouse Wood, which feature highly unique, jagged boundaries created by medieval “assarting”—the historical practice of painstakingly clearing pockets of royal forest for agriculture.

Twyford

The Fallen Broad Hinton Oak

This neighborhood famously mourned the sudden loss of its iconic 200-year-old veteran oak in 2023; its massive 4.3-metre trunk was an officially logged, highly protected biological habitat landmark managed by the Wokingham District Veteran Tree Association.

Earley and Lower Earley

Maiden Erlegh Park is a Local Nature Reserve featuring semi-ancient woodlands, including English oaks, hornbeams, and large Holm oaks. Near Maiden Erlegh Lake, you will find marsh-friendly species such as crack willow and alder, as well as a famous 1800s-era lime tree in Laurel Park.

Shinfield & Spencers Wood

Shinfield is a parish rich in arboriculture, holding roughly 20% of the entire borough’s recorded trees. Spencers Wood contains over 300 Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) managed by the Wokingham Borough Council.

Arborfield

This village contains a notable historic oak avenue at Arborfield Park. Some of the oaks date back centuries, though local preservation groups regularly monitor them for fungal infections to ensure public safety

Grazley

Grazeley is a major conservation zone with strict nesting and TPO restrictions. It has been a focal point for environmental planning, including large-scale solar farm developments designed to integrate with and protect existing rural hedgerows and tree lines

Shinfield

Shinfield is a parish rich in arboriculture, holding roughly 20% of the entire borough’s recorded trees. Spencers Wood contains over 300 Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) managed by the Wokingham Borough Council.

Burghfield

Bordered by streams like Burghfield Brook, this area contains a mix of ancient coppiced woodlands and heathland. The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust actively manage these woodlands.

Sonning Common

Ancient Beech Woods

Old Copse is a semi-natural woodland filled with towering beech trees originally planted for the local furniture and brush-handle industries.

Southcote

The “Bishopwood” Enclosure

Southcote shares a border with Old Copse, which contains a mysterious and large four-sided earthwork enclosure dating back to ancient (possibly Romano-British) times.

Calcot

The 21 Oaks

Found near Holybrook Linear Park, an avenue of 21 oak trees was planted to commemorate the 21 men from Calcot and Theale who fell in the First World War.

Bracknell

Centuries-Old Sweet Chestnuts

The Chestnuts in Warfield feature giant trees that are over 200 years old, once lining an old driveway.

Henley

Rupert’s Elm

Henley made headlines with a new disease-resistant elm planted to replace the historical “Rupert’s Elm,” named for Prince Rupert who allegedly hanged a Parliamentary spy on it in 1642.

Wokingham

Centuries of Oaks

The majority of Wokingham’s veteran and significant trees are English Oaks, linking it to the ancient Windsor Forest.