The millenary tree where Robin Hood hid dies

The Major Oak, one of the most emblematic trees in the United Kingdom for its size and its connection to the legend of Robin Hood, has died after a process of progressive deterioration. The oak, located in Sherwood Forest, in the north of England, was between 800 and 1,200 years old and was considered one of the country's great natural icons and cultural heritage.

Its death has been confirmed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the organization that manages the site, after noting the absence of buds and leaves this spring. According to conservation managers, the death is not explained by a single cause but by a combination of factors accumulated over time that have weakened the tree until its biological collapse.

Among the main reasons explaining the death is the pressure exerted by millions of visitors: so many visits over so many decades have ended up compacting the soil and hindering the arrival of water, oxygen, and nutrients to the roots. Other reasons include conservation interventions carried out throughout history, with supports and materials such as metal or concrete, which have altered its natural structure. And finally, the effects of climate change, with recurrent episodes of extreme heat and prolonged droughts.

The investigation to find the causes of death also points to a root system—the underground set of roots—weaker than initially estimated and to a biologically impoverished soil, factors that would have accelerated the degradation process to an irreversible decline. The result of all this is that, despite sustained preservation efforts for decades, with constant interventions to keep it standing, the tree has finally died.

With its death, the Major Oak ceases to be a living element of Sherwood Forest to definitively become a heritage and cultural symbol, closely linked to the mythology of Robin Hood and to the British and European literary, cinematographic and popular imagination. Despite its biological death, the oak will not be removed. It will remain standing as a natural monument and as a habitat for various species within Sherwood Forest, while acorns and saplings derived from the tree have already been planted in different parts of the world to preserve its genetic and symbolic legacy.