Britain’s third tallest tree, the ‘Hermitage Douglas Fir’ located near Dunkeld, succumbed to the recent strong winds as it came crashing down in the early hours of Friday 13^thJanuary.

The giant 64.5m / 211.6 ft tree, which was part of Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust’s (PKCT) Big Tree Country, fell across the River Braan landing right in the middle of the interpretation panel that had been installed to provide the public with information about this magnificent heritage specimen.

This self-sown tree sat in the wild tree garden created by the Dukes of Atholl in the 18th century, and was once the UK’s tallest tree. However, in recent years the towering tree had been overtaken by other Douglas Firs and was now classified as the third tallest tree in Britain.

The current tallest tree is the Douglas Fir in Laird’s Grave, Ardentinny which stands at an impressive height of 68.4m / 224.4 ft. This is closely followed by the Douglas Fir at Reelig Glen, Moniack at 65.6m / 215.2ft.

Morag Watson, PKCT Trust Manager said, “This Douglas Fir was a magnificent tree and an important specimen within Big Tree Country and the garden created by the ‘Planting Dukes’ at The Hermitage. It had survived remarkably well and achieved an outstanding height, given its location on a very rocky site and shallow root system, and will be a great loss to Perthshire.”