The famous tree from Sherwood Forest did not grow leaves in the spring of 2026. Experts estimate that a combination of extreme age, soil compaction, root damage and a series of hot, dry summers led to its death, but its trunk will remain in place and continue to serve as a rich habitat.
Major Oak, the ancient oak associated with the legends of Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest, has died after a life estimated to have lasted between 800 and 1,200 years. Experts determined that the tree was no longer alive after no new buds or leaves appeared on its branches in the spring of 2026.
This was the first spring in which the tree was completely bare. In the years before this, there had already been a sharp decline in the quantity and quality of leaves, and in 2025 the oak had grown only sparse foliage. Tests of water flow and the condition of the tissues and roots reinforced the conclusion that the tree's life processes had ceased.
Major Oak stands in the heart of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, central England. Its trunk measures some 11 metres in circumference, and its canopy once stretched across some 28 metres. It has been visited by millions of people over the years, with around 350 visitors each year in recent years.
A legend born hundreds of years after Robin Hood
According to local folklore, Robin Hood and his men hid inside the hollow trunk of the oak tree from the Sheriff of Nottingham. There is no historical evidence for this, and it is doubtful whether the tree was hollow at the time the legend is attributed to.
The wide space in the trunk was created over centuries by fungal activity and natural decay processes. It is precisely the spaces, cracks, and dead wood that have turned the oak into a rich habitat for insects, fungi, bats, birds, and other animals.
The name Major Oak does not just refer to its size. It was coined after a book published in 1790 by Major Hyman Rock, a retired army officer and local antiquarian, describing the trees of Sherwood Forest. Following the publication of the book, the oak began to attract increasing numbers of visitors and became a tourist attraction.
The tourists who liked the tree also damaged it
For generations, visitors were allowed to approach and even enter the trunk. The influx of visitors gradually compacted the soil around the tree. Compacted soil has difficulty absorbing rainwater, and the tiny spaces through which oxygen and water penetrate the root system are reduced.
Experts who examined the soil found that the root environment was under more severe stress than previously estimated. The root system had difficulty obtaining water, oxygen, and nutrients, and there was little microbial activity in the soil.
A fence installed around the tree in the 70s kept visitors away, but much of the damage had already been done. Vehicles, military use of the area, and possible changes in groundwater levels due to coal mining were also cited as factors that affected the tree's environment.
Experts note that even actions taken out of a desire to save the oak did not always benefit it. Its heavy branches were supported for years by poles and cables, and in earlier periods, materials and methods were used that would today be considered unsuitable for treating ancient trees.
Five years of heat and drought
It is impossible to pinpoint a single factor that killed Major Oak. According to the experts who treated him, it was a combination of cumulative damage to the soil and roots, the tree's advanced condition, and extreme weather events.
The most rapid decline coincided with five hot, dry summers. In July 2022, the UK recorded its first temperature above 40 degrees Celsius. A series of droughts and heatwaves increased water loss from leaves and soil, while the damaged root system struggled to provide the tree with the water it needed.
In the summer of 2025, conservationists activated a special irrigation system designed to pump water deep into the soil. Over the past three winters, they have also carefully aerated the soil, added nutrients, and attempted to restore the population of microorganisms around the roots.
Encouraging signs appeared in parts of the ground, but recovery came too late. The damage to the root system and the crown was already too deep for the tree to grow leaves again.
The dead oak will continue to sustain life.
The tree will not be cut down. The managers of the Sherwood Reserve intend to leave it standing as long as its safety condition allows, both as a natural and cultural monument and as a habitat.
A dead tree is not a lifeless space. Over the next decades, the trunk will gradually decompose, providing food, shelter, and breeding grounds for fungi, beetles, birds, bats, and other species. The nutrients it contains will return to the soil and be used by other trees and plants.
Major Oak's descendants will also live on. Acorns and saplings collected from him have been planted in various locations in Britain and abroad. Some have been given to schools, public gardens and well-known personalities.
The tree's death has reignited debate about the status of ancient trees in Britain. Conservation groups say that despite their ecological and cultural importance, many of them lack special legal protection and are at risk from development, vehicle traffic, soil compaction and climate change.
Sherwood Forest itself still contains hundreds of ancient oaks. The knowledge gained during the efforts to save Major Oak—about root conditions, soil structure, irrigation, and visitor management—should help protect them.
Thus, even after his death, the tree most associated with Robin Hood may leave a legacy that goes beyond a legend: improving the protection of other ancient trees before the damage caused to them becomes irreversible.
Questions and Answers
Did Robin Hood really hide inside the tree?
There is no historical evidence for this. The connection between the oak and Robin Hood is part of Sherwood Forest folklore. It is also possible that the tree was not hollow at the time Robin Hood is said to have lived.
What caused Major Oak's death?
Experts do not point to a single cause. Possible factors include compaction of the soil by visitors and vehicles, prolonged damage to the root system, old conservation interventions, and a series of hot, dry summers that have exacerbated the water shortage.
Why don't you cut down the dead tree?
The trunk and dead branches continue to serve as an important habitat for fungi, insects, birds, and bats. The tree will also remain as a heritage site and a source of knowledge for the conservation of other ancient trees.
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