Ancient and veteran trees: Caring for special trees on farms

This guide helps identify ancient and veteran trees on farmland, and highlights their importance. It provides information on how to protect trees and secure their future.

Our farmed landscape features many ancient and veteran trees; trees that are remarkable because they are old, large, and rich in wildlife habitats. Ancient and veteran trees are widely distributed across all parts of the country, where good management and conditions have allowed them to remain rooted for hundreds of years. 

Every single acre of ancient woodland that remains is vitally important to the ecology and wildlife of the UK, and we all have a role to play in protecting them, particularly their owners and the people who manage them. We have produced a number of guides to help land managers make the best decisions to protect their ancient woodlands. This is an introductory summary of these guides, what they cover and where you can find them.