Ancient oaks bid to be named Welsh 'Tree of the Year'

The Woodland Trust ops launching its annual competition to find the 'Tree of the year'

The shortlist is:

The Brimmon Oak, Newtown, Powys, an ancient, pollarded oak which has been part of the landscape above Newtown for more than 500 years. The oak came under threat of removal to build a bypass, but Mervyn Jones, who farms the land on which the tree stands, fought a campaign to prevent its removal and then to win a 15 metre exclusion zone, "bending" the bypass to avoid the tree.

Derwen Hwyl, Hafod y Llan, Beddgelert, Gwynedd, a twisted oak which has grown out and onto a lonely glacial boulder and stands alone in a grazed green field. It provides shelter for sheep and cattle and a climbing spot for children.

The Gregynog Oak, Gregynog, Tregynon, Powys, a pollard oak which, with a girth of more than six metres (20ft), is the largest in the grounds of Gregynog Hall, made a national nature reserve in 2013. It is believed it may have sprung from an acorn during the reign of Henry VIII.

Bodnant Sweet Chestnut, Bodnant Gardens, Conwy Valley, Conwy, one of the oldest trees in the National Trust garden and thought to date back to the Georgian landscaping of the original estate in the 1700s. The main stem has been blown out at some point in the past, said to be by a lightning strike, but over time lower branches have layered themselves on the lawn.

The Castle Oak, Dinefwr Castle, Near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, a tree thought to be between 800 and 850 years old which stands in the estate which was home of the famous Welsh Princes of Deheubarth. It is possible to walk inside the hollow trunk of the tree which witnessed the rise and fall of Dinefwr Castle, the ruins of which still stand on the hill overlooking the Tywi Valley

The Cwm yr Esgob Veteran Oak, Near Rhayader, one of the largest and oldest trees in the ancient wood pasture at Cwm yr Esgob, Carngafallt. It is a fused multi-stemmed oak, with more than one 'air tree' - growing without its roots touching the ground - on it, including a rowan, and it supports a variety of wildlife.