Newcastle’s much-loved "Bendy Tree" has been crowned UK Tree of the Year 2026. It is the first tree from Northern Ireland to win the Woodland Trust competition and a memorable landmark to discover in Mourne Gullion Strangford. This extraordinary wych elm is instantly recognisable by its near-horizontal trunk and sweeping canopy.
Where to See the "Bendy Tree" in Newcastle
For more than 150 years, salt-laden winds from the Irish Sea have swept across this part of Newcastle in County Down. Instead of giving way, the tree adapted. Over time, it developed the distinctive arching shape that makes it such a memorable local landmark.
You will find the "Bendy Tree" beside Newcastle Promenade, where its leafy branches shade a bench in the town centre. It is an ideal place to pause, with the Irish Sea on one side and the Mourne Mountains creating a dramatic backdrop on the other.
How This County Down Wych Elm Survived
Planted in the mid-19th century, the "Bendy Tree" once formed part of a line of wych elms. Together, they sheltered Newcastle’s main street from fierce coastal weather.
Most of those trees were removed during redevelopment in the 1980s, leaving the Bendy Tree as the last of the promenade elms. It has also resisted Dutch elm disease, the fungus that devastated the UK’s elm population after arriving from North America in the 1960s.
Why It Won UK Tree of the Year 2026
The "Bendy Tree" has been blasted by extreme winds over and over again for well over a century. But it has continued to exist and remain rooted, adapting to its surroundings and flourishing into this unusual shape.
The award arrives as the Woodland Trust Northern Ireland celebrates its 30th anniversary. It is a fitting honour for a tree that has become a symbol of endurance, adaptation and local pride on the County Down coast.
Plan Your Visit to Newcastle, County Down
Look out for the "Bendy Tree" on Newcastle promenade and pause beneath its sweeping branches. Afterwards, enjoy a coastal walk, explore the town’s shops and cafés, or discover more things to do and places to visit across Mourne Gullion Strangford.
Newcastle Beach is a popular seaside resort and tourist destination located on the South Down coast of Northern Ireland. Newcastle Beach comprises of sand, pebbles and larger stones and is approximately 2.5 km in length. The major part of Newcastle Beach is backed by a promenade and the seaside town of Newcastle, which has lots of shops, cafes, restaurants, amusements and other attractions. The beach has a very gentle slope with the Mountains of Mourne in the background. The beach is popular for swimming and sunbathing and there is life saving equipment available with signage on the Promenade. The beach can be accessed via steps or the slipway.
Newcastle (An Caisleán Nua) is a seaside resort located in County Down at the foot of the Mountains of Mourne and made famous by the Percy French song "Where the Mountains of Mourne Sweep Down to the Sea".
"Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea" (Percy French) The popular song has made the Mournes the best known mountains in Ireland. Distinctive and self-contained, they are tucked away in the southeast corner of Northern Ireland, with 12 shapely summits rising about 2,000ft on the eastern side.
