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A GIANT oak has won recognition for being probably the oldest tree in the district.
According to experts the tree, which has a girth of 25 feet and is in Parkway, Shudy Camps, is 650 years old.
It is likely to have been planted the year after the plague spread across the country in the 14th century.
In recognition of South Cambridgeshire's history in the last millennium, the district council has spent the last 12 months attempting to track down the oldest trees in the south of the county, calling on parish councils and tree wardens to help out.
The age of the shortlisted trees were then calculated using the Forest Enterprise formula which can estimate the age of trees by considering factors including the tree's shape and form, the condition of the trunk and the amount of dead wood.
John Hellingsworth, trees and landscape officer at South Cambridgeshire District Council, who assessed the tree, said: "The whole project has been educational and raised the public's awareness and interest."
The oak tree at Shudy Camps is on land that was originally part of the Shudy Park Estate, although the tree itself probably started growing 250 years before the house was built.
The five oldest trees in South Cambridgeshire that were nominated in the survey are:

**Oak, 650 years old, Parkway, Shudy Camps;
**Yew, 574 years old, St Mary's Churchyard, West Wickham;
**Yew, 485 years old, Churchyard, Little Abington;
**Oak, 465 years old, Papworth Hall, Papworth Everard;
**Oak, 440 years old, Papworth Hall, Papworth Everard.

PICTURE CAPTION: Mighty oak . . . council chairman Alan Wyatt is joined by councillors and residents beneath the Shudy Camps oak.