The Oldest Oak Tree in the Forest "The Big Bellied Decanter Oak" Wiltshire Man 

Thanks to you and Anne, Sandy...

That was a good mood trip out thanks for taking us along.

Simply magnificent …

Wonderful film Sandy. It’s hard to comprehend anything living for 1100 years ( though I think my old maths teacher may have been close). What a stat that is. “when Henry viii was on the throne it was already 600.”

Lovely video. Such a fantastic oak tree. Thanks for showing us around the ancient woodland. Bye Stuart 😊

Stunning area Mr W. Nice to sit somewhere quiet & chill there, just watch & listen. Beech & oak are the best trees i think, both lovely. I like your apprentice Miss Wiltshirewoman!! 👍

Thank you for sharing your adventure!

Great to see Ann out with you , good video my friend.

I`ve driven past that tree many times, and thought if that old boy could speak what stories he could tell, thanks for making this video.

Lovely to see those majestic oaks and they really are the kings (and queens) of the forest. We have some lovely oak woodlands here in Kent but I have never seen any as big as your pot-bellied friend in Savernake. If it could talk I bet it could tell some great stories of centuries past.

Wonderful video thank you 💚🙏💚

Hey Sandy!! A very nice video! Love them trees, thank you for taking us along your hike at the ancient oaks of Savernake, beautiful woodland!! Great to see You, Annie, and your adorable doggies out and about…Wanna wish you a warm and blessed happy birthday! Enjoy and have a wonderful day!!🙏

"Here we have the standard puffball" ,oops never mind:] Another brilliant video Sandy!

Nice explore interesting find and views with the drone

What a beautiful recording Sandy and Annie, deeply impressive, don't we just love our old trees?, well done. Harry

Another great video, i am ashamed to say that I have driven past it a few times and thought it must be old but didn't realise the significance of it.

Eye looking great, Sandy!

Thank You :)

Beautiful Oak tree looks good for its age. I was there possibly 10 years with researchers and they done a core sample. And u are correct with the age. I was down there with our class from the university of Edinburgh. When I was studying my PhD in plant biology at the time.

Excellent Sandy great trees, there's one not far from me in Essex a place called Fingringhoe mad name but the tree a good 600 year old magnificent things, they call it the hanged man's tree supposedly a pirate or highwayman was hung then buried with acorn in his mouth outside of the graveyard

Sandy interesting- Thank you

Beautiful video as always. Your flying skills (in particular) are beyond reproach. Thank you for uploading. Atb.

Lovely to see Annie out with you for a change and judging by the canine excitement, a wise decision lol. Will send you a couple of pics of a few oaks, I grew up around as a, boy, one so old it's had better days now. Spent several nights sleeping at the base of the limbs as a, kid. Great video Sandy

Got to say Sandy your daughter made that video she seems real fun. 😃

It boggles the mind to think of the times this grand old oak tree has lived through. A nice sales pitch for your channel right at the end too by your daughter , a delightful young woman.

Excellent

Cheers Sandy, good to know 👍🌳

Nice to have an assistant to help with the dogs and your lines at the end.

I love trees but the oak is always a favourite. I must try and visit this forest myself one day. Your daughter is lovely and cheerful 😊

I’m a regular visitor to Savernake, and have seen Big Belly a few times, it’s a truly wondrous tree. Was there today actually and found a named tree I hadn’t seen before, Ayers Oak.

Being English i naturally feel related to trees 🌳 and water 💧 😅 it's a trip 🇬🇧

I just wonder how many more years the Big Bellied Oak will be able to survive this crazy world that we have now. I wish it an even longer life. I have always thought of the old oak trees that sometimes dot the forests as the royalty of the woodlands. They always seem to be surrounded by the taller and healthier looking trees of other species, but, the oaks seem to outlast them all. Thanks for the walk out in the beautiful forest. It was very enjoyable. See you on the next one Sandy. And that was so nice of Zeta to take your daughter out for the brisk walk, run, jump, spin, and dodge lol!!!

Some really beautiful autumnal colours there sandy and that oak was very impressive a very nice little stroll indeed 👍♥️😊

I can relate to that tree in a way, well the belly part, lol. Great video as always bro. Safe travels up your way

Thank you for the video. Always enjoy your videos.

Amazing. I’ve driven past that tree hundreds of times and never knew it’s history. It demands your attention as you drive past it. Superb. Bye for now!

What a magnificent tree. So sad it is now next to a busy road. Surely something so special should be protected. Another enjoyable video. Many thanks.

I’m gonna have to visit that forest soon ! Great little video

a cute daughter you have

A nice video, such a pity that the tree has to stand beside that busy road.

Those trees survived many things and I hope they continue for a long time to come.

Great video 👍

Thanks Sandy for sharing this piece of history with us . I am just glad that when they built the road that they were wise enough not to remove it. It is good to see that your eye is doing so well after the operation, Stay well ,stay safe and 73

Thank you Sandy - an amazing video.

Great vid mate - love the oak

The Oaks are amazing, the oaks of England built the Royal Navy that at one time spanned the entire globe. I love ancient trees and this was a great video Sandy. Your daughter is a joy and a real trooper I think the dogs walked her more than she walked the dogs.

Do you know, Andy, that trees give each other signals, with their roots. It’s a shame of men to build a road so close.

Amazing - I bet that tree could tell some stories.

What a lovely well put together video, Top class Atb Graeme

If trees could speak I wonder if we would still cut them down? The things that one has seen (and could tell) are mind boggling! Stay safe and healthy my friend!

Morning Sandy we went through the forest yesterday on our way out a lot of tree work going on maybe due to the Ash dieback infection in the trees which line the road the old oak is still asleep waiting for the spring to awaken.

Oh dear sandy ann,s Anne's a chip off your old block 👌 A very enjoyable video on the Great ole Oaks of England 👏👏👏👏 you'd have thought they'd detour that stretch of road to give big belly a bit of Respect 🤨 Anyway you look a picture of good health and keep your eyes open for the postman in the morning ya ole codger 🥃🐽 you have to put it on , Happy birthday 👍

Lovely video Sandy! Trees are wonderful and people should acknowledge them more, and as a society we should be putting more trees in!!

Autumn does bring some amazing colours . It is great fun trying to capture that special photo.👍📸

I remember being in awe of that old oak when I started driving hgvs 33 years ago . I’ve passed it so many times , and I always say “hi” to it in my mind. The Savarnak is a haunting magical 🧙‍♀️ place. Love to see if you do a motorcycle stealth 🥷 wild camp 🏕 there ! Yr gal is a chip off the old block 😂👍

Thanks again Sandy for another enjoyable walk through the forest, and showing us that grand old Oak. outstanding longevity !. but sad that its so close to that road/highway. Glad to see Ann out and about with you, but she had her hands full with the dog/dogs. who was walking who? Every time you show us some Puffballs, I think back years ago I drove a small van for a cleaning business one summer vaction, and there was an old fellow down in Gr Barrington ma, that had tons of them on his property and he used to harvest them. had them all laid out on tables in the sun preparing them for storage and consumption. he had some the size of footballs! huge!. so thanks again Sandy for the great walk and showing us that great Oak. and for sharing 73! gud dx de Ellis WA1RKS

Great to see that as I've only ever seen it several times from the road , it really stands out, especially if you are driving towards Marlborough

Been past big belly Oak on the way to the great Dorset steam fair

That beautiful, magnificent Oak Sandy has seen plenty come and go. An ecosystem in its own right. I am in awe of these titans of nature. The oaks I planted some 12 years ago in and around Trailcam Wood are doing well, established and reaching for the sky. Some have provided acorns and their offspring are also being planted... two last week and more going in this week and the weeks to follow. Hopefully they will reach up to ensure the longevity of the wood. Paul 👍😊

Such a beautiful wood! The oak is simply amazing! Have you thought of using a halti harness on your dog that pulls? I had a dog with similar problems and you have much more control with a halti harness. Great video once again x

I visited there for the first time a few months ago...Took the road route by foot from parking in the layby. Wasn't too bad. But what a wonderful tree. A road was next to the tree back in the 1800s as there's old photos online, so guess the road has just stayed and gotten busier.

That's just fantastic. Very odd though that they couldn't move that road over 10 feet.🤔👍

Never work with animals or children. Your daughter was fine but I laughed out loud when the dog trod on the puff ball 😁👍 Stunned that the road went so close. Thanks for sharing.

Savernake is a wonderful old woodlands to roam around Sandy, I love our distinguished forest's, being born in the New Forest myself. Have you seen the old Oak with the absolutely huge, must be 5-6 feet across and sticks out about 3 ft, Burl growing out the side of it, Lou and me came across it a while back by chance.

If you could find a piece of wood on the ground from this tree you could make a knife handle with a historic past.

Wonderful. There is an oak in Lincolnshire that is more than 40 feet in circumference. Lovely to see a touch of the autumnal colours in this video

Nice

Have you visited the Fortingall Yew Tree in Perthshire Sandy ? My father grew up in the village eighty odd years ago and I went back with him to visit his past and it was one of the things we visited. I had planned to return with my biker gang in 2020 but covid stopped that. But it is in a very nice region of Scotland with some great biking roads.

interesting. thank yew

Dear Sandy. Thank you for this beautiful video. We have two ancient oaks on our land, now registered in the Norwegian register of protected oaks. But they are nowhere as big as that one. It is more impressive than any man made building, if you ask me. Btw, have you tried harness instead of collars? We found that sighthounds act calmer if you walk them with a harness, and they have somewhat fragile necks. If I remember correctly, your dogs are lurchers, so the same might apply for them.

Gorgeous Sandy. You would think the Forestry would protect it or have the road moved.

..........Big Belly Oak.......if that tree could talk I would lend an ear.

Well, it is twice as old as I feel. ; )

Stunning trees, I've driven past that oak so many times.....if trees could talk eh!

Woow that tree is still going strong. What a great video (as always) I do appreciate the videography incl the drone footage and editing. Can I ask what video editing software do you use?. Many thanks.

"I've just found a puffball... oh". Classic British comedy moment. I bet Chris Packham never has ts sort of trouble, eh?

Tragic that the road was placed next to something so grand. To exist for so long and avoiding the blade of the woodsman, fire and natural process, only to be poisoned by car exhaust is sad. I wonder how many vehicles have struck it over the years?

I need new contact lenses... I thought the title was Big Bellend.... 😂

Wow, those trees are amazing. There is nothing remotely like that here. Here the old oaks at the mansions are suffering. They are only about 200 year old.

The oak is about the same age as the Darley oak.

How many rifle stocks would that road hazard make ?

Imagine seeing a geek these days and saying you come from Savanac 😅,they'd reply "Is that near Mordor Gondor or the Shire your Lordship 🤴💍 😅

The beauty of nature, next to the ugliness of our modern world.

Didn’t Severn oaks become one oak after the storm in 87

Love this film, never work with children or animals 😜

If they could speak what stories they would relate.

Makes our puny life scale look pathetic ...

Brilliant. Never work with animals or children ha ha.