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Tree of the Year: Scots rowan to represent Great Britain in European event

Aiden Maccormick/WTML The SurvivorAiden Maccormick/WTML
The south of Scotland tree will compete for the European title early next year

A "quite ordinary" tree in southern Scotland has been chosen to represent Great Britain in the European Tree of the Year competition.

The once lone rowan - dubbed "The Survivor" - at Carrifran near Moffat is now surrounded by new native woodland.

It picked up the Scottish Tree of the Year title in October and has now seen off trees in Wales and England to compete for the continental crown.

Voting for that award will take place online in February next year.

Borders Forest Trust Carrifran ValleyBorders Forest Trust
The Borders Forest Trust has planted hundreds of thousands of trees in the area

The British competitions, run by Woodland Trust, are supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery.

An expert panel at Woodland Trust decided which tree was bound for the European competition.

The south of Scotland rowan was once the only noticeable tree in the valley and was adopted as a symbol by the community group which took ownership of the land.

The Borders Forest Trust completed the purchase of the Carrifran Wildwood in January 2000 and has planted 600,000 trees there since then.

The Woodland Trust said the tree in itself was nothing exceptional but it represented "something extraordinary".