The Scottish play
‘...it wears its centuries with pride, although the bottom 10 feet of its trunk are hollow, and some of its branches are supported by crutches.’
‘Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill, Shall come against him’ declares an apparition conjured by the three witches in Shakespeare’s famous play. Of course (spoiler alert!) Great Birnam wood does reach Dunsinane Hill, as soldiers cut and carry branches to shield their approach, and Macbeth is killed.
Just two trees of that once great forest survive: the Birnam Oak and the Birnam Sycamore, close neigbours on the banks of the Tay. The latter is bigger, but at 300 years old it’s too young to have been known to Shakespeare and even has a sign saying ‘It’s not me, I’m a sycamore’. The oak is estimated to be 600 years old, and would have been mature when it’s thought William visited in 1589 with a troupe of comedians (although it wouldn’t even have been an acorn in the 11th century, when the real Macbeth was King of Scots).
This ancient sessile oak is abuzz with life – host to at least 300 different insect species – and it wears its centuries with gnarled pride, although the bottom 10 feet of its trunk, which measures 23 feet around, are hollow, and some of its branches are supported by crutches. And if you want to follow Great Birnam wood to
Dunsinane Hill, you’ll find its hilltop fort just 14 miles to the south-east.
Be careful what you call
Macbeth though. Many actors and directors consider the play cursed and refuse to say its name inside a theatre, calling it instead Macbee or The
Scottish Play.