Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Gravestones stand before a stone churchyard wall and a Gothic church window shaded by ancient yew trees.
Perthshire

Fortingall Yew Tree

An ancient yew in the churchyard at Fortingall, at the mouth of Glen Lyon, thought to be between two and five thousand years old.

Welcome

In the churchyard of the little thatched village of Fortingall, where Glen Lyon opens out towards Loch Tay, a walled enclosure guards what may be one of the oldest living things in Europe.

The Fortingall Yew is thought to be somewhere between two and five thousand years old, and it was already ancient when the first church was built beside it.

Over the centuries its trunk split and hollowed, and what stands now is a ring of separate stems, gnarled and twisting, still green and still growing. Posts in the grass mark where the great trunk once reached. A local legend says Pontius Pilate was born under this tree, the son of a Roman envoy; it is only a story, but the yew was old even then.

The churchyard is open at any time, with the church beside it, and the road west from the village leads up into Glen Lyon.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 10 November, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a concrete road bridge with angled supports spanning a sea loch, twin cloud-wrapped mountain peaks rising behind autumn-coloured hills.
Not farHettie's Tea Rooms14 milesSee itHettie's Tea Rooms

Before you go

Free, at any time.

The yew stands inside a walled enclosure in the churchyard, beside the church.

Where
Fortingall churchyard, at the mouth of Glen Lyon, eight miles west of Aberfeldy.

Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your review

Where it is

In the churchyard at Fortingall, at the foot of Glen Lyon.

Close byFortingall and Glen Lyon.
  1. Glen LyonThe longest enclosed glen in Scotland, running west from Fortingall.1 mile 3 min by road
  2. Looking from Meall na Aighean to Ben Lawers, Meall Greigh and Meall Garbh, snow on the highest tops.Meall na AigheanA Munro of 981 metres on the north side of Glen Lyon, climbed from Invervar by its west ridge.3 miles as the crow flies
  3. Meall GreighA Munro of 1,001 metres at the north-east end of the Ben Lawers range above Loch Tay, climbed from Lawers by the Lawers Burn.5 miles as the crow flies
  4. The Courtyard Brasserie & BarThe Courtyard Brasserie & Bar6 miles 11 min by road
  5. KenmoreKenmoreThe estate village at the east end of Loch Tay.6 miles 13 min by road
  6. Falls of AcharnFalls of AcharnTwo waterfalls above Loch Tay, seen from the Hermit's Cave.8 miles 18 min by road
Directions
Sauna on a boat, PerthshireActivityHotBoat Sauna, Taymouth Marina2.3 miles as the crow flies
Càrn Gorm above Glen Lyon, the crags of Creag Ghlas on its right.AttractionsCarn Gorm6.9 miles
Turreted stone castle among trees, overlooking a barley fieldAttractionsCastle Menzies7.1 miles
The front of Homer on Bank Street in Aberfeldy, its window full of homeware and an open sign by the door.ShoppingHomer7.1 miles
Two paddlers in an orange canoe on a still Highland loch in Perthshire, with wooded hills behind.ActivityWee Adventures7.1 miles
Moss-covered rock face carved into a profile among woodland foliageAttractionsSt David's Well7.3 miles
AttractionsBen Lawers7.4 miles
A paddler in a turquoise canoe on the River Tay at Aberfeldy, with Wade's Bridge beyond.ActivityBeyond Adventure7.9 miles
Aberfeldy Gallery shopfront with framed paintings displayed in the windowAttractionsAberfeldy Gallery8.2 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the yew, and when each is next free.

A red sandstone and grey stone Victorian house stands wreathed in morning mist, a shrub with orange autumn leaves in the foreground.The House at Dun Aluinn
  • Sleeps 18
  • In Aberfeldy
  • 7 miles from the Fortingall Yew
Check datesA small stone bothy joined to a stone steading, seen across long grass under a Scots pine bough, a corrugated shed to the right.Lassintullich Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 7 miles from the Fortingall Yew
Check datesA white harled house with a slated roof sits among woodland below a hill, a track winding up to it through fields.Lassintullich House
  • Sleeps 16
  • In Perthshire
  • 7 miles from the Fortingall Yew
Free 16–19 NovA stone steading with a slated roof and an arched green door stands beside a gravel courtyard, daffodils growing at its base.West Tempar Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 7 miles from the Fortingall Yew
Free 16–19 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in PerthshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here

Read on

What we have written about it and more in Perthshire.

ArticleFifty Things to do in Perthshire
More in Perthshire

Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .