SALTASH Town Council has planted a tree in the town as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations – and the sapling has been grown from acorns from a landmark South East Cornwall oak which is reckoned to be the oldest in the county.

The Mayor of Saltash, Councillor Pete Samuels, planted the Darley Oak sapling on Jubilee Green as part of the nationwide project to plant trees to leave a lasting legacy of the special occasion.

The tree was given to Saltash Town Council as participants in the Landmark Tree Initiative run by Cornwall Council. It will be registered on the Queen’s Green Canopy website and commemorated by the plaque installed.

For 2021-22 planting the Landmark Tree Initiative was lucky enough to be offered 20 young oak sapling trees grown from acorns from Cornwall’s oldest oak, the Darley Oak, which is located near Darleyford in the parish of Linkinhorne on the edge of Bodmin Moor between Liskeard and Launceston and is estimated to be between 500 and 900 years old. The Darley Oak is a Pedunculate oak tree (Quercus robur) which means its acorns grow on a peduncle, or acorn-stalk, 3–7 cm (1–3 in) long, with one to four acorns on each peduncle, while by contrast the leaves are very short-stalked.

This tree planting is part of several events in the town for the Platinum Jubilee. Saltash Town Council are also participating in the global beacon lighting event on Thursday 2nd June 2022 followed by a fireworks display, this will be open to everyone in the town to attend. More details on this will be released in the coming weeks.