Before Robert the Bruce became king of Scotland he was hunted as an outlaw. On the run from his pursuers in the early 14th century it is said he crossed Loch Lomond with 200 men and sheltered under an ancient yew tree at Stuc an t’Iobhairt, a place translated as the Hill of the Sacrifice.
There is an ancient yew tree here at this spot, on a rocky knoll in a private garden. Could it be old enough and once large enough to have sheltered 200 men? Furthermore, if the story is true and it was there over 700 years ago, then how long had it been there before then?
This yew is included in the book Heritage Trees of Scotland (p.192) by Donald Rodger, John Stokes and James Ogilvie (Tree Council 2006). The entry states how J C Loudon visited in 1837 and recorded a girth of 13 feet (400 cm) at ground level and the height of the yew was 39 feet (12 metres). A 400 cm girth noted almost 200 years ago, would suggest given the habitat conditions of an exposed position and poor nutrient availability, which typically cause slow growth in yew trees, it was probably at the very least 500 years old in Loudon’s day. This means it would have been there in Bruce’s lifetime.
There is also a depiction of an old postcard from the 1920’s which shows the yew to be much reduced in height since Loudon measured it almost a century before. This was the result of drastic pruning undertaken in the interim. It is not much different in appearance 100 years later. The entry goes on to say that in 1998 the girth had increased to 610 cm and “suggests an annual ring width of 2 mm, a reasonable rate of increment for such a slow–growing species in such a harsh environment”.
Robert the Bruce is also associated with ancient yews growing on Inchlonaig an isle on Loch Lomond. He harvested yews there to make longbows prior to the battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and planted replacements still to be seen today and are over 700 years old. A sample of these yews had a girth of 517 cm at 100 cm high (SYTHI 2019) showing slow growth rates. This supports Robert the Bruce’s yew being contemporary with his lifetime and furthermore it could be over 1,000 years old, as it must have been of some size to shelter so many men over 700 years ago.
This wonderful ancient yew tree, a true and hardy survivor, may well be a shadow of its former self. However this doughty yew has evidence to support the real possibility that it could indeed have served Robert the Bruce and his men on their campaign to regain the freedom of the nation. Although the link with Robert the Bruce has to remain a matter of belief rather than provable historical fact, nevertheless, if ever a tree deserved the status of being an Ancient Monument then surely this yew tree does.