Surgery plan to save Macbeth's Birnam Oak
An ancient tree, made famous by Shakespeare's Macbeth, is to undergo urgent surgery in an attempt to preserve it.
The Birnam Oak tree’s trunk is hollow, but as its long branches are still growing experts say the trunk is at risk of splitting in half.
The oak and its neighbouring sycamore are thought to the sole surviving trees of the great forest celebrated in the play as the Birnam Wood.
Work planned includes the removal of dead wood and some outer branches to help reduce the weight on the tree trunk.
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