Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree Preservation Society was made to feel most welcome at the recent Everything Welsh Day at the village’s Regency Hall.

It was most fitting that this Welsh wonder of nature and former Welsh Tree of the Year was represented. Representatives of the society chatted to residents and visitors alike, recalling the story behind the campaign to save Saundersfoot’s iconic Monterey Cypress that resides on Scar Rock on Saundersfoot Beach.

The society used the event to launch its latest fundraising initiative to obtain sealed bids for a stunning acrylic painting of the Lonely Tree by local artist Andrew Phillips. Andrew, who this year became a Wales Contemporary Artist nominee, kindly donated the painting to help raise funds for Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree Preservation Society’s tree fund.

The day was an all round success for the society, not only in obtaining a number of sealed bids for the painting but also £30 of fundraising sales from the children’s book ‘Wendy and Wagtail and the Welsh Whale’, a charming little story based around Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree. Children’s author Howard Jennings put in a herculean effort to get this fabulous little book published at the height of the campaign to save Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree back in 2021. The society’s tree fund is vital to cover the costs for any required arborist tree work and required inspection reports.

Thanks go to Julie Davies of Saundersfoot in Bloom, Emma Price for her assistance, and Martyn and Carol Williams for helping to get the painting to the Regency Hall and helping to set up and man the society’s stand at the event.

Collecting sealed bids for the painting will be an ongoing initiative throughout 2025. Anyone interested in submitting a bid for the painting should contact Save Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree group on Facebook for more information.