The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy chainsaw sculpture by Simon O’Rourke, Lake Vyrnwy, Powys, Wales
The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy
Simon O’Rourke · “The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy”, chainsaw carving in a standing tree stump, 2011 · Giants of Vyrnwy woodland, Lake Vyrnwy estate, Powys, Wales
Photo from Simon O’Rourke’s own site (treecarving.co.uk), as published on Street Art Utopia; no photographer is named there. It shows the wood still bright and fresh; recent visitor photos on komoot show the hand weathered much darker
When Wales’ tallest tree, a 124-year-old Douglas fir on the Lake Vyrnwy estate in Powys, was damaged by storms and felled in March 2011, the Forestry Commission left a 15.2 m (50 ft) stump standing as a memorial. That autumn, Wrexham chainsaw artist Simon O’Rourke carved its top into “The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy”, a hand he calls the tree’s last attempt to reach for the sky. A visitor photo posted on 15 February 2025 shows it still in place, the wood weathered dark.
5 things to know
- It was Wales’ tallest treeIn March 2011 BBC News reported that the Douglas fir “stood at 63.7m (208.9ft) – taller than a 20-storey building” and was 124 years old. After storms, a Forestry Commission check found it leaning with two large cracks, and it was taken down in sections, leaving a 15 m trunk. BBC News
- A memorial, put out to tenderThe Forestry Commission area manager, Mike Whitley, planned to commission a sculpture from the trunk “as a lasting memorial to the tree”. O’Rourke told the BBC: “They invited eight artists to tender for the job and I got it.” BBC News, March · BBC News, November
- Named after the Giants of VyrnwyThe stump stands in a part of the estate known as the Giants of Vyrnwy. “There are a few tall Douglas firs growing in the Giants of Vyrnwy area and I was going on the giants theme,” O’Rourke said. “It’s a last attempt by the tree to reach the sky.” BBC News · artist’s site
- Two days of scaffold, six days of carvingThe artist writes that the terrain was so difficult “that it took two days to erect the scaffold”, then “Six days of intense work followed using chainsaws and grinders.” He added two pieces for the thumb and little finger, “as the tree wasn’t wide enough to form the whole hand”, and coated the finished work in tung oil. artist’s site
- Viral nine years laterIn late 2020 photos of the hand spread on social media, and My Modern Met, Interesting Engineering and Laughing Squid all wrote about it. The artist’s studio wrote at the time: “Recently pictures of the hand were re-shared on Facebook and Twitter, and it’s gone viral!” artist’s site · My Modern Met
Check-in guide
- 📍
- In woodland on the Lake Vyrnwy estate in Powys, in the area known as the Giants of Vyrnwy (BBC News). A forum post from 2015 puts it on the north side of the lake, north-west of a small car park or pull-in (Arbtalk).
- 🧭
- The Maps button opens the point of the komoot place “Hand Sculpture of the Tallest Tree in the UK” (52.782265, -3.48474). A second komoot place, “Giant Hand of Lake Vyrnwy”, sits about 20 m away (komoot, komoot).
- 👀
- Look up: the hand is at the top of the stump. The artist writes: “The sculpture is also viewed from 30′ away too”, so the scale is hard to take in (artist’s site).
- 🎨
- Expect a darker hand than in the photo above. The artist writes that changes in the colour and tone of the wood have emphasised its details, and visitor photos posted in 2022 and 2025 show it weathered dark (artist’s site, komoot).
Sightings
- 20113 Mar
BBC: tree felled
- 201111 Nov
BBC: hand carved
- 201517 Feb
Arbtalk forum report
- 202020 Nov
Artist revisits the hand
- 20222 Oct
komoot photos
- 202419 Dec
In SAU “From Tallest Tree to Towering Sculpture”
- 202515 Feb
komoot photos
- 20267 Oct
In SAU “40 of the Most Loved Photos”
Every stamp links to the dated source. Green stamps are visitor photos of the hand in place on komoot, dated by the day they were posted, not by camera data; the photo of the hand posted on 15 February 2025 shows it against mostly bare branches. Amber stamps are reports. The SAU stamps show the same freshly carved photo again and say nothing about whether the hand is still there. We found no report that it has been removed or damaged.
On the record
Wales’ tallest tree felled at Lake Vyrnwy after storms
“The damage to the tree and the risk of it collapsing was such that we had no choice but to take it down.”
Forestry Commission area manager Mike Whitley. The report says the tree was dismantled in sections by a tree surgeon, that the trunk “now stands at 15m”, and that Whitley intended to commission a sculpture from it “as a lasting memorial to the tree”.
Lake Vyrnwy tallest tree carved into giant hand
“The Forestry Commission, who are looking after the area, decided that it would be a good idea to have a memorial to the tree and left a 50ft stem when they felled it”
Simon O’Rourke, 33, from Wrexham, “who has called his work the Giant Hand of Vyrnwy”. The report says scaffolding went up “last month”, the project took a week, the hand measures 2m (7ft) from wrist to fingertip, and he modelled it on his own hand.
The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy
“He wanted it to be coming out of the earth, and reaching upwards; making one last attempt to reach the sky.”
The artist’s studio, revisiting the work after it went viral. It says “Simon started work on the hand in October 2011”, that it is still his largest-scale work, and that he got the brief from the Forestry Commission after seeing the tree on the BBC programme Countryfile.
Giant Hand of Lake Vyrnwy
“Please everyone take extra care whilst you’re here as there’s been issues recently with vandalism”
A visitor tip by the komoot user Zoe Evans, posted with her photos, one of which shows the hand. She does not say whether the hand itself was damaged.
The facts
- Artist
- Simon O’Rourke, a chainsaw sculptor from Wrexham (BBC News, artist’s site, Paul Cole Writes) Checked
- Title
- “The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy” (BBC News, artist’s site, My Modern Met) Checked
- Made
- October to November 2011: BBC News reported on 11 November 2011 that the scaffolding went up “last month” and the work took a week; the artist’s site says he started in October 2011 (BBC News, artist’s site) Checked
- Month
- A 2020 travel blog says it “was carved in March 2011”. We lean towards October 2011: March is when the tree was felled, and both the 2011 BBC report and the artist date the carving to the autumn (Paul Cole Writes, BBC News, artist’s site) Conflicting
- Place
- The Giants of Vyrnwy area of the Lake Vyrnwy estate, Powys, Wales (BBC News, artist’s site) Checked
- The tree
- A 124-year-old Douglas fir, 63.7 m (208.9 ft) tall (63.79 m in the Forestry Commission’s release), Wales’ tallest tree; felled in March 2011 after storm damage (Forestry Commission Wales, BBC News, BBC News) Checked
- Size
- Carved into the top of a stump left 15.2 m (50 ft) high (BBC News, artist’s site) Checked
- Hand length
- BBC News gives 2 m (7 ft) from wrist to fingertip; the artist’s site gives “around 2.25m”. We lean towards the artist’s figure, which he says comes from the 1:10 scale he worked to (BBC News, artist’s site) Conflicting
- Technique
- Carved with chainsaws and grinders from scaffolding; two pieces added for the thumb and little finger; finished with tung oil (artist’s site, BBC News) Checked
- Commissioner
- Forestry Commission Wales, which managed the site (Forestry Commission Wales, BBC News, BBC News, artist’s site). The artist’s 2019 page names “Natural Resource Wales” instead (artist’s site) Checked
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: 40 of the Most Loved Photos on Street Art Utopia Right Now (7 October 2026), where the photo above appeared as work no. 21, and the earlier From Tallest Tree to Towering Sculpture: The Giant Hand of the UK (19 December 2024).
- The artist’s look back at the hand, with photos from 2011 and of the hand by night. treecarving.co.uk
- Lake Vyrnwy, its dam and its tallest trees. Wikipedia
All sources (12)
This work
- BBC News: “Wales’ tallest tree felled at Lake Vyrnwy after storms”, 3 March 2011. The 124-year-old Douglas fir, 63.7m (208.9ft), felled after storm damage; trunk left at 15m; Mike Whitley of Forestry Commission Wales intends to commission a sculpture.
- BBC News: “Lake Vyrnwy tallest tree carved into giant hand”, 11 November 2011. Simon O’Rourke, 33, from Wrexham; the Giant Hand of Vyrnwy; scaffolding “last month”, a week’s work; hand 2m (7ft); eight artists invited to tender; the Giants of Vyrnwy.
- Simon O’Rourke: “The Giant Hand Of Vyrnwy”, the artist’s own site, 19 February 2019. The story in his words: Giants of Vyrnwy, two days of scaffolding, six days of carving, added thumb and little finger, tung oil.
- Simon O’Rourke: “The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy”, the artist’s own site, 20 November 2020 (archived copy). Started in October 2011; Countryfile and the Forestry Commission brief; 1:10 scale, hand about 2.25m; viewed from 30′ away; gone viral in 2020.
- Paul Cole Writes: “The real-life giant hidden in the Welsh woods”, 31 December 2020. Retells the BBC report; dates the carving to March 2011.
- My Modern Met: “Artist Uses Chainsaw To Transform Damaged Tree Into Hand Reaching for the Sky”, 29 October 2020. Title, 50 feet, near Lake Vyrnwy, Powys.
- Interesting Engineering: “Sculptor Turns Storm-Damaged Tree into 50-Foot Hand”, 3 November 2020, by Derya Ozdemir. Quotes the artist’s site.
- Laughing Squid: “Artist Transforms Wales’ Tallest Tree Into a Giant Hand Reaching Into the Sky After Severe Storm Damage”, 6 November 2020. Title and the artist’s words.
Visitor reports and photos
- Arbtalk forum: “Tall trees North Wales”, posts of 17 and 18 February 2015 by Dan Curtis. Directions to “the hand that Simon O’Rourke carved” and mention of a plaque there.
- komoot: “Hand Sculpture of the Tallest Tree in the UK”, visitor photos of the hand posted 2 October 2022 by Michaela, and a tip of 19 April 2023 by Zoe Evans; map point 52.782265, -3.48474 (used for the Maps button).
- komoot: “Giant Hand of Lake Vyrnwy”, visitor photos posted 15 and 16 February 2025, of which the one posted 15 February shows the hand, and a tip by Zoe Evans; map point 52.782285, -3.484439.
Context
- Forestry Commission Wales news release No. 14521: “Neighbour inherits ‘tallest tree’ title”, 28 March 2011 (Wayback copy of 29 May 2016). The Lake Vyrnwy estate is managed by Forestry Commission Wales; the felled tree was 63.79 m and, per the Tree Register, 124 years old; Mike Whitley quoted.
Artwork File · Last checked 8 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files