The famed sycamore gap tree was a popular landmark that stood in a dip next to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. In the wonderfully-named village of Once Brewed. Many people would propose there or scatter ashes of loved ones. Unbelievably, the tree was chopped down a year ago, in an act of eco-vandalism. The stump remains, but locals are heartbroken. The National Trust is presently trying to regrow the tree into saplings, from dispersed seeds. And recently, eight new shoots from the stump have been found growing – will this beautiful tree come back to life? Let’s hope so.
Did you know that sycamore trees are toxic to horses?
The court case is ongoing, although it must be said the defendants deny all charges (which include causing damage to Hadrian’s Wall, due to the tree falling on it). But in an interview, one defendent says that anger is so great at whoever did it, that ‘whoever has done it, is going to get 10 years for a tree’.
Theories on why this beautiful tree was destroyed with a chainsaw (from grudges to social media pranks) are mystifying. A bit like asking why so many of our piers have been set on fire by arsonists, no-one can comprehend why anyone would do this. Experts say the culprit would have been an expert, knowing that 83mph winds of Storm Agnes would have disguised the sound of the chainsaw – and that this had to be some kind of professional tree surgeon, in order to fell it.
Where (and what) is Hadrian’s Wall?
Sycamore Gap stands in a dip, in Hadrian’s Wall. This was built over six years, named after the Roman emperor who ordered its construction to form a defense barrier. It stretches from Cumbria in the northwest of England to Northumberland in North East England, and took 15,000 men to build it. Archaeologists have found many human skeletons here, including two bodies under a tavern floor (one had a dagger between his ribs, leading to one of the most famed unsolved murder mysteries).
Today it’s a popular tourist walk, offering panoramic views of the countryside. Although there is a 23 mile hilly bit (between Chollerford to Birdoswald), Hadrian’s Wall Path is considered the least taxing of England’s National Trails. It’s also very muddy, so best walked in summer.
The 84-mile long walk begins in Wallsend (a Tyneside town near Newcastle) and ends in the village of Bowness-on-Solway at Solway Estuary. This pretty town is popular with bird-watchers due to Bowness Sands being home to oystercatchers, plovers, curlews, turnstones and lots more feathered friends. Like all areas of this stretch of coast, keep away from sand dunes, due to sinking mud.
