The Sycamore Gap Tree
The mindless morons that cut down the iconic tree at Sycamore Gap have been sentenced at last. The bottom line is that they will be out of prison again in around eighteen months. Now I know this is a divisive topic — I am still raging at the brutality of their action, and I’m not alone, while others are unsympathetic and saying “it’s just a tree, get over it”. Well, it isn’t just a tree and good luck suggesting that to anyone in the North East of England. It was crowned England’s Tree of the Year in 2016 and it also featured in the 1991 movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It is a lonely tree, standing on its own in that aesthetic dip next to Hadrian’s Wall but as trees go it is a major celebrity.
I’m not going to mention the names of the two men responsible for the shocking vandalism, partly because my fingers clench into fists of rage if I attempt to type them but mainly because they do not deserve to be remembered. The Sycamore Gap Tree, however, does not need us to remember it for the simple reason that it is not dead. That’s right — we are all mourning like it has gone forever but it is still very much alive and several new shoots have appeared around its stump. What we can be sad about is the fact it will never again have that breathtaking majesty that generations of people witnessed. Indeed, for the remainder of our lifetimes it may look like little more than a bush. It will take decades before it begins to fill that gap again in whatever multi-trunked form it takes but the important thing is it will still be there, alive and sucking carbon from our atmosphere and providing a focal point of history for future generations. It is thought to be up to 200 years old — just think how far that goes back in your own family, how many people have lived their lives in that time as the lone sycamore quietly went about its solitary existence. It survived two world wars but it was helpless against a little man with a big chainsaw.
People have talked about changing laws to give more protection to trees like this but no amount of law is ever going to stop bad men performing evil acts. No law would have protected the Sycamore Gap Tree.
The only way humans as a species can be prevented from committing atrocities like this is for us to undergo a fundamental change in our moral compasses. Every last one of us needs to have a mindset that thinks actions like this are not all right. It shouldn’t even cross our minds to do things like this let alone actually do them. Sadly, I don’t see human morality reaching the required level of enlightenment any time soon, if ever. It seems a more likely outcome that we will eventually destroy ourselves and our beautiful planet with us rather than attain a state of tranquillity and peaceful coexistence with all living things. But I don’t want to end this piece on a pessimistic note so I want to highlight once more the fact that the Sycamore Gap Tree lives on and has become a beacon of hope for its tenacity in adversity. It will rise again from the ground up and one day be a thriving entity providing a vital ecosystem for countless organisms and will be worshipped and revered long after the meaningless men that attempted to murder it are gone and forgotten. Let us also remember that the tree now has many children of its own, saplings carefully nurtured and grown from seeds and from budding and grafting techniques to ensure that genetically identical trees will be planted and grown all over the country. And perhaps in another 200 years from now your great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter will be stood beneath the famous tree accepting a proposal of marriage. Do not pity the Sycamore Gap Tree, rather just be in awe of the strength and determination it has to continue with calm dignity and rebuild its life from scratch. It should be an inspiration to us all.
Read more about the children of the Sycamore Gap Tree here:
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/north-east/hadrians-wall-and-housesteads-fort/trees-of-hope
and another piece here about a permanent art installation made from part of the felled tree:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/world/europe/sycamore-gap-tree-memorial.html
Photo by Clément Proust: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sycamore-gap-northumberland-national-park-royaume-uni-18554367/