Felled Sycamore Gap stump has 'encouraging' growth

The stump of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree is showing "encouraging" signs with a thick ring of new shoots growing around it, three years on from its illegal felling.

The landmark on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland was targeted on 28 September 2023 by Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, who travelled during a storm from their homes in Cumbria to cut it down.

Their actions sparked widespread outrage and the pair were later jailed for criminal damage to the Victorian-planted tree and Roman wall.

Site owners the National Trust fenced off the stump to see if it would recover, with general manager Andrew Poad saying he is "filled with hope by the way nature is taking its course".

He said: "These flourishing shoots are really encouraging and show the special measures we've taken, including reducing soil compaction around the roots and limiting human disturbance, are paying off."

Poad said the trust was grateful to visitors supporting their efforts to give the tree "the best possible chance to thrive".

He added: "We're monitoring the tree closely and, over time, our rangers will manage it depending on how it develops."

After the tree was felled, seedlings were kept in a secret National Trust centre to help preserve the legacy of the much-photographed landmark.

Saplings were then donated to community groups and charities around the country, with art projects launched to highlight nature's importance and condemn the illegal felling.

Graham and Carruthers were jailed for four years and three months in July 2025 for their roles in chopping down the tree with a chainsaw.

The pair, who were 39 and 32 at the time of their conviction, filmed themselves in the act and took a wedge of trunk away as a trophy.

Graham, a groundworker from near Carlisle, and Carruthers, a mechanic from Wigton, never explained the motive for what prosecutors called a "moronic mission", but sought to blame each other during the trial.

The tree was planted in the late 1800s and became a much-loved visitor destination and landmark at the former frontier of the Roman Empire.

It found global fame after featuring in a scene of the 1991 film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, and was popular with photographers and artists.

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