Robin Hood's tree now a stump (iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall)

[StoneRoad]

Some time overnight 27 to 28th September some {blankedy blank *******king} person felled the Sycamore at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall.
Absolutely gutted at the deliberate vandalism.

Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian's Wall cut down by 'vandals'

Police are investigating if the much-loved landmark was deliberately cut down by vandals.

www.bbc.co.uk

Northumberland National Park and the police are investigating ...

Sycamore Gap Update • Northumberland National Park

Northumberland National Park Authority can confirm that sadly, the famous tree at Sycamore Gap has come down over night.

www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk

{edited to remove the unwanted strikethrough}

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

Maybe some Tory and Labour councillors from Plymouth and Sheffield got together for a short holiday in the North East. Seriously though, some fuckers went to a lot of trouble to do this. Why, ffs?

 

[StoneRoad]

Must see if I actually have any more images of the now missing landmark

RIP - ROBIN HOOD'S TREE

By StoneRoad2013. Both a world famous icon and a movie star. Won the 2016 "Tree of the Year" run by the Woodland Trust. Was felled overnight 27th-28th September 2023 [not by the storm "Agnes"] as an…

www.ipernity.com

 

[skyscraper101]

 

[moochedit]

That's the place my brother proposed to my sister in law and i think they were planning to visit it for their 20th which is in a month or so

 

[BoatieBird]

I can (kind of) understand people sneakily felling trees if they get in the way of development/building etc., I still think those people are arseholes mind.
But this, I just can't understand what anyone would gain by it
Very sad.

 

[moochedit]

I can (kind of) understand people sneakily felling trees if they get in the way of development/building etc., I still think those people are arseholes mind.
But this, I just can't understand what anyone would gain by it
Very sad.

There are some twats about. Probably Alcohol involved as well (not that that is an excuse of course).

 

[farmerbarleymow]

What complete bastard would do this? I guess it'd take a fair bit of effort to get up there to chop it down so it seems like it must have been planned.

 

[A380]

I hate things like this far more than I should. Something about selfish fuckers damaging things that bring small amounts of joy to lots of people's lives.

Like when people steal those crocheted things on top of pillar boxes...

 

[LDC]

Appropriate punishment for whoever did this, chopping off at the knees maybe.

 

[platinumsage]

Maybe a landowner/farmer annoyed by the all the extra Instagram tourists it brought.

 

[danny la rouge]

Fucking hell. This makes me angry and sad. Utter cocks.

 

[moochedit]

Maybe a landowner/farmer annoyed by the all the extra Instagram tourists it brought.

Yeah wouldn't surprise me.

 

[QueenOfGoths]

I can (kind of) understand people sneakily felling trees if they get in the way of development/building etc., I still think those people are arseholes mind.
But this, I just can't understand what anyone would gain by it
Very sad.

That was my first thought too. But this is just of no benefit. It's bizarre and awful

 

[StoneRoad]

Just had another conversation about this disgusting vandalism.

It was suggested that maybe it was the local landowner {except most of the land the wall stands on is owned by ... The National Trust !}
or maybe it was someone else mightily dischuffed with the tourist industry around here - possible but too many jobs & places rely on tourists ...
or maybe it was some deranged nutter who gets off on vandalising well - loved public landmarks

for the latter - what's next, if they succeed in getting away with this ?

Whoever it was, they would have needed to be able to properly operate a long reach timber chain saw - and the whole effort would have taken quite an effort to plan and execute - the nearest road is someway away, even if they used an ATV ...

oh, for cctv / apnr coverage ...
think the police should be checking on chain saws ...

 

[Brainaddict]

Very sad. I hope they find who did it cos they must be a proper psycho.

Some speculation on twitter that it might be anti-woke warriors taking vengeance on the national trust for being too woke, but it's probably a bit of a reach. You'd think they would have left a note explaining why they'd done it if it were for that reason.

 

[kebabking]

Unless it's some complete weirdo, I'd put money on it being the tenant farmer.

The National Park will make money from the existence of this tree, as will Northumberland CC, and every artist, photographer, B&B, hotel, campsite, pub, and Airbnb within 20 miles.

The one person who won't will also be the one person who has to deal with their gates blocked by tourists (and people like photographers will make money from the tree), as well as endless piles of litter and shit that pose a hazard to the farmers livestock, as well as the disturbance from walkers, campers and dogs.

I would put solid money on the tenant farmer having repeatedly asked the NT, as well as the NP and the council, for help in dealing with the tourism impact, but getting nowhere - and I'd put just as much money on him being rejected out of hand if he'd sought permission to monetise the access points by charging for parking or putting up a burger van.

If you want the class analysis, it's the lowly paid worker getting none of the benefits of tourism, and having to clean up the shit, while the much more affluent both enjoy the landscape and profit from it.

I deplore it, I've a picture somewhere of my eldest sitting under that tree and smiling in the sunlight. She was three, and it was a week before her mum and I decided to divorce.

However, this is (probably) a symptom of a system where the people who suffer most from the negative effects of mass tourism are the people who get the least economic benefit from it.

 

[pogofish]

Maybe a landowner/farmer annoyed by the all the extra Instagram tourists it brought.

I'd be thinking along the same lines. I've seen similar acts of vandalism to try to deter access/visitors to ancient monuments/beauty spots round me - although not on the same breathtaking scale as this act of vandalism.

I'm also concerned that the tree seems to have been felled by someone who knows what they are doing - the paint marks to guide the cut etc. Local/estate foresters/tree professionals should be facing questions..?

Is there no hope of a rescue graft to try and save it? I've seen the tree specialist at work save mature trees in our Arboretum that way before.

 

[8ball]

What complete bastard would do this?

Fucking nihilists

 

[moochedit]

If it was a local pissed of with tourists then they probably got the idea from the "wonky pub". Hard to prove who did it. I doubt there was cctv in the area.

 

[redcogs]

Wanton vandalism of the worst kind. TBH i prefer trees to many human beings.. Not a feeling i enjoy.. but trees do little harm, they provide habitat for critters, look beautiful, hold the wisdom of many decades of existence. Many humans by contrast, particularly the utter utter cunts who did this need a lesson taught. WTF

 

[StoneRoad]

As I said, the landlord is the NT and IIRC the tenant farmers for that area run a campsite / holiday cottage ...

I live less than five minutes drive from Sycamore Gap, and the only people that bollox up the local roads by parking like pricks are the hunts.
Even in the height of the holiday & walking seasons it is very rare to find cars parked in gateways, even in the busiest [central] part of the wall.
There are official car parks at Housesteads, The Sill, Steel Rigg, Walltown Quarry and other places, plus a number of unofficial laybys, none of which block gateways.
Although Housesteads and The Sill can get very busy, I don't think I've ever seen them completely full - and of course there are other places to park and the AD122 service to get you about ...

Surprisingly, litter is less of a problem than even I would accept. There isn't much need for wild camping as there are plenty of official sites / hostels - all spaced out within the usual day's walk apart ...

Most of the animals pastured up by and on the wall trail have had years to get used to walkers passing by, all their life in some cases. More of a problem is getting the cows to shift so you can climb the stile .... several farmers fenced off The Wall Trail into a narrow strip and that gets sheep only in the walking season.

If someone wanted to discourage tourism, a better target would be The Sill, or the brewery next door, or the cafe at Housesteads. Even nails for punctured tyres at Steel Rigg carpark ...

 

[StoneRoad]

If it was a local pissed of with tourists then they probably got the idea from the "wonky pub". Hard to prove who did it. I doubt there was cctv in the area.

The way that the tree was cut down implies somewhat more brains / skills than pouring out some accelerant and throwing down a lit rag.

 

[moochedit]

The way that the tree was cut down implies somewhat more brains / skills than pouring out some accelerant and throwing down a lit rag.

Yeah i'm sure you are right. I was thinking alcohol involved at first but i think now it must have taken some planning.

 

[StoneRoad]

Yeah i'm sure you are right. I was thinking alcohol involved at first but i think now it must have taken some planning.

The initial idea might have been a product of imbibing too much alcohol, but the execution itself probably didn't.

 

[LDC]

Surely they'll catch them, can't be hard to check CCTV nearby for a small time window in which it was done and then visit a few people, also people tend to boast or have mentioned the plan to someone so they quite likely might get grassed up. Can't imagine any serious charge or offence though, but imagine they might have their face and life splashed over the media with all that entails.

 

[pogofish]

As I said, the landlord is the NT and IIRC the tenant farmers for that area run a campsite / holiday cottage ...

I live less than five minutes drive from Sycamore Gap, and the only people that bollox up the local roads by parking like pricks are the hunts.
Even in the height of the holiday & walking seasons it is very rare to find cars parked in gateways, even in the busiest [central] part of the wall.
There are official car parks at Housesteads, The Sill, Steel Rigg, Walltown Quarry and other places, plus a number of unofficial laybys, none of which block gateways.
Although Housesteads and The Sill can get very busy, I don't think I've ever seen them completely full - and of course there are other places to park and the AD122 service to get you about ...

Surprisingly, litter is less of a problem than even I would accept. There isn't much need for wild camping as there are plenty of official sites / hostels - all spaced out within the usual day's walk apart ...

Most of the animals pastured up by and on the wall trail have had years to get used to walkers passing by, all their life in some cases. More of a problem is getting the cows to shift so you can climb the stile .... several farmers fenced off The Wall Trail into a narrow strip and that gets sheep only in the walking season.

If someone wanted to discourage tourism, a better target would be The Sill, or the brewery next door, or the cafe at Housesteads. Even nails for punctured tyres at Steel Rigg carpark ...

Yes, when I went there, years ago, I parked at Steel Rig and walked along the Pennine Way. This was before the movies etc, so we had it all to ourselves. Lovely spot.

I see someone has already been on to Google maps and renamed it to "Sycamore Stump" - just in the last few minutes!

 

[Saffy]

I'm so sad about this. Just awful.

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

My working hypothesis is some guy's marriage went to shit. This was the tree that he proposed under. This is a "fuck you" to the ex, and everyone else.

This tree is really popular with proposals and there's loads of "love bridges" that get vandalized for the same reason. People trying to remove the locks after nasty break ups end up breaking the railings.

I doubt it's land owners or locals. A disgruntled angry bloke is much more likely.

 

[JimW]

They transplant quite mature trees here when they want to landscape a major project. Could that be done? Suppose climate not so conducive.