Summary

  • The deliberate felling of one of the UK's most famous trees has triggered an emotional response for thousands

  • The lone tree at Northumberland's Sycamore Gap was a symbol of the area and has been seen in numerous films - including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

  • One of the most photographed in the country, it stands in a dramatic dip in Hadrian's Wall

  • We've been hearing your stories about the tree - from proposals under its branches to the scattering of ashes around the landmark

  • As angry as many are about what has happened, there is hope that new shoots could grow from the tree's stump

  • A 16-year-old was arrested by police and has since been released on bail

Live Reporting

Edited by Jamie Whitehead

  1. Share your stories of the Sycamore Gap tree with us

    Banner saying Get in Touch.

    A reminder that you can let us know your thoughts and memories of the Northumberland landmark. Perhaps you got engaged there or it was a special place for your family?

    We'd love to hear tales of other trees that are special to you as well.

    And don’t forget to send us pictures.

    Please get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

    Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

  2. Watch: The Sycamore Gap... then, and now

    Watch: The Sycamore Gap... then, and now

  3. Around 150 years to develop into anything close to what we have lost - Woodland Trust

    We mentioned earlier that new shoots may be able to grow from the base of the tree trunk - but it's going to take time for the tree to become what it was.

    "We would expect new growth to start next spring or summer but it will take a few years to develop into even a small tree, and around 150 to 200 years before it is anywhere close to what we have lost," says Mark Feather, the estate manager at the Woodland Trust.

    "Achieving a single stem will require some ongoing maintenance", he adds.

    Stump of the tree after it was felledIAN SPROAT
    Tree stumpNorthumberland National Park

    The Woodland Trust said it was "hopeful that it will re-sprout", with "regrowth expected in spring or summer 2024".

    However, the trust warned the tree would not be replaced "within any visable timeframe".

    Not all sycamores, especially when they are very mature, will re-sprout but we are hopeful that this one will. It is possible the tree will re-sprout from the edges of the trunk with new shoots, however, this tends to lead to a multi-stemmed tree developing, rather than the single-stemmed tree that has been lost. A single-stem tree could be achieved by removing all but one of the new shoots that will develop.

    Mark Feather, Woodland Trust estate manager

  4. In Pictures: 'An iconic landmark, a photographer's dream'

    Photographer Owen Humphreys has shared some of the images of the tree he's taken over the years.

    Sycamore gapPA Media
    Sycamore gapPA Media
    Sycamore gapPA Media
    Sycamore gapPA Media

  5. 'It was a film star'

    Messages left on stones beneath the remains of the tree at Sycamore Gap next to Hadrian's WallEPA/EFE

    Messages left on stones beneath the remains of the tree

    "It's so grim, I felt sick, as so many people did, when I saw it," says writer and environmentalist Prof Robert McFarlane.

    "It was a film star, it was a tree that ashes were scattered under, marriages were made under it, it was a shelter for tired walkers."

    He points out that it was chopped down on the eve of the State of Nature report's publication - an audit of how things are faring for the living world in the UK.

    "Nature is under attack and has been for a long time in these islands," he said, adding: "We have not looked after our woods well."

    But he added: "When you lose something like this, what a response it's pulled out - grief, poems, paintings, drawings, photographs, stories and memories.

    "The question is how do we now use that strength of feeling and turn it to the good?"

  6. Your emails: A poem on the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree

    Owen HumphreysOwen Humphreys/PA

    Ruth from Newcastle was on holiday in France when she heard about the tree.

    She has written a poem in tribute:

    What can we call you now?

    No longer Sycamore Gap

    The gap the goal

    A gaping sky-filled hole

    Branches reaching up are down

    Grasping grass and stone

    The tree felled

    Severed Ended Gone

    The gap is just a random gap

    Without a name

  7. 'Our family used to walk there - it's a loss'

    Miles Courage with family and friends at the Sycamore Gap tree in 2022Miles Courage

    Miles Courage with family and friends at the Sycamore Gap tree in 2022

    Miles Courage lives in Hampshire and had a family reunion at the Sycamore Gap tree last year.

    “We grew up in Northumberland and I am one of four siblings. When we get together at Christmas and half term we often go there. It is such a memorable and cool tree in an amazing location and is unique. I also had a photo in 1992 with friends in the tree and now the next generation can't do that. It’s a loss”

    Miles Courage

  8. In pictures: The tree that was 'perfection' for photographers

    Sycamore Gap tree at sunsetTOM WRIGHT
    Sycamore Gap tree in the sunshineMARK BEADLE
    Sycamore Gap treeFRANCESCA WILLIAMS

  9. More of your reaction: 'It makes me feel like crying'

    What an act of sheer stupidity. This tree wasn't just a north-east icon, it was a national icon. A photographer's dream. I have seen and walked past this tree many times and it was always awe-inspiring from wherever you saw it."

    Sagar in Leeds

    Why not start a public fund to erect a monument of some sort? Could be a competition to design something appropriate and permanent."

    Rodney in Carlisle

    My sister and I walked along Hadrian's Wall in May 2021. Coming into our 70s this was quite a feat for us. En route to Sycamore Gap, I fell in some very boggy ground which had a detrimental effect on my footwear (to say the least!), but just coming over the brow of the hill and down to see that beautiful sycamore tree lifted our spirits no end. Now that it's no longer there makes me feel like crying."

    Catherine McCabe in East Anglia

  10. Boy, 16, bailed pending further inquiries
    Breaking

    A 16-year-old boy has been released on bail pending further inquiries over the felling of the tree.

    The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage on Thursday.

  11. Charity walker devastated by loss of tree

    Vivienne Ranson has got in touch to tell us about a recent charity walk she did which went past it.

    The photo shows our UHNM haematology/cancer care unit fundraising team last Saturday at Sycamore Gap walking 26 miles for lymphoma. So devastated that this tree has been removed by vandals."

    Vivienne Ranson

    Charity walker Vivienne Ranson and friends at the Sycamore Gap tree last SaturdayVivienne Ranson

    Charity walker Vivienne Ranson and friends at the Sycamore Gap tree last Saturday

  12. How Sycamore Gap tree could regrow by coppicing stump

    Samantha Jagger
    BBC News, NE and Cumbria

    Sycamore Gap tree after it was felledReuters

    As we've been reporting, National Trust general manager Andrew Poad told us earlier that the stump of the tree was "healthy" and they might be able to coppice it so that new shoots grow from the base of a trunk.

    Here's how that would work:

    • Coppicing is a technique that involves felling trees at their base to create a stump, known as the stool, where new shoots will grow
    • The shoots regrow from dormant buds at the base of the stump to create dense stands of multi-stemmed trees.
    • It dates back to the Stone Age and was originally used to ensure a regular source of firewood and timber.

  13. 'So sad to see it gone'

    Sycamore Gap Tree in August 2023George Richford

    George's partner Tiggy Brearley in front of the Sycamore Gap tree in August

    We're asking for your memories of the Sycamore Gap, as well as other trees which have a special meaning to you.

    George has got in touch to tell that seeing the tree on a wild and stormy day recently was a "wonderful moment".

    "I took the photos of this just over a month ago at Sycamore Gap on a wild and stormy day. It was just astonishing. I was exhausted, it was a wonderful moment. My partner and I were walking the stretch of Hadrian’s Wall. We are devastated to see it gone. It was less than month ago and it's so sad to see it gone now."

    George Richford

    George and his partner Tiggy Brearley visited the tree just a few weeks ago.

  14. Share your stories of the Sycamore Gap tree with us

    Banner saying Get in Touch.

    People’s love of trees is strong - the outpouring of emotion over the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree is testament to that.

    So let us know your thoughts and memories of the Northumberland landmark. Perhaps you got engaged there or it was a special place for your family?

    We'd love to hear tales of other trees that are special to you as well.

    And don’t forget to send us pictures.

    Please get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

    Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

  15. Tree at Sycamore Gap could regrow - National Trust

    The sycamore tree at Sycamore GapNNPA

    This morning, we've learned that the the tree's stump was healthy, which means that it could regrow.

    National Trust manager Andrew Poad told BBC Breakfast earlier: "It's a very healthy tree, we can see that now, because of the condition of the stump".

    "It may well regrow from the coppice of the stump", he aded.

    And if we could nurture that, then that might be one of the best outcomes, and then we keep the tree."

  16. A famous tree felled - but hope may not be lost

    Jo Couzens
    Live reporter

    People take pictures of the felled treePA Media

    The deliberate cutting down of one of the UK's most famous trees on Wednesday night has prompted an emotional response from thousands.

    People have been sharing images of themselves on social media standing in front of the iconic tree at Sycamore Gap, beside Hadrian’s wall in Northumberland.

    The beloved landmark – known as Robin Hood’s Tree - was named Tree of the Year in 2016 and featured in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner.

    But all may not be lost, as the National Trust offers a glimmer of hope that new shoots could grow from the base of the “healthy” tree stump.

    A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

    Stay with us as we bring you stories, tributes and images of this special tree.