It was a majestic maple, two hundred years old. He is now lying on his side. One of the UK’s best-known trees, made famous by the film Robin Hood, was deliberately shot dead, the victim of an act of “vandalism”. The Sycamore Gap tree, isolated at the foot of two hills in a spectacular landscape, stood very close to Hadrian’s Wall, built in Roman times to prevent the invasion of barbarians, a World Heritage Site Unesco.
In 2016, it was voted “tree of the year”. In the movie Robin Hood, released in 1991, we saw Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman walking in front of this impressive tree, which was a delight for hikers in the north-east of England. It was one of the most photographed trees in the UK. But on Thursday morning, walkers discovered its bare stump. And the rest of the tree lying on Hadrian’s Wall.
A teenager in police custody
The national park manager quickly declared that it had been “deliberately shot”. Northumbria Police, who opened an investigation, announced the arrest of a 16-year-old boy on Thursday afternoon. “The damage to the tree was the result of a deliberate act of vandalism,” she said in a statement. The teenager is in police custody. “He is assisting the officers in their investigation,” police said.
“Today’s events have caused shock, sadness and anger,” said Police Director Kevin Waring. Several local residents visited the site, as if to pay homage to the Sycamore Gap. Flowers were even placed near the stump, in front of the security cordon set up by the police.
“People in tears”
“I feel a real sense of loss,” said Tony Gates, director of the Northumberland National Park Authority, the national park manager. “We had people in tears today,” he added. “We have been overwhelmed by messages on social media, on our site, from people sincerely touched by this loss.”
The National Trust, an organization for the protection of heritage, said on X (formerly Twitter) that it was “shocked and desperately sad”. “We know how much this tree is loved locally, nationally, and by everyone who has seen it.” The tree has been “an important and iconic feature of the landscape for almost 200 years,” added National Trust director Andrew Poad.
Chainsaw blow on the hearts of the English
Many people, including members of hiking groups, shared their dismay and happy memories near the tree, on site and on social media. “It’s a shame that someone came to vandalize this beautiful corner of nature,” lamented Ryan Knotman, a 40-year-old technician.
A man described proposing to his wife at the foot of Sycamore Gap. According to Tony Gates, some even scattered the ashes of their deceased loved ones here. Local MP Mary Foy denounced a “stupid” and “heartbreaking” act of vandalism of an iconic place in the north-east of England. On the social network