The tree is sometimes called the “Robin Hood tree” because it was featured prominently in the Kevin Costner-led film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” released in 1991.
We are shocked and desperately saddened to learn that the famous Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian's Wall has been felled overnight, in what appears to be an act of vandalism.
— National Trust (@nationaltrust) September 28, 2023
We know just how much this iconic tree is loved locally, nationally and by everyone who has visited.
We are… pic.twitter.com/QqLMhanzgC
The tree stood proudly for hundreds of years, set alone in a dramatic dip in the Northumberland, England, landscape right by Hadrian’s Wall. Perhaps England’s most-photographed tree, the Sycamore Gap tree drew visitors from afar. It was even voted the English Tree of the Year in 2016.
Yesterday, a mindless idiot sawed it down.
I can’t express how angry I am at the vandalism of the tree at #SycamoreGap.
— Mayor Jamie Driscoll (@MayorJD) September 28, 2023
People have had their ashes scattered there. People have proposed there. I’ve picnicked there with my wife and kids. It’s part of our collective soul.
We must bring whoever did this to justice. pic.twitter.com/DLYcSj0tFE
See it in the credits to this star-studded movie
So who did it?
The BBC announced that a 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the felling of one of the UK’s most celebrated trees.