Sycamore Gap Tree

The Sycamore Gap tree, also known as the Robin Hood tree, was a 100–120-year-old sycamore tree next to Hadrian's Wall near Crag Lough in Northumberland, England. It was illegally felled in 2023 by Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, but has since sprouted from the stump. Standing in a dramatic dip in the landscape created by glacial meltwater, it was one of the country's most photographed trees and an emblem for the North East of England. It derived its alternative name from featuring in a prominent scene in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The tree won the 2016 England Tree of the Year award, part of the Woodland Trust's annual competition that celebrates culturally and environmentally significant trees across the UK. As the national winner for England, the Sycamore Gap tree received a £1,000 care grant funded by the People's Postcode Lottery. The tree was illegally felled in the early morning of 28 September 2023. Northumbria Police described the felling of the tree as "an act of vandalism". Two men from Cumbria, aged 38 and 31, were arrested in October 2023 and charged in April 2024 with criminal damage both to the tree and to the adjacent Hadrian's Wall. Their trial began on 28 April 2025 at Newcastle Crown Court and they were found guilty on 9 May. Both men were sentenced to 4 years and 3 months in jail on 15 July 2025. The stump has thrown up basal shoots and is still alive, albeit severely coppiced; the tree is expected to take more than 150 years to recover. Cuttings were also gathered from the tree.