The Sycamore Gap tree is regenerating itself, delighting experts

Ten months ago, a ranger on the Hadrian’s Wall Path discovered a shocking crime: The widely loved Sycamore Gap tree had been chopped down. Fans mourned the loss of a beautiful landmark; arborists rushed to preserve legacy cuttings.
 
But now it seems the tree is acting on its own.

“I remember saying hurriedly that it was gone” after finding the felled sycamore in Northumberland, England, the ranger, Gary Pickles, said in a message sent to NPR.

So Pickles was tickled to spot signs of new life when he visited the tree site on a recent walk. There, ringing the base of its stump, were eight small shoots, sporting delicate young leaves. They’re small — rising to only around an inch and a half — but they could loom large in the future.

Each shoot has “the potential to form part of a new canopy for the regenerated tree,” according to the National Trust and Northumberland National Park Authority.

Experts with the U.K.'s National Trust had said the tree might regenerate itself, citing its good health. But they predicted the process would take years. So to ensure it could live on in some form, they worked to sprout seeds and grow cuttings.

“We always had hope that nature would find a way to recover, and to see signs of life, just ten months on is astonishing,” Andrew Poad, general manager for the National Trust at Hadrian’s Wall, said.

“Our aim is to leave all eight shoots to grow for a few years — to see how they develop,” Poad added. “In time we’ll be able to decide how to manage the tree — as a coppiced stool or considering whether to reduce to a single tree at some point in the future. ”

For now, the tree’s caretakers will make sure its root zone is protected. The next few months are “vitally important,” Poad said, to determine if the shoots can succeed in forming a reinvigorated tree.

Pickles noticed the new shoots after making the walk up to the stump as part of the planning to mark the first anniversary of the tree being felled.

As he said, “In my head I had consigned the tree to history and so I am amazed and delighted that it may have a future after all and is making a go of it.”

The 200-year-old sycamore’s scenic location alongside Hadrian's Wall made it a favorite destination for visitors on walks and picnics. It also appeared in countless Instagram photographs, and at least one feature film, Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. 

Last fall, police deemed the tree’s felling a deliberate act of vandalism, and although a 16-year-old boy was initially arrested, he was released as investigators shifted their focus, arresting other suspects. In May, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, both in their 30s, appeared in court to face charges of criminal damage to the tree and also Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Their trial is slated to begin in late 2024.