Sycamore Gap stump shows 'encouraging' regrowth three years after illegal felling

Three years after the illegal felling that shocked the nation, the stump of the Sycamore Gap tree is showing signs of recovery, with a dense ring of fresh shoots emerging around its base.

The landmark, which stood beside Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, was deliberately cut down on 28 September 2023. The two men responsible, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, had travelled from their homes in Cumbria during a storm to carry out the attack with a chainsaw.

The National Trust, which looks after the site alongside Northumberland National Park, fenced off the remaining stump to give it the best chance of regenerating. Those efforts now appear to be bearing fruit.

Andrew Poad, the trust's general manager, said he was "filled with hope by the way nature is taking its course". He described the flourishing shoots as "really encouraging" and said they demonstrated that the special measures taken at the site were working.

Those measures have included reducing soil compaction around the tree's roots and limiting disturbance from the many visitors who continue to travel to the remote spot. Poad said the trust was grateful to those visitors for supporting its efforts to give the tree "the best possible chance to thrive".

He added that the tree is being monitored closely, and that rangers will manage its development over time depending on how it grows. The new growth offers a measure of optimism more than two years after the tree was reduced to a stump.

The felling provoked widespread outrage when news of the loss emerged. The tree had been planted in the late 1800s and had become one of the most photographed landmarks in northern England, drawing visitors from around the world to the dramatic gap in the landscape where it grew.

Its global fame was boosted by its appearance in a scene from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner. Over the decades it became a favourite subject for photographers and artists, as well as a symbol of the wider Northumberland countryside.

Graham and Carruthers were jailed for four years and three months in July 2025 for their roles in destroying the tree and damaging the Roman wall beside it. They were 39 and 32 respectively at the time of their conviction.

The court heard that the pair filmed themselves carrying out the attack and took away a wedge of the trunk as a trophy. Graham, a groundworker from near Carlisle, and Carruthers, a mechanic from Wigton, never offered an explanation for what prosecutors described as a "moronic mission", instead seeking to blame one another during the trial.

Their convictions related to criminal damage to both the Victorian-planted tree and the Roman wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The case attracted national and international attention, underlining the affection in which the tree was held.

In the aftermath of the felling, the National Trust gathered seedlings from the tree and kept them at a secret location to help preserve its legacy. Saplings were later donated to community groups and charities across the country.

Art projects were also launched to highlight the importance of nature and to condemn the illegal felling. These initiatives formed part of a wider effort to ensure that the story of the tree would continue to have a positive impact long after its destruction.

The site remains a popular destination, and the trust has balanced public access with the need to protect the recovering stump. The fence around it, which incorporates wire mesh, is intended to keep people at a distance while allowing the new shoots to develop undisturbed.

The Roman wall itself snakes across the green hills surrounding the stump, and the location continues to draw walkers and day-trippers to the Northumberland National Park. For many, the tree's absence remains a painful reminder of what was lost.

Yet the appearance of a thick layer of new growth has given those who campaigned for the tree's protection a reason to feel hopeful. The shoots do not represent a return of the original sycamore, but they do suggest that the root system survived the attack.

Whether the stump will eventually develop into a substantial tree remains uncertain, and the trust has cautioned that its future will depend on how the shoots progress. Rangers will continue to assess the site and intervene as necessary.

For now, the National Trust's message is one of cautious optimism. The organisation says the regrowth is a testament to the resilience of nature and to the care taken by its staff and volunteers in the wake of the felling.

The story of the Sycamore Gap tree is far from over. From a secret seed bank to community saplings and now new shoots on the original stump, its legacy continues to grow in multiple forms across the country.