Sycamore Gap Tree being stored in top secret location to stop souvenir hunters

22 October 2023 , 10:32

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The sycamore gap tree was removed by a crane (Image: Lee McLean/SWNS)

The Sycamore Gap tree is being stored in a secret location to protect it from souvenir hunters.

It was previously reported that police caught several members of the public trying to take pieces of the tree from the site where it was felled near Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. Since then, the tree has been removed from the site by a crane, and is now being kept at a storage facility by the National Trust.

Much-photographed and painted, the lone sycamore is considered to be one of the most famous trees in the world and an emblem for the North East of England. It was situated in a dramatic dip in the Northumberland landscape.

The famous tree was featured in the classic Kevin Costner movie Robin Hood, Prince Of Thieves (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The famous Sycamore Gap was cut down by vandals 15 days ago and has since been lifted from the site where it stood for more than a century. It was broken down into sections in preparation for the operation.

A crane was brought into place to carefully remove it from Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland. A long wire attached to a tractor was used to keep the main section of trunk in place as it was lifted from the historic site. Walkers and visitors spoke of their sadness at the loss of a 'symbol of Nature'.

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Lady Jane Gibson, chairwoman of the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership, told the Sunday Times: “The wood from the tree has been taken away and stored for safekeeping at a secure location. There were concerns people were taking pieces of it for mementoes, like what happened with the Berlin Wall, when people would take a piece as a keepsake."

“It is now being safely stored as we work on potential future uses for the timber.”

The National Trust has asked the public for suggestions on what to do with the leftover wood from the felled tree, with options including turning it into a bench where the tree once stood, or even making it into pencils.

Zesha Saleem