Who cut down the Sycamore Gap tree? Everything we know
Two men have denied felling the famous tree and will go on trial in December.
The National Trust is offering people the opportunity to request one of 49 saplings of the Sycamore Gap tree to be planted around the UK.
It comes a year after the famous tree in Northumberland was illegally felled, with the offering of 49 saplings reflecting its 49ft height.
Northumberland National Park Authority is also marking the one-year anniversary with the opening of an exhibition to celebrate the tree's life.
The much-photographed and visited sycamore was cut down overnight between September 27 and 28 last year, provoking a wave of shock and disbelief.
Who has been charged with felling the Sycamore Gap tree?
Adam Carruthers, of Wigton, and Daniel Graham, of Carlisle, were charged in relation to the felling of the tree and are scheduled to go on trial on 3 December.
They are jointly accused of causing criminal damage worth £622,191 to the tree.
They are also charged with causing £1,144 worth of damage to Hadrian’s Wall, a Unesco World Heritage Site, which was hit by the tree when it was felled.
Carruthers and Graham denied the charges at separate hearings in June and August.
Where was the Sycamore Gap tree?
The frequently photographed tree, made famous when it appeared in the 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, was located in Northumberland next to Hadrian’s Wall and close to the village of Once Brewed.
The landmark, which inspired its own beer in the nearby Twice Brewed Inn, was described as one of the most photographed in the country and was named tree of the year by the Woodland Trust in 2016.
A reward of a £1,500 bar tab was offered by the pub for anyone with information that could help find who chopped the iconic tree down.
The 49ft tree was looked after by the Northumberland National Park Authority and the National Trust.
Where is the Sycamore Gap tree now?
The stump of the Sycamore Gap tree has been fenced off.
The largest remaining section of the tree is being displayed at The Sill landscape discovery centre, near the site of the tree, as part of a temporary exhibition marking the one-year anniversary of the felling. Organisers said it will help people "process what happened".
Previously, the rest of the tree was being stored in a secret location to protect it from souvenir hunters. According to The Sunday Times, police caught several members of the public trying to take pieces of the tree from the site where it was felled.
Lady Jane Gibson, chairwoman of the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership, told the paper: “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.”
How old was the Sycamore Gap tree?
The National Trust is also launching an opportunity for people to request one of 49 Sycamore Gap saplings to be gifted to their communities around the UK, reflecting the 49ft height of the tree. As part of this Trees of Hope initiative, Henshaw Church of England Primary School, which is closest to the Sycamore Gap, and all 15 UK national parks will receive a sapling.
The tree was estimated to have been at least 300 years old and while experts have said new shoots are expected to grow from it, it will never be the same again. National Trust general manager Andrew Poad said the stump was “healthy” and staff might be able to coppice the tree: a technique allowing new shoots to grow from the base of a trunk.
Rob Ternent, head gardener at The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland, said the tree will start growing again but “won’t ever be the same shape or as good of a tree as it was”.
