ROSIE HOLDSWORTH : Hello and welcome to Wild Tales. I'm Rosie
Holdsworth and for this episode I'm handing you over to gardens
expert Heather Birkett. Nine months ago we released a podcast
about a tree that moved an entire nation. This was no
ordinary tree but one that stood majestically in a gap between
the hills. A tree so iconic it became a symbol of the landscape
itself.
HEATHER BIRKETT: On the 28th of September 2023, the world
reacted with shock and sorrow to the news that the Sycamore Gap
tree had been felled overnight. Over the following year, we were
able to go behind the scenes and gain access to the people
closest to this story to uncover how this crisis unfolded, what
happened next, and why it's meant so much to so many. And
now, because of the renewed interest in the tree. We're
re-releasing this episode, complete with an update at the
end, sharing the latest conservation news from Sycamore
Gap.
As I sit with a cuppa, I can't help but reflect on the
headlines that echoed around the globe. This one says, "Sycamore
Gap, iconic tree seen lying next To Hadrian's Wall after being
felled." Another declares, " Famous Sycamore Gap Tree Found
Cut Down Overnight." And one particularly poignant
headline, "The last time I visited Sycamore Gap, I never
imagined I would never see it again."
I start my journey in December 2023, just over two months after
the felling, to try and understand the impact of this
loss firsthand.
We've come to Northumberland. We're surrounded by green
rolling hills, which rise gently up and then drop away sharply,
giving the whole landscape a sense that it's been tilted on
its side. It feels remote, other than a few cottages and the
occasional sound of a tractor or a car, and this fantastic stone
wall. It's been here for 1,900 years. Hadrian's Wall is a real
feature of the landscape. So we've reached a gap between two
hills. At the bottom of the gap there's this fenced off
enclosure which surrounds the stump that used to be the
Sycamore Gap tree and I'm hoping to meet Andrew and Luke here
today who are going to tell me a bit more about what happened.
LUKE STRASZEWSKI: Hi I'm Luke, I'm one of the ranger team up
here on the Hadrian's Wall estate.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Hi nice to meet you.
ANDREW POAD: My name's Andrew Poad, I'm general manager for
Northumberland Coast in Hadrian's Wall country and as
you can hear in the background I've got my dogs with me today
so I've got Goose who's whining.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Hello, Goose
ANDREW POAD: She's only eight months old, and Archie was much
older and just sat quietly in the background.
HEATHER BIRKETT: So why do you think the tree was so iconic?
ANDREW POAD: It was a recognised landmark prior to its appearance
in Prince of Thieves back in 1991. That was the launch of its
career. It was referred to locally as the Kevin Costner
tree because of the film. And then my belief is with the
advent of social media, it became that symbol that
everybody wanted to capture for their Instagram moment. And in
so doing became... emblematic of this part of the world.
HEATHER BIRKETT: As well as finding fame in the Hollywood
blockbuster Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, the tree was also
awarded the title "English Tree of the Year," in 2016 by the
Woodland Trust, a further testament to its popularity.
We have a fenced off area here. It's about three metres square.
And in the centre, there is what I can only describe as a
significantly large tree stump. Luke. Tell me what's happened
here.
LUKE STRASZEWSKI: The tree was a pretty striking part of the
landscape. It was around 15 metres tall, but it had a good
canopy. It was in good health. This, sadly, was felled
overnight in an act of vandalism. And the fence is up
now round to protect the stump in the hopes that we'll get some
regeneration.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Andrew, were you the first to get the call
when this happened?
ANDREW POAD: Yeah, the National Park are based at the Sill,
which is just within sight of where we are now. Their staff
spotted there was something missing on their way into work.
So I got a call from them. Initial reaction was that it was
a hoax, because we've had hoaxes in the past, and then we had had
storm Agnes the night before. The initial thought was that
it's somehow blown down. But then very quickly, they managed
to get the National Trail Ranger on site, who was able to clarify
that it had actually been cut down. So that shifted things
considerably from a natural accident to a deliberate act.
HEATHER BIRKETT: And it didn't take long for the news to
spread.
ANDREW POAD: Within the hour, the whole world knew because it
hit social media, my work channels, my personal channels,
everything started lighting up in front of me.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Luke, you came down here and found a felled
tree. What happened next?
LUKE STRASZEWSKI: Our first priority was to make sure that
the site was safe because the tree had fallen onto the North
side and it was hanging up in the air. So the first thing we
needed to do was make sure that it wasn't shifting, that it
wasn't a risk to the public. So we cordoned off the area just to
make sure no one could get too close to it. And at that point,
obviously, our thought turned to what can we do to preserve the
tree. Over the next couple of days, we collected cuttings, we
collected seed with the hope that we can get some
regeneration and so that we can hopefully get a new Sycamore Gap
tree.
HEATHER BIRKETT: The seeds and cuttings were immediately sent
on to the National Trust Plant Conservation Centre, a
specialist plant nursery. But there was still the pressing
matter of what to do with the tree.
ANDREW POAD: It was apparent to us, to everybody really, that we
needed to come up with a plan to remove the tree effectively.
HEATHER BIRKETT: The team then began preparing the site for the
tree's removal. But as Luke explains, there were a few
challenges to overcome.
LUKE STRASZEWSKI: So the first issue we had with it is the tree
had fallen onto Hadrian's Wall itself, and so we needed to do
what we could to preserve. the UNESCO World Heritage Site. That
meant we were quite limited in our options. That meant we
needed to lift it off the wall. So that meant we were going to
have to get a crane in.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Bringing a piece of machinery that size
into the gap was a first.
LUKE STRASZEWSKI: We are quite fortunate in that the tree was
used as a filming location for Robin Hood and a road was put
in. That meant that we could get it quite close, but it was very
tricky. Sections of the tree had to be removed bit by bit. And
they had to be held back as well to make sure that they didn't
roll or fall in any way. We used the crane to lift it out and
then we moved all of that wood onto a trailer and that was
taken away to another location.
ANDREW POAD: It was quite a challenge, we had the world's
media sat on the little hill to the south of us so not only were
we doing something totally unprecedented we'd never done
before but we had all the cameras pointing at us while we
we were doing it. So that was a bit of a tense few hours.
HEATHER BIRKETT: On Friday the 13th of October, the tree was
carefully lifted off Hadrian's Wall and covertly transported to
a top secret location within the National Trust. But as a
sycamore is part of the Acer family, the team needed to act
quickly. The clock was ticking the moment it was felled, as the
sugars within the wood could quickly lead to fungi and decay.
To preserve it as best as possible, The tree was put under
the care of a specialist team until a decision could be made
on its future.
I can see some items left at the base of the tree. Some flowers,
a homemade cross.
LUKE STRASZEWSKI: A lot of people have got a real
connection with Sycamore Gap. It's been a part of the local
community. People had proposals here. Everyone comes out here
for a picnic. People have left memorials and mementos to loved
ones who've passed away here and Sycamore Gap is just a part of
their lives
ANDREW POAD: Having worked with it over these last 30 years i
definitely saw how important it was to people but i think i
hadn't appreciated the reach of that
JUDITH WARD : It's been there all my life you look in the gap
oh there's a tree look at all them people standing around the
tree. Look at them all come to see it, take the pictures, get
the selfies. My name is Judith Ward and I am one of the workers
and front of house supervisor at the Twice Brewed Inn.
The pub itself is situated right on the Roman Wall alongside one
of the largest tourist destinations in England. And
then that morning my husband rang me and said, the tree's
down. And I went. What do you mean? He says, the tree's down.
I went, no. So I jumped back in my car and I could see the cut
end of the tree. And I stopped the car and I took a picture and
I put it in our group chat. And then the picture started coming
in online. And it's just senseless. It stood there
through the test of time. It stood through many a storm, the
harshest of weather conditions, and my brother proposed there,
and it just seems unfathomable. It's just altered the landscape
forever.
HEATHER BIRKETT: The global response to the felling of the
tree has been heartfelt and touching, and in the days
following its fall, the tributes and messages came flooding in.
MARK ROBINSON : The sycamore of Sycamore Gap, more than just a
tree. It's a part of our identity, a symbol of pride and
belonging for the North East, from badges on school uniforms
to the backs of joiners vans. It's a part of our everyday
life, whether we visit it or not.
A place of deep personal connection, of landmarks in our
lives, of romantic proposals and poignant farewells, of memories
and sandwiches shared with those we love, or of solitude and
reflection, of peace, recovery and hope. For some, its loss
lays bare the vulnerability of nature itself.
My name is Mark Robinson, and I am an Experiences and
Partnerships Curator for the National Trust based up in the
North East. I was asked to review and collate the responses
that were coming in from the public. People's responses on
social media, but in particular the responses that people had
shared in the memory room in the exhibition at The Sill.
The memory room was a kind of a pop-up, impromptu place for
people to share their memories of the tree. It felt important
to find a way to somehow capture that. Some people wrote long
stories, some people wrote poems, some people drew
pictures. I think the thing that struck me the most was
particularly from school children.
That there was a huge amount of hope. There was a lot of
references to this tree will come again or we will not forget
you. And it was a really humbling experience really to
spend the day reading all of the responses, but also to kind of
remind yourself of just how important places can be.
HEATHER BIRKETT: And while Mark and his team were sifting
through the responses from the public, the staff at the
National Trust Plant Conservation Centre were working
against the clock.
CHRIS TRIMMER : Once material has been cut off the tree, it is
divine. So we need to get in there as soon as possible to do
our work.
I'm Chris Strimmer, I'm the Plant Conservation Centre
Manager and I look after all the rare and unusual plants in the
National Trust. I actually found out that the tree had been cut
down from our national press team. I had a phone call and
essentially we just started all the prep work behind the scenes.
To move plant material we have to issue what's called a plant
passport. Did that straight away.
One of our gardens consultants were actually on site within
sort of day, day and a half afterwards and they sent
material down to us through the post. They sent first class and
it arrived here nine o'clock on Saturday morning.
We asked for seed, which is one of the easiest methods of
propagation, but also cuttings, doing grafting, budding. From
the same sort of material. So by Saturday five o'clock everything
was propagated and it's all gone quite well so far.
We've got 21 cuttings, we've got five budded trees, we've got 15
grafted trees and we've sown four seed trays so far of seeds.
But we don't know what's going to happen but the stump that's
been left behind will probably grow as a multi stemmed tree but
it'll never look the same as it did and it'll be another... Two,
three hundred years before it looks good.
HEATHER BIRKETT: And then all their efforts paid off. They
successfully propagated cuttings and cultivated seeds, creating a
whole new generation of Sycamore Gap trees. The first of these
made a special journey to London in May, where it was put on
display for all to see in the National Trust Garden at the
Chelsea Flower Show.
The young seedling was placed into the garden by
seven-year-old Charlotte. And Dame Judi Dench, who
affectionately named it Antoninus, after Emperor
Hadrian's adopted son, inspired by the location of the Sycamore
Gap tree.
Charlotte and her parents, Andy and Louise, travelled down from
their home in Northumberland.
LOUISE: Well, I grew up in Haydon Bridge, which is, what,
maybe five miles from the gap. When we found out the day it
happened, we were both at work and Charlotte was at school, and
that night, went for a drive along, just.to see if it was
true, and it was just so strange not seeing that tree there.
It was quite emotional, wasn't it, when you find out and you
think. That's just a tree, why am I getting upset over a tree?
But it's strange how a tree up in Northumberland is all over
the world has made such an impact on everyone.
I just remember Charlotte was saying to me one day, oh, I've
got to do this with the school, write a poem about Sycamore Gap.
HEATHER BIRKETT: A competition was set up, inviting pupils from
Henshaw Primary School, the closest school to Sycamore Gap,
in which pupils were invited to draw a picture of the tree and
write a short poem about what it meant to them. And it was
Charlotte's poem which won.
CHARLOTTE: I went to see Harian's Wall and I saw a tree.
It was a mindful tree. It was a mindful, famous tree. It was a
mindful, famous, historical tree. It was a mindful, famous,
historical, magnificent tree. It was a mindful, famous,
historical, magnificent, welcoming tree. I really hope
Sycamore Gap grows back. When I go and see the tree, it brings
back lots of memories.
HEATHER BIRKETT: After the show, the seedling was returned to the
Plant Conservation Centre, where it continues to grow alongside
its siblings until they are ready for planting the first
successful sapling has been gifted to his Royal Highness the
King in honour of celebration day. A day dedicated to
remembering those no longer with us. This special tree will be
planted in Windsor Great Park for all visitors to enjoy.
It is now the beginning of July ten months after the felling and
hopes of any regrowth at the stump are starting to fade. But
at various sites in Northumberland, the first
artworks are about to go on display. These are five prints
by Shona Brannigan, who is known for her evocative tree prints.
The prints have been commissioned by the National
Trust as a creative response to the public's suggestions. This
collection, lovingly titled Heartwood, is designed to
reflect the intricate shape and essence of the tree trunk. The
five prints will be showcased together at the Queen's Hall,
Hexham, and then at the Baltic Art Gallery in Newcastle.
Then, at the end of July, I get a call from Andrew Poad, General
Manager at Hadrian's Wall, with the news that we have all been
hoping for.
ANDREW POAD: We've just heard from our colleagues at the
National Park that... The stumps actually started regrowing,
which is brilliant news.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Oh, that's fantastic news, Andrew.
ANDREW POAD: Yeah, it was a real pleasant surprise to get the
call. The really nice story is the chap who found it, is the
first person that was on site that confirmed that the tree had
actually been felled. He's the National Trail Ranger for
Hadrian's Wall. So it's really nice that it's him that's the
one that's spotted the regrowth first. A little bit of
serendipity there. So the last time I was there, we'd got up to
12. New shoots. They're only a few centimetres tall and a few
centimetres across with two or three leaves on each shoot. And
they're a lovely rusty red colour at the moment. And that's
great. I mean, this is nature bouncing back. This is how it
responds and whether all the shoots survive or not remains to
be seen. I'm delighted the tree's regrowing, although it'll
never look the same as the original tree. It's the best
possible outcome we could get. So it's really nice to share.
When I was on site sharing that with other people, what we were
saying to a lot of them who had children with them is that
they're going to need to come back in 10, 20 years' time and
see the results of what they've just witnessed.
HEATHER BIRKETT: As encouraging signs of regrowth emerge at the
stump, plans are also underway for the stored wood. After a
year of careful seasoning, the largest section has been gifted
to the Northumberland National Park Authority. CEO Tony Gates
tells us more.
TONY GATES: The National Park Authority, we own and run The
Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre on Hadrian's
Wall. It's the closest visitor centre to the site of Sycamore
Gap. We get about 125,000 visitors a year through the
centre. And it would have been one of the most popular starting
points for people who wanted to walk to see the Sycamore Gap
tree.
And we gathered all the feedback that people sent to us,
following the felling of the tree. And one of the things that
came through is that people wanted to see some type of
long-term legacy for the tree in the Sill in the visitor centre.
And so we've negotiated with the National Trust and they've
kindly agreed to gift us the largest remaining intact section
of the Sycamore Gap tree.
And the idea is that we use that to create a lasting legacy for
Sycamore Gap that people can visit in the Sill National
Landscape Centre. And it means of people who maybe physically
can't get as far out as the site itself can still have some
contact with the tree.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Earlier in the year, a call went out for
artists to design an exhibition that would incorporate the
gifted tree section. This exhibition is set to open at the
Sill in the Northumberland National Park Discovery Centre,
one year after the felling. The commissioned artists are Charlie
Winnie, Nick Greenall and Matt Sowerby.
It's a beautiful sunny day in August and I've come to a barn
in rural Cumbria, nestled between the majestic fells of
the Lake District and the open waters of Morecambe Bay. It's a
really special corner of Cumbria. That feels incredibly
tucked away.
The Barn is home to an artist's studio where the artists
specialise in art made from wood.
We're inside the studio now and you might be able to hear a
little bit of action in the background, some sawing and
drilling, but I'm sat here with two of the artists involved.
NICK GREENALL: Good afternoon, my name's Nick Greenall and this
is Charlie Whinney and jointly we're both directors of a
community interest company called Creative Communities and
we do kind of out there art projects with members of the
community who might not normally get the opportunity to do that
kind of thing.
On this particular project, the Sycamore Gap project, we're
working with a poet called Matt Sowerby. So we've got poetry,
we've got Charlie Whinney who's an amazing steam woodbender.
HEATHER BIRKETT: We come to you Charlie, I wondered if you could
tell us a bit about your work.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : The reason you can see all these strange,
twizzly, curly shapes around you is because my sketchbook is full
of these shapes. And part of the interest and the challenge for
me is to take normal wood from a tree outside and use as little
energy as possible and still achieve beautiful results.
HEATHER BIRKETT: So can I ask, have you seen the tree?
NICK GREENALL: We have. Charlie was keen to study the material
that he'd be working with, and there was a bit of mystery about
where the tree actually might be. It may be in Devon, it may
be in Berwick-upon-Tweed. And then they took us, and then the
tree out of the darkness was revealed.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : When I saw it, I'd already met, I don't know,
like 100 people there who had tears when it came down. And I
think looking at the bark of the tree and all the interesting
swirls and patterns, having already studied loads of
photographs of the living tree, and it was like, oh my God, it's
you. It's the same one. It was a strange feeling.
NICK GREENALL: Because I'd seen the tree in life in this dip on
Hadrian's Wall. It was just very aesthetic' it was the right tree
in the right place. And then seeing it cut up as a log, there
was definitely a disconnect between seeing a log of wood and
this formerly beautiful tree in life.
HEATHER BIRKETT: So Charlie, what happens next?
CHARLIE WHINNEY : There were two stages to this project. You've
come to us now about five weeks before the first stage is going
to be complete. It's going to be the one year on exhibition at
the Sill. And I'm making five giant canvases that are going to
go on the wall. They're going to depict the tree wrapping around
the gallery, kind of life size. And in the middle of the gallery
will be our log, which the National Trust have currently
given us.
NICK GREENALL: So there'll be an opportunity for people to make
pledges. And they may be pledges of what they're going to do for
nature. And it's these pledges that will be gathered and they
will form part of the final piece that Charlie is going to
make.
HEATHER BIRKETT: So as a phase one, that's an amazing way to
capture people's feelings and connection with the tree. What
happens to all those pledges afterwards?
CHARLIE WHINNEY : I'll show you. So in my hands here, I've got
one of our samples from the final sculpture. So these are
just ideas.
HEATHER BIRKETT: I can see some twisted wood almost in a spiral.
With a lovely grain on it, and then engraved onto the flat side
of the twist some words. "I will get chickens who will eat our
scraps."
At the exhibition at the Sill, visitors will see a section of
the felled Sycamore Gap tree, along with all the artwork
surrounding it. Charlie's also designed seating for the show,
so visitors can sit, reflect and immerse in the exhibition.
NICK GREENALL: So we're going to go next door now and we've been
steaming some wood. So the process of steam wood bending is
we heat the wood in a steam chamber and all the lignin and
cellulose in the wood becomes malleable and then you're able
to bend it. It's quite a marvellous thing to see. So
let's go and have a look.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Sounds like magic.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : This metal thing here is a compression
strap that I'm going to put on the outside of the wood. It's
called a compression strap so it's going to literally squash
all the fibres as we bend around. The wood needs to be
about 100 degrees, If it isn't then it'll break.
So this is a piece of Ash that I'm putting in here. So I'm
going to put it into the compression strap and I'm going
to see how many times I can bend this piece of Ash around here.
I'm going to go for number four. There we go. There's our thing.
HEATHER BIRKETT: And then it was my turn to have a go.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : Do you see all the sculptures over there?
HEATHER BIRKETT: Yes.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : You're making one of them.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Okay.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : Can you see they all look completely
different?
HEATHER BIRKETT: Yes.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : So there's no rules?
HEATHER BIRKETT: Okay.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : You can do what you want.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Charlie has handed me five strands of wood
that we're going to wrap around here.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : Yes.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Oh, it's not easy.
CHARLIE WHINNEY : That's perfect. There we go.
HEATHER BIRKETT: Like a granny knot in wood.
Thank you so much for showing me your workshop, Charlie, and to
show us how this wood is bent. And it really gives us an
insight into the kind of methods and skills involved in the work
that you're going to be doing for the Sycamore Gap project.
The story of the Sycamore Gap tree continues to touch people
across the country and beyond.
Stage one of the exhibition at the Sill was hugely popular with
local people and visitors to the area. Artist Charlie Winnie. Is
now working on a permanent exhibition featuring the tree,
which will be revealed later this summer.
In summer 2024, new shoots began emerging from the tree stump,
and conservationists noticed early signs of growth again this
spring.
The National Trust and partners are carefully monitoring the new
growth and protecting the stump with fencing, and visitors are
being respectfully asked not to touch the shoots. The plan is to
leave the shoots undisturbed for a few years to see how they
develop before deciding how best to manage the tree.
Meanwhile, the saplings are thriving under the expert care
of the Plant Conservation Centre. To mark the one-year-on
anniversary, 49 of these new sycamore saplings were allocated
to inspiring projects across the country through a campaign
called Trees Of Hope. Planting will begin this winter. The
Sycamore Gap Tree may be gone from the landscape, but its
legacy lives on in a story that is far from over.
Thank you for listening to this bonus episode of Wild Tales. I
hope you've enjoyed it. Make sure you get every episode. By
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