Sycamore Gap Tree to Head to Secret Spot

It needs to be moved off Hadrian's wall
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 11, 2023 1:20 PM CDT
Sycamore Gap Tree to Be Taken to Secret Spot
Police officers look at the tree at Sycamore Gap, next to Hadrian's Wall, in Northumberland, England, Thursday Sept. 28, 2023 which has come down overnight.   (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Since an act of vandalism took it down in late September, England's storied Sycamore Gap tree has lain where it fell. That will change on Thursday, when a crane will lift the 50-foot tree off of Hadrian's Wall so it can be put into storage—at a National Trust property that will remain under wraps for security purposes, reports the Guardian. "It's currently in a precarious position resting on the [1,900-year-old] wall, so it's necessary we move it now, to preserve the world-famous monument that is Hadrian's Wall, and to make the site safe again for visitors," said the site manager. Except it can't be moved as one whole piece.

As that Guardian explains, the tree can't be lifted in its entirety so it will be sawn into large parts. The BBC has photos of its branches being removed by chainsaw Wednesday in preparation. Seeds have been collected, and the stump remains, safeguarded by a temporary fence, in hopes the tree will grow back. The head of Northumberland National Park Authority says, "The intention is to ensure that the tree is stored safely so that full consideration can be given to how best to use the tree in future." Suggestions have included using the wood to create a memorial bench that would sit at the site. (More vandalism stories.)

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