The National Trust has shared images of a thick ring of new shoots around the stump of the Sycamore Gap tree, three years after it was illegally felled.
New growth at the site at Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland stands two to three feet tall and shows the benefit of keeping the area fenced off, the conservation charity has said. The tree was illegally felled on September 28 2023 by Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, who travelled from their homes in Cumbria to cut down the much-loved sycamore during a storm.
Destruction caused national outcry
The destruction caused a national outcry and international headlines when the pair were jailed for criminal damage to the tree and the ancient wall.
In a bid to see if the stump would recover, the remains of the tree were fenced off. Andrew Poad, general manager for the National Trust at Hadrian's Wall, said: "These flourishing shoots are really encouraging and show that the special measures we've taken, including reducing soil compaction around the roots and limiting human disturbance, are paying off.
"We're grateful to all the visitors who, through the care they are taking, are supporting our efforts to protect the tree and give it the best possible chance to thrive.
"We're monitoring the tree closely and, over time, our rangers will manage it depending on how it develops. But for now, we're filled with hope by the way nature is taking its course."
Jail sentences for the felling
Saplings have been grown from seeds found at the site and arts projects have been launched to show the importance of nature in the modern world.
In July last year, two men who chopped down the "irreplaceable" Sycamore Gap tree in an act of "sheer bravado" were each jailed for four years and three months. Daniel Michael Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, both from Cumbria, were convicted of criminal damage after filming themselves using a chainsaw to illegally fell the landmark tree by Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland.
Sentencing them at Newcastle Crown Court, Mrs Justice Lambert rejected a claim of "drunken stupidity" and said, while a full motive was not clear, felling the tree and the ensuing outrage gave the men "some sort of thrill".
Tree 'never be replaced'
The National Trust, which owned the more than 100-year-old tree, said the landmark could "never be replaced". The pair, whose friendship imploded in the aftermath as the public revulsion became clear to them, drove to the site under the cover of darkness in the early hours of 28 September 2023.
They used the winds of Storm Agnes to help them topple the tree onto the Unesco World Heritage Site wall, the court heard. The value of the tree was disputed, with prosecutors saying it was worth about £458,000 and Graham's team claiming it to be about £150,000, but Mrs Justice Lambert said the exact financial price did not really matter.
The judge said the tree was a landmark of Northumberland and a "symbol of the untamed beauty" of the landscape around Hadrian's Wall. It was a place of "peace and tranquillity" which people returned to year after year, the judge said, adding it held great personal significance to many. She said Carruthers used spray paint and a chainsaw to mark and then cut a wedge out of the tree, while Graham filmed it on his mobile phone.
Mrs Justice Lambert said a full motive was not clear, but she was "confident a major factor was sheer bravado," adding the action of felling the tree and the outrage it caused gave the men "some sort of thrill". The men then "revelled in [their] notoriety" in the aftermath, the judge said.
