Sycamore Gap
Few sites are more iconic of rural Britain than this solitary sycamore tree rising from the crumbled stonework of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland National Park, says Chris Gee
Northumberland,
This lonely sycamore is one of the most photographed trees in our landscape, and instantly recognisable to those who have walked the Pennine Way or Hadrian’s Wall Path. The tree immediately transports the observer to the wild and windswept northern frontier of the Roman Empire, or brings to mind its appearance in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner.
The tree itself, crowned the Woodland Trust’s ‘Tree of the Year 2016’, is only about 200 years old and was once one of many. This solitary survivor now sits perfectly in the gap in the Great Whin Sill, carved out long ago by glacial meltwater.