Six months after mighty sycamore was felled, are police finally closing in on the cretins who did it?
SOMEHOW the sense of loss at the wanton felling of the Sycamore Gap tree is more profound in the spring.
Certainly, that is how it feels to visitors here, particularly those laying daffodils and rosary beads at the spot where it once stood.
For it was at this time of year when the mighty sentinel beside Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland was always at its resplendent best, with its glossy emerald leaves.
‘When the tree was in its glory, it felt a very special place, kind of mystical,’ says hiker Dee McGonagle, who like many others felt its destruction as a bereavement. Above, the drizzly grey sky suddenly brightens, making the void left by the famous landmark appear more conspicuous.
‘It would have been a perfect day for taking a picture,’ observes Dee. For her and countless others, this is how the tree is fixed in their mind’s eye – silhouetted in high relief against clouddappled blue.
But beside memories, the mystery of what happened here in the middle of that stormy night last September dominates thoughts.
Six months on, the question remains unanswered: Who took a chainsaw to the 150-year-old tree, this great symbol of the North East, and why? And why have the police yet to bring someone before a court?
Locals joke that the stump will grow back before the culprit is found. Some predict gloomily that the case will never be solved.
At first it seemed as if this rural whodunnit would be wrapped up in days. There was no shortage of suspects. Locals assumed the guilty party was in their midst. Who else but a local would be able to navigate the remote, rugged terrain in darkness?
One suspect, a 16-year-old, was said to have had a grievance against the National Trust which owns the land around the tree. Another, a 67-year-old former lumberjack, was forced to publicly deny involvement after police raided his home and took away his chainsaw. Both were later told they would face no further action but not before the teenager received death-threats.
As time passed, theories grew increasingly fanciful. Some suggested an occult link. Then the trail seemed to go cold.
In truth, the investigation has quietly gathered pace and Northumbria Police are hopeful of pressing charges soon. Two men in their 30s remain on bail.
County councillor John Riddle recently asked a senior officer about progress and says he was told it was likely that a recommendation would be made to the Crown Prosecution Service. He said: ‘I was pleasantly surprised because, like many others, I wondered if we’d ever get to the bottom of this.’
Something else which may surprise, says a source close to the investigation, is that the suspects are not local but come from neighbouring Cumbria. According to a source: ‘The theory is that whoever is responsible wasn’t motivated by grievance but acted out of sheer childishness.’
Back in the 1980s, the now world-famous sycamore was hardly given a second glance by walkers. But then it featured in the 1991 movie Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, and voted English Tree Of The Year in 2016. Social media turbocharged its popularity and soon it was a favourite spot for marriage proposals, scattering ashes and, of course, photographs. One early theory was that the tree was felled as a social media prank.
While there is no CCTV anywhere near the spot, it is understood that police know the feller’s route to the tree – the trail from Steel Rigg car park which follows Hadrian’s Wall on a rocky rollercoaster over hills and open moorland. Mobile phone triangulation could, it is thought, feature in any prosecution but it is unclear to what extent, if any, DNA from the tree will play a part.
Samples would yield genetic material that could then be matched with sawdust found on the clothing or machinery of any potential suspects. But the time lapsed since the crime would appear to indicate a paucity of forensic clues.
Three years ago, tree DNA was used as evidence in the US to convict the leader of a gang of illegal loggers who cut down prized maple trees in a Washington forest. Few in this part of Northumberland believe the mystery of Sycamore Gap will be solved quite so easily however.
Still, they were heartened to learn last month that fresh shoots have emerged from the tree’s rescued seeds and from twigs taken to a ‘high-security greenhouse’ in Devon the day after it was destroyed.
Back at Sycamore Gap there is similar hope. ‘This tree stump is still alive,’ warns a sign. ‘If we leave it alone, it might sprout new growth.’
‘Who took a chainsaw to this great symbol?’ ‘Officers now think the suspects are not local’