England’s Beloved Sycamore Gap Tree Is Showing Signs of Life, Three Years After Vandals Chopped It Down

Numerous leafy shoots are now sprouting around the base of the tree’s stump, which is located near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

September 30, 2026 9:30 a.m.

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Three years after being cruelly separated from its trunk and crown, the stump of England’s beloved Sycamore Gap tree is showing signs of life. 

Numerous leafy shoots are now sprouting around the stump’s base, offering hope that the illegally felled tree, located near the historic Hadrian’s Wall, might one day recover. The shoots stand two to three feet tall and have formed a thick ring around the stump, which is protected by a fence. 

Andrew Poad, general manager for the National Trust at Hadrian’s Wall, the conservation charity that owns the tree and the surrounding land, tells the London Times’ Peter Chappell that he’s “filled with hope by the way nature is taking its course.” 

“These flourishing shoots are really encouraging and show the special measures we’ve taken, including reducing soil compaction around the roots and limiting human disturbance, are paying off,” Poad says, adding that the work is intended to give the stump “the best possible chance to thrive.”

Rangers plan to keep a close eye on the stump and will manage it “depending on how it develops,” Poad adds.

For at least a century, the Sycamore Gap tree stood in a dip in the rolling landscape near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. It was a popular subject for photographers and even made an appearance in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. In 2016, the conservation charity Woodland Trust named it “English tree of the year.” 

But on the morning of September 28, 2023, a farmer discovered that the tree had been chopped down with a chainsaw. Rangers confirmed the news, finding its sprawling crown resting partially atop Hadrian’s Wall. Archaeologists later determined that when the tree fell, it damaged part of the 73-mile fortification, which was built by the Roman army starting around 122 C.E. 

Investigators later identified Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers as the culprits. The two men were found guilty of two counts each of criminal damage in May 2025 and later sentenced to four years and three months each in prison. Earlier this year, Carruthers was released from prison early and will serve out the remainder of his sentence at home under strict conditions.

Graham and Carruthers have maintained their innocence and, as a result, have never revealed why they cut down the tree. However, during their eight-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court in northeast England, prosecutors described their behavior as “mindless thuggery” and argued that the two men cut down the tree for a “bit of a laugh.”

Meanwhile, officials have taken steps to preserve the Sycamore Gap’s arboreal legacy. They put the largest section of the felled tree on display at the Sill: National Landscape Discovery Center, located in Northumberland National Park roughly two miles from where the Sycamore Gap tree stood. The six-foot-tall segment is the focus of a permanent exhibition called “Sycamore Gap: Coming Home,” which features benches and curved pieces of wood inscribed with phrases like “old friend” and “from this land.” 

Officials also recovered seeds from the Sycamore Gap tree, then carefully tended them as they grew into saplings. The 49 “Trees of Hope” saplings—one for each foot of the tree’s final height —were distributed to people and communities across the United Kingdom. 

Though Graham and Carruthers committed a “depressing act of wanton destructiveness,” many onlookers opted to respond not with anger or despair, but with “a spirit of renewed optimism,” the Times’ editorial board writes in a recent commentary. 

Now that the stump is beginning to show signs of new growth, there’s another reason for hope in the tragedy’s wake. 

“Clearly it will be many years before the Sycamore Gap tree regains its previous majesty,” according to the Times. “But the steady hopefulness being committed to that far-off day is the ultimate rebuke to those who, in that nihilistic nocturnal outing, so cruelly felled it.”

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.