Sycamore Gap Stump Shows Thick Ring Of New Shoots Three Years After Felling

Three years ago today, a chainsaw cut through one of the most photographed trees in the UK. This morning, the National Trust has new pictures to share. They show a thick ring of green shoots pushing up around the stump in Northumberland.

Sycamore Gap stump shows thick ring of new shoots

Northumberland, England - The National Trust has released new images showing a thick ring of new shoots growing around the stump of the Sycamore Gap tree, three years to the day since it was illegally felled.

Three Years On, A Ring Of Green

The news landed Monday morning, straight from the National Trust. New photographs show the stump is not done yet. A thick ring of new shoots is growing around it, and the charity calls the signs "encouraging." The growth stands two to three feet tall. That is roughly knee-high on an adult. The trust says the growth shows the benefit of keeping the area fenced off. The site owners fenced off the stump to see whether it would recover. Look at the fence. That is not decoration. That is a decision to give a wounded thing room to breathe. Three years after the night everything changed, the tree is answering back. Not with a trunk. Not with a canopy. With a ring of green around the edge of what is left.

How The Stump Came Back

Andrew Poad is the general manager for the National Trust at Hadrian's Wall. He said the shoots are "really encouraging." He pointed to the special measures the trust has taken: reducing soil compaction around the roots and limiting human disturbance. Those efforts, he said, are "paying off." He also thanked visitors, saying the care they are taking is supporting efforts to protect the tree and give it the best possible chance to thrive. Then he put the rest of it plainly. "For now," Poad said, "we're filled with hope by the way nature is taking its course."

The Night The Tree Came Down

It happened in the early hours of 28 September 2023. Daniel Michael Graham, then 39, and Adam Carruthers, then 32, both from Cumbria, drove to the site under the cover of darkness. They used the winds of Storm Agnes to help them topple the tree on to the wall, the court heard. The tree fell across Hadrian's Wall, damaging it. 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. The pair filmed themselves in the act and took a wedge of trunk away as a trophy. Graham was a groundworker from near Carlisle. Carruthers was a mechanic from Wigton. Their friendship imploded in the aftermath as the public revulsion became clear to them. Their actions sparked widespread outrage and international headlines.

Four Years And Three Months

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said there had been "significant planning" with the tree felled in a "deliberate and professional" manner. Prosecutors described the operation as a "moronic mission." Both men denied criminal damage at their trial but have since made admissions. Sentencing came at Newcastle Crown Court in July 2025. Both men were jailed for four years and three months. Mrs Justice Lambert rejected a claim of "drunken stupidity." She said that while a full motive was not clear, a major factor was "sheer bravado," and that felling the tree and the ensuing outrage gave the men "some sort of thrill." She said the men then "revelled in [their] notoriety." The judge called the tree a landmark of Northumberland and a "symbol of the untamed beauty" of the landscape around Hadrian's Wall. She described a place of "peace and tranquillity" that people returned to year after year and that held great personal significance to many.

The Man Who Walked Free

In April 2026, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that Adam Carruthers had been released early from prison under the Home Detention Curfew Scheme. The decision was taken by the governor of the jail where he was serving his sentence, after a risk assessment. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "Anyone released into Home Detention Curfew faces strict licence conditions and must be tagged. Those who break the rules can be returned to prison." The Daily Mirror reported that prisoners released under the scheme must wear an electronic tag and spend between nine and around 12 hours a day at their registered home address. The Mirror reported Carruthers had served about 10 months of the four-year-three-month sentence, and that the judge had said the pair would serve a maximum of 40 percent of it, which would have meant release in January 2027. It also reported he had gone back to work at Cumbria Turf in Kirkbride, the business named as his employer at trial, and that Graham was not due for release until January 2027. One walker in Northumberland told the Mirror the early release was "unbelievable" and that "he shouldn't be at liberty."

Forty-Nine Saplings, And One Taken Back

Trees of Hope launched in September 2024. Forty-nine saplings were grown from seeds rescued from the original tree, one for each foot in height the tree stood at the time it was felled. Nearly 500 applications came in for those 49 saplings. They were cared for at the National Trust's Plant Conservation Centre for two years before planting out, then given to individuals, groups and organisations, and planted across all 15 UK National Parks in partnership with the National Trust. The first went in at Northumberland National Park, Eryri National Park and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. The very first sapling grown from the tree was gifted to King Charles III in the summer of 2025 and will be planted for the nation at a later date, the National Trust said. Then there is the one that was taken. A sapling grown from the tree had been planted at Wray Castle, near Ambleside in Cumbria, in April 2026, as part of a joint "Branches of Care" initiative between the National Trust and St Mary's Hospice in Ulverston. It is believed to have been taken between 9 and 16 June 2026. Cumbria Police are investigating and appealed for information, quoting crime reference CRI10053058.

The People's Tree

The National Trust announced the Sycamore Gap wood commission in September 2025, two years after the felling. Six artist teams were shortlisted, and the selection combined 30 per cent public vote with 70 per cent judges' score. On 23 May 2026 the winners were announced: the community arts charity Helix Arts, based in North Shields, and George King Architects of London. Their proposal is called "The People's Tree." It combines public participation, sound, architecture and storytelling. There is a UK-wide programme inviting members of the public to record reflections on their own relationships with trees and nature. There is a digital soundtrack created by scanning the tree's rings to turn its history into sound, and "seed pods" made from preserved wood to store digital recordings. There are exhibitions and workshops to the north, south, east and west of Sycamore Gap. And there is a final sound sculpture with wood and a time capsule, to be placed at an accessible location along Hadrian's Wall chosen with local communities. Public engagement was expected to begin from summer 2026, and the completed work is expected by September 2027.

A Site That Still Draws People

More than 400,000 people have visited The Sill, the national landscape discovery centre near Sycamore Gap, since September 2023. The Sill says its visitor numbers grew year on year between 2023 and 2025. "Sycamore Gap: Coming Home," an art installation launched in July 2025 by artist Charlie Whinney and Creative Communities CIC, has been experienced by 57,000 people at The Sill. It showcases the largest section of the Sycamore Gap tree. The Twice Brewed Observatory sits within walking distance of the site. Kielder Observatory took over residency there in September 2025, and has reported "exceeding expectations" in its first year. Members of the public left messages in the visitor book at the Coming Home exhibition. One reads: "The tree will always be special to us and close to our hearts forever." Another reads: "Hope its saplings grow strong and spread its love and strength."

Grief, Renewal And A Roman Wall

Leigh Venus is chief executive officer of Kielder Observatory. He said: "It was an enormous loss, and it still resonates." He said the site had a "strange, almost haunted aspect to it now, where the grief and loss are still very raw, but there is also that element of hope, renewal and rising again." He said: "The North East is a region that has experienced the loss of industry and other impacts over the years, but we are a region that historically rises again." Rosie Thomas, director of business development at Northumberland National Park Authority, said the continued emotional response has been "quite astounding." She said: "For some people, it is the story of the tree and their own memories with it. For others, it is a story of being outdoors, connecting with nature, appreciating our most beautiful places and caring for them differently." She said the stump "continues to grow."

What Comes Next

The National Trust has confirmed that shoots have been observed growing from the Sycamore Gap stump for a third consecutive year. It says it is watching the tree closely, and that rangers will manage it depending on how it develops. That is the honest position. No promises about what grows there next. The tree was planted in the late 1800s to be a "feature in the landscape," and it stood for more than 120 years before it was cut down. It found global fame after featuring in a scene of the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner. Hadrian's Wall, which the falling trunk damaged, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Poad, in a statement read to the court, said: "This iconic tree can never be replaced." He said the trust cared for the "totemic symbol" on behalf of the nation and that it "belonged to the people." He said the reason for the "malicious" and "mindless" vandalism was "beyond comprehension." Three years on, the stump is still there. The fence is still up. And the green is still coming.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: BBC News, The Independent, the Daily Mirror, News and Star, the National Trust, National Parks UK and PA Wire.