What Is Sycamore Gap? Understanding How a Lone Tree Could Become So Famous
The famous location hold so much history... and pain.
Updated May 9 2025, 5:10 p.m. ET
Even if you've never heard of it before, chances are high that you've seen the Sycamore Gap. That's because the tree is prominently featured in both film and historical research. But, the area's history is also filled with sadness and regret, after the unusual landmark was destroyed as part of a thoughtless crime.
Why is the Sycamore Gap tree famous? Keep reading to find out, and to learn what happened when people arrived to marvel at the tree one day, and found nothing but an empty spot where its once tall branches previously stood.
Why is the Sycamore Gap tree famous?
According to NPR, the 200-year-old tree has made appearances in famous films like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, as well as in the background of plenty of marriage proposals and vacation snaps. The tree, which is located in a small spot between two large hills, is believed to have been growing out of the ground that was considered to be the frontier of the once great Roman Empire.
The gully where the tree grew was particularly significant because of this, and UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site as a result. But, even with the worldwide recognition and protection afforded to the location thanks to the UNESCO designation, the tree still managed to be felled as part of an act of vandalism.
The Sycamore Gap tree was cut down.
According to the New York Times, a call came into the Northumbria police department on sept. 28, 2023, claiming that the Sycamore tree that was growing out of Sycamore Gap had been felled. When officers arrived on scene a few hours later, they were able to confirm that the tree had been cut down.
Word spread throughout town, and people came to the site to grieve the loss of the beloved tree. It was that grief that later turned people against the two men arrested for the crime.
Two men were sentenced for cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree.
Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham were arrested and eventually charged with cutting down the tree, even though they both initially denied having any part of it. But, as public outrage, and their trial, drug on, the men turned on one another.
Formerly best friends, the pair quickly started pointing fingers at each other, trying to deflect the blame from themselves as police questioned them.
Their accusations, coupled with cell phone data and traffic cameras, painted a damning picture of what went down, and in May 2025 a jury of their peers convicted both men.
As for what will happen now that they've been found guilty, they will have to wait to learn their fates. That's because sentencing won't take place until Jul. 15, 2025. Both men are looking at up to 10 years in prison, something that will likely be especially hard for Carruthers who has a toddler at home.
That being said, there are probably plenty of people in and around Northumberland pulling for the men to get the max after watching the beloved tree get senselessly destroyed.