Artist creates woodland trail in memory of Northumberland's Sycamore Gap tree

An artist has planted hundreds of saplings with the aim of creating a woodland in memory of the felled Sycamore Gap tree.

Lucy Pittaway was devastated by the sight of the fallen sycamore which police say was "deliberately felled" in September 2023, which stood in a dip on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland National Park. Ms Pittaway has begun creating an area of woodland on the Swinton Estate near Masham, North Yorkshire, which had previously been devastated by larch tree blight.

Ms Pittaway told the PA News Agency: "Like everyone else I was so saddened to hear about the felling of the tree. To now see this new woodland coming to life is wonderful and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped us come this far."

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Based in Brompton-on-Swale in North Yorkshire, Ms Pittaway holds the title of Britain's most popular published artist and has galleries across the north of England. She visited Sycamore Gap as a child and says it had a lasting impact on her work.

Follow the tree's felling, she painted its image on a Northern Lights backdrop which sold 2,400 prints. From that, she made a donation for legacy woodland from the proceeds.

Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, owner of the Swinton Estate, answered the call for anyone with a suitable area of land to come forward. She joined Ms Pittaway in planting the first of the new saplings.

Ms Cunliffe Lister said: "Like many areas of the countryside we have lost so many trees from larch blight and so regenerating the area through this project is a perfect fit. I think we are appreciating more and more the importance of conservation and the positive impact that trees and the countryside have on our wellbeing.

Planting of the first 600 saplings takes place this April, mainly of sycamores along with oak, rowan, hazel and other native trees. Hundreds more will follow in the coming months.

Visitors to the Lucy Pittaway Sycamore Gap Trail will be able to follow a woodland walk which will feature artistic installations. Ms Pittaway added: "I hope this is an area that can be used for relaxation for generations to come.

"If it can inspire people’s interest in art and the countryside then the legacy of the Sycamore Gap tree will be a positive one."

Last month, the National Trust confirmed that new life has sprung from seeds and buds rescued from the tree, which are at a high-security conservation centre in Devon that guards genetic copies of some of the UK’s most valuable plants and trees. It is hoped that a new tree could eventually grow from the fenced off stump at the gap in Hadrian's Wall.

A Northumbria Police investigation into the tree's felling continues. Two suspects are currently on police bail, while a 16-year-old boy and a man in his 60s who were arrested soon after the incident, will face no further police action.