Yahoo News Sycamore Gap: Pub offers £1,500 for information on who cut famous tree down
The Twice Brewed Inn, which is half a mile from Sycamore Gap near Hadrian's Wall, has offered a substantial sum to anyone with information on who felled its famous tree.
A pub half a mile from the Sycamore Gap has offered a £1,500 bar tab to anyone with information that could help find who chopped the iconic tree down.
The beloved tree, also known as the 'Robin Hood tree' was found cut down early on Thursday, with authorities saying they believed it had been "deliberately felled".
Police launched an investigation and a 16-year-old boy has been arrested.
The Twice Brewed Inn - which sits just half a mile from the famous site - is offering a £1,500 reward for anyone who can help find the perpetrator.
The pub said: "Everyone at The Twice Brewed Inn is devastated by the senseless felling of the beloved Sycamore Gap tree.
"This iconic landmark is woven throughout The Twice Brewed - from our logo to our sister Brewery's award-winning ale - and we are truly appalled by its destruction.
It said: "We are offering a £1,500 bar tab as a reward to the person who provides information to Northumbria Police that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for destroying such a precious beacon of natural beauty on Hadrian's Wall."
The pub has also launched a JustGiving fundraiser to raise money for future projects at the site, and work carried out by Northumberland National Park & National Trust along Hadrians Wall.
Steve Blair, from The Twice Brewed, said: "Like so many people across the North East, the UK and the world, everyone at The Twice Brewed has been devastated at the senseless destruction of the beloved Sycamore Gap tree.
"And like many others, we have been searching for something to do, for somewhere to put our sadness and for some way to demonstrate how much this beacon of natural beauty meant to us and so many of our visitors and guests.
"We have set up this Just Giving page to show our support for The National Trust and the creation of something beautiful, enduring, and meaningful — a living tribute that will honour the memory of our iconic tree.
"Here at The Twice Brewed, we have welcomed tens of thousands of people from all over the world and seen how much this iconic tree has moved and delighted them.
"Of course the tree itself is irreplaceable, but we want to help make sure it is never forgotten and will donate all monies raised towards future projects, which take place at the site of Sycamore Gap and work carried out by The National Trust along Hadrian's Wall."
Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager at JustGiving, said: "Like so many others, I was deeply saddened to learn that the iconic Sycamore Gap tree had been cut down.
"As well as a world-famous natural landmark, the Sycamore Gap tree was a part of history that held so much meaning to many.
"But it's heart-warming to see people come together through Steve’s fundraising efforts for the National Trust - a truly thoughtful way to honour the legacy of the Sycamore Gap tree."
National outrage: Read more/Latest news
Sycamore Gap Tree: teenage boy arrested in connection to 'deliberate felling' of one of UK's most famous trees (National World)
Northumberland reacts with rage and devastation as 'Sycamore Gap' falls (Northern Echo)
Hairy Bikers say Sycamore Gap tree culprit ‘murdered spirit of Northumberland’ (Independent)
News that the 300-year-old tree had been felled has sparked a national outcry.
Northumberland County Council leader Councillor Glen Sanderson described the act as "unbelievable and appalling", saying he hoped whoever responsible would be "punished severely for this act of wanton nastiness".
Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness said she was "devastated" and "incandescent" by the apparently "deliberate act of vandalism".
Si King, from the Hairy Bikers said whoever responsible had "murdered a sentinel of time and elemental spirit of Northumberland".
'Not spontaneous'
Andrew Poad, general manager of National Trust for Hadrian's Wall, reportedly said an apparently white paint mark on the tree suggested the act "wasn't a spontaneous thing".
He told The Times: "I think it probably would have been done in about half an hour. You can see they have marked where they wanted it cut. So this wasn't a spontaneous thing.
"It would have been done in the night when nobody could hear the sound of a chainsaw because of the wind. But we just don't know."
Why is the Sycamore Gap famous?
The 'Sycamore Gap' tree is one of the most famous trees in the UK - maybe the world.
The tree, which is about 300 years old, was next to Hadrian's Wall, which was built by the Romans beginning in 122 A.D. to mark the northern limits of Roman Britannia.
Sometimes called the "Robin Hood tree" because it featured in 1991 film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" starring Kevin Costner, it's probably one of the most photographed trees in the country and was also voted the English Tree of the Year in 2016.
The tree undoubtedly holds hundreds of memories for people who have visited it over the years.
North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "People have had their ashes scattered there. People have proposed there. I've picnicked there with my wife and kids. It's part of our collective soul."
