Sycamore Gap: Robin Hood director 'furious' over tree felling

The director of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves has described the felling of the tree at Sycamore Gap as "ugly", "despicable" and "senseless".

Kevin Reynolds directed the 1991 Hollywood film, which featured the tree in one of its most famous scenes bringing it to the world's attention.

He heard about it being cut down while on a boat off the coast of Turkey, after the news spread around the globe.

"I was just stunned. I mean, I was gutted. Then I was furious," he said.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starred Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman and Alan Rickman.

Mr Reynolds first came across the Hadrian's Wall site when he was a college student visiting the UK from America. Years later, when scouting for locations for his film, he knew he needed to include it.

"It just blew me away," he said. "And that was before I even knew what Sycamore Gap was.

"So years later, when we were scouting locations for the movie, I said, 'let's go up to Hadrian's Wall, I want to see this place'."

The crew brought equipment to the hills surrounding the tree and had to contend with changeable weather during the shoot, but Mr Reynolds believes it was worth it.

He said: "Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall was one of the most quintessentially idyllic spots in the world and now it's gone, it's murdered, and for what reason?

"Would you destroy the Taj Mahal, the Gullfoss Falls in Iceland or the Big Dipper?"

He added: "This is the second loss Prince of Thieves has suffered in the last couple of years - Alan Rickman and now this."

Alan Rickman played the Sheriff of Nottingham in the movie before going on to play Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise. He died in 2016.

"I know some people will say you can't compare the death of a tree to the death of a person but I think some things are so iconic, so perfect in their being, that they have a profound effect on people as this does.

"So I think that this comparison is justified and I know Alan would agree with it."

Andrew Poad, a manager at the National Trust, said the tree was "incidental" until the Robin Hood film was released, then it "took on a life of its own".

He said: "When you were walking past or when we were working there, what you would see was parents walking the wall with their children and trying to replicate what they had seen in the film, which was the little boy running up the tree."

The tree was cut down on the night of 27 September and, in the following days, two people were arrested.

A 16-year-old boy and a man in his 60s were held on suspicion of criminal damage and subsequently released on bail.

The tree's felling caused damaged to Hadrian's Wall and the trunk has since been cut up and removed from the area.

Mr Poad said he was aware of the missing tree every time he drove past.

"It's like a bereavement and I think, particularly when you lose people close to you, it's often months down the line before it really impacts on you," he said.

The loss of the tree was also felt by chef and Hairy Biker Si King, who described the felling as an "affront to anybody who loves the natural world" and the North East's "sense of place".

He said: "It was very special to my community in terms of my friends. Sycamore Gap is on a very precious headstone of a young man who lost his life that we're very close to."

A debate has begun about how to best honour the site. The National Trust has collected seeds from the tree and it has been suggested that shoots could grow from its stump.

The sycamore was planted in the 1800s by John Clayton and, due to its age, Mr Reynolds believes no matter what is done, the damage is permanent.

The director said: "I guess trying to find a bright side, I am just grateful that we managed to get it on film so that it exists [there] at least, and people can see what it was and how glorious it was.

"But it will never be the same."