Sycamore Gap Tree

You cannot get the Police to attend a burglary etc., but they manage to get 2 to a tree, and there is no cctv to show them what happened.

I bet it stems from a farmer who is disgruntled about something, we have form for that up here, a lot of hairy hill farmers in that bit of Northumberland (as said by Henry Brewis, Northumberland Author).

It's not as far off the beaten track as most people think, only a 10 min quad bike ride from the nearest road.
 
Thread tidied, Steve won't be replying any further as he has a thread ban.

FFS Steve, what have I told you about posting unfounded emotive comments?
 
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its odd there are a minority of young people that are committing really serious crime, you only need to look at black on black youth knife crime in London which obviously is the centro of the uk universe and here we are with a tree being cut down in the centre of the nature universe to see the irony
 
Dave Canon said:
It is vital that, if found guilty, he receives serious punishment to deter other from destroying our countryside and heritage.

Dave
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Hopefully you are right but being realistic he will get a bit of community service, if a local lad suspect he won’t be very popular though
 
4wd said:
It looks like there is a sapling in a circular dry stone wall enclosure right by it not sure what it is.
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Looking at photos taken yesterday that enclosure and tree seem to have gone. https://biSPAM/3tcqq91
 
Ed Sutton said:
Now known as Sycamore Stump. :LOL:


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I hope that someone has investigated whether this "contract killing" was sanctioned by the local authority with a secret plan to redevelop this area into a new business enterprise zone: contractors fell trees in the middle of the night, that kind of thing.....

And, surprise of surprise, next year will see the start of "the miracle recovery of abused tree" shoots and recovery will begin. Might need to keep the sheep away from it (by which I mean the woolly four-legged variety).

The roots would appear still to be in place so the tree has been coppiced/pollarded. It'll come again but, of course, the silly people who are reported to have visited the site and been seen sobbing and hugging, leaving painted stones etc will have completely forgotten September 2023.

Sycamore grows everywhere because as a species it is resilient even though regarded as a weed. It's not like it's an ancient oak or a mighty redwood.
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
The roots would appear still to be in place so the tree has been coppiced/pollarded.
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Coppiced not pollarded. Based on a limited “surveys “pollard” seems not to be a word used in Yorkshire, I wonder if they use a different word?

If it does grow back and they select a stem it’ll be the same height again very quickly.

tikkathreebarrel said:
Sycamore grows everywhere because as a species it is resilient even though regarded as a weed.
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Yes, I don’t know why it’s so despised. It can be a nuisance because it seeds so readily as I know only too well since I have a large one in my garden.
 
Humphrey said:
You cannot get the Police to attend a burglary etc., but they manage to get 2 to a tree, and there is no cctv to show them what happened.
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TBF though, most burglaries don't end up as the lead story on the front page of national newspapers.
 
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sphexx said:
Coppiced not pollarded. Based on a limited “surveys “pollard” seems not to be a word used in Yorkshire, I wonder if they use a different word?

If it does grow back and they select a stem it’ll be the same height again very quickly.



Yes, I don’t know why it’s so despised. It can be a nuisance because it seeds so readily as I know only too well since I have a large one in my garden.
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Smothers out slower growing native species by producing insane numbers of saplings, and has limited appeal to wildlife apart from aphids.
It has a value as a shelter belt tree.
 
Fairly sure under 18 are only legally allowed to use a chainsaw if supervised. As for his punishment.... well dont hold your breath, I'd guess a small fine if found guilty.
I also suspect the locals wont mind at all, he may even be classed as a local hero, most country folk hate visitors/tourists.
Biggest worry is that it will start a trend with other bored people going out and damaging other beauty spots as a way to get into the news.
 
According to todays paper, since January unauthorised felling a tree can warrant an unlimited fine or jail term.
It will be interesting to see.
 
Ed Sutton said:
Looking at photos taken yesterday that enclosure and tree seem to have gone. https://biSPAM/3tcqq91
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Probably been knocked down by the trampling hordes.
If it was a temporary thing intended to be removed it would have gone completely but can still see where it was.
I will say again the area round the tree is devoid of life due to 1000s of people milling round it daily.
Doomed by its own popularity.
 
droj said:
Come on, guys, it's just one flipping tree. You haven't heard about the Amazon?
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If it was ‘just’ a tree, it would not be front page news. It was instead a tree that together with its surrounding, made for an iconic location appreciated by many. Cutting the tree down was an act of vandalism, no doubt carried out to garner the very attention it has generated. The work of an unworthy scrote, who will receive far more leniency than they deserve.

As for the Amazon, yes have heard of it. The industrial-scale deforestation going on there and in other similar regions around the world is disgusting and damaging.
 
sphexx said:
Coppiced not pollarded. Based on a limited “surveys “pollard” seems not to be a word used in Yorkshire, I wonder if they use a different word?

If it does grow back and they select a stem it’ll be the same height again very quickly.



Yes, I don’t know why it’s so despised. It can be a nuisance because it seeds so readily as I know only too well since I have a large one in my garden.
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My ancient understanding is that coppiced is taken to mean cut off at ground level or just above, pollarded at chest or head height. I used both words because it looked like sad old sycamore seems to have been taken off at the waist. That might be 16yr-old waist height of course.
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
My ancient understanding is that coppiced is taken to mean cut off at ground level or just above, pollarded at chest or head height.
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Yes Coppicing is for wood harvesting. Pollarding is similar but mainly to keep the young growth and leaves out of reach of cattle etc . Poll = head so must have referred to height or that tree forms a ‘head’ I guess. No idea about “coppice” Though cop or cob can also mean head as in cob loaf and attercop for spider as I recall so I’m probably rambling as usual :LOL:
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
My ancient understanding is that coppiced is taken to mean cut off at ground level or just above, pollarded at chest or head height.
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More or less my understanding too, although Pollard can also mean cutting off thick branches a foot or so away from the main trunk, to encourage new bushy growth.
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
My ancient understanding is that coppiced is taken to mean cut off at ground level or just above, pollarded at chest or head height. I used both words because it looked like sad old sycamore seems to have been taken off at the waist. That might be 16yr-old waist height of course.
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Coppicing is used more for woodland management - where a woodland is divided into a number of regions, which are coppiced on a rotation, so each area is at a different stage of growth. This gives both a nice range of habitat for biodiversity, but also provides a steady supply of timber.
Pollarding is more often used as a 'decorative' system, to avoid over-large canopies, but maintaining the main trunk.
 
Faldrax said:
Faldrax said:
Coppicing is used more for woodland management - where a woodland is divided into a number of regions, which are coppiced on a rotation, so each area is at a different stage of growth. This gives both a nice range of habitat for biodiversity, but also provides a steady supply of timber.
Pollarding is more often used as a 'decorative' system, to avoid over-large canopies, but maintaining the main trunk.
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is used more for woodland management - where a woodland is divided into a number of regions, which are coppiced on a rotation, so each area is at a different stage of growth. This gives both a nice range of habitat for biodiversity, but also provides a steady supply of timber.
Pollarding is more often used as a 'decorative' system, to avoid over-large canopies, but maintaining the main trunk.
Click to expand...
 
Faldrax said:
Coppicing is used more for woodland management - where a woodland is divided into a number of regions, which are coppiced on a rotation, so each area is at a different stage of growth. This gives both a nice range of habitat for biodiversity, but also provides a steady supply of timber.
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That‘s undoubtedly both the ancient and modern usage.

Faldrax said:
Pollarding is more often used as a 'decorative' system, to avoid over-large canopies, but maintaining the main trunk.
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I think it’s true that the modern usage is decorative, maybe combined with retaining the tree but restricting height of trunk an making it overall easier to manage.

My dim recollection is that originally while preventing casual browsing pollarding was for the collection of fodder for animals.

There was a lot of tree “pruning” done in the past to encourage particular shapes of timber for ships and building construction.
 
sphexx said:
Yes Coppicing is for wood harvesting. Pollarding is similar but mainly to keep the young growth and leaves out of reach of cattle etc . Poll = head so must have referred to height or that tree forms a ‘head’ I guess. No idea about “coppice” Though cop or cob can also mean head as in cob loaf and attercop for spider as I recall so I’m probably rambling as usual :LOL:
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You weren't rambling about with a saw by any chance? :p
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
You weren't rambling about with a saw by any chance? :p
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Defintely not. I’ve only had one experience using a chain saw many years ago cutting up fallen elm trees I think before all these elfin safety regs came in and found it a fairly terrifying experience. :LOL:
 
droj said:
Come on, guys, it's just one flipping tree. You haven't heard about the Amazon?
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The problem with that line of thinking is that, ultimately, nothing becomes important in the grander scheme of things.

In terms of the universe, the Amazon is inconsequential. As is our planet.

On a smaller scale, objectively, the world would be better off without humans.

Where do you draw the line?

The unfortunate reality is that you're right. It is only a tree.

Which means that what will probably happen to the culprit is what happens to developers when they cut down trees that are in the way. They get a fine and a telling off. Then everyone forgets all about it.

It doesn't matter if you increase the fine, it's not like you can be made to undo the damage.

No one really just cares about fame any more. Infamy is just as good for many.
 
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tikkathreebarrel said:
Oh so it's on National Trust property? So possibly the planter had links to slavery or it got in the way of a car park, shop, cafeteria or visitor experience centre.
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Or a Restore Trust activist protesting about National Trust selling gluten free rolls in its cafés.
 
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