Sycamore Gap Tree

I forecast a craze to have your photo taken while standing on the stump.
 
My wife is blaming me.
We had a photo of it on the wall until last Monday when I swapped it for one of the Dales.
 
sphexx said:
That‘s undoubtedly both the ancient and modern usage.



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.
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Just trying to remember where the avenue of wonky trees is (?Oaks?) giving pretty much J shaped trunks.
 
Nod said:
Just trying to remember where the avenue of wonky trees is (?Oaks?) giving pretty much J shaped trunks.
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That would be for ships/boats “knees” I think though I have no personal expertise in this area.
 
I started a thread for photos in Rural and Scenic, but I don't want the first photo anyone sees to be mine. Any takers.

www.talkphotography.co.uk

Sycamore Gap Photos

Unfortunately, someone has cut down the tree in sycamore gap. Please share a picture of it if you have one so we can see what was lost. There is a thread in the main forum if you want to discuss what happened. https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/sycamore-gap-tree.753464/
www.talkphotography.co.uk www.talkphotography.co.uk
 
Tysonator said:
I do hope that some person/s hopes over the fence of the guilty persons (who cut the tree down ) fence and cut down every single plant, bush, flower in their garden !
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Perhaps they live in a flat and hate nature?


Erty said:
I don't want the first photo anyone sees to be mine. Any takers.
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Why not? The image thread starter usually sets the bar for others to follow.
 
Okay, bar set. It isn't very high. It was the height of summer on a clear bright day so infrared pictures were more fun.
 
Plain Nev said:
The plot thickens. I thought it unlikely that a 16 year old boy would just happen to have a chainsaw and do something like that off his own bat.
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Oh you've heard it already; rural folks hate townies, a farm boy would know how to work a chainsaw so the backlash will include the thing that passes for Government in Scotland banning all chainsaws and the metropolitan-focussed English Westminster bunch accusing the hardcore rural fringe for an assault on democracy. After all, in a well-balanced democracy it is the task and responsibility of the local government to do the overnight taking care of problemmatic trees.

Mark my words, this will come down to a "Robin Hood prince of thieves" hater.
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
Mark my words, this will come down to a "Robin Hood prince of thieves" hater.
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No, surely a fan of Robin Hood fed up with fun poked at him fo losing his way to Sherwood Forest and ending up at Hadrians Wall?
 
Seriously, there may be a small principle involved in that the felling is unsanctioned. But again, it's only a single tree - and the use of the term 'iconic' is ridiculous and belongs to the age of social media - relying on constructs rather than everyday reality. I say this last bit knowing that my dear old dad, long before anything was digital, went to the trouble of taking a snap of Ashness Bridge when he could with less effort bought any one of a selection of similar postcards.

At root, making an image of a static something that others have made images of before from a similar viewpoint, could be seen as an escape from trying to express an original response to direct experience. The word bandwagon comes to mind.

garryknight said:
www.bbc.co.uk

Sycamore Gap: Man in his 60s held after Hadrian's Wall tree cut down

Police make a second arrest over the cutting-down of the world-famous Hadrian's Wall tree.
www.bbc.co.uk
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Yeah yeah yeah - we can easily guess at the social reality involved. It's all the fuss about such a small matter that bothers me. Sycamores are rife and I welcome them as a naturalised native. If anyone decries them being here, I might warn you that with an unbidden conspiracy of human behaviour and climate change, far worse changes are afoot ...

Giant flies and fungi, a smell of burning ...

I used to decry sci-fi as a literary genre, but now suspect that much of it was prescient. We're all piddling into the wind. So let's discuss trivia, hey?
 
droj said:
Seriously, there may be a small principle involved in that the felling is unsanctioned. But again, it's only a single tree - and the use of the term 'iconic' is ridiculous and belongs to the age of social media - relying on constructs rather than everyday reality. I say this last bit knowing that my dear old dad, long before anything was digital, went to the trouble of taking a snap of Ashness Bridge when he could with less effort bought any one of a selection of similar postcards.

At root, making an image of a static something that others have made images of before from a similar viewpoint, could be seen as an escape from trying to express an original response to direct experience. The word bandwagon comes to mind.


Yeah yeah yeah - we can easily guess at the social reality involved. It's all the fuss about such a small matter that bothers me. Sycamores are rife and I welcome them as a naturalised native. If anyone decries them being here, I might warn you that with an unbidden conspiracy of human behaviour and climate change, far worse changes are afoot ...

Giant flies and fungi, a smell of burning ...

I used to decry sci-fi as a literary genre, but now suspect that much of it was prescient. We're all piddling into the wind. So let's discuss trivia, hey?
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Whatever you think it is iconic and few serious photographers will not have heard of it; I am not signed up to social media other than this forum. That entire area along Hadrian's Wall is spectacular. It is NOT a small matter and just as the damage to the Coliseum in Rome, it requires a serious response or such vandals will destroy all we have. Are there no landscapes or monuments near where you live that you would try to protect?

Dave
 
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FishyFish said:
A sixty year old man has now also been arrested in connection with the felling of the tree.

www.theguardian.com

Sycamore Gap: man, 60, arrested in connection with felled tree

News follows earlier arrest of boy, 16
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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Assuming the lad arrested did it then I can only think that he must have told the police who supplied the chainsaw. It would account for the reported mark on tree..ie "Cut here" . I'm of the opinion that it wasn't vandalism for the sake of it and I can't speculate who would 'benefit' from the tree 'being gone' because I don't know the area but I'm with Plain Nev's suggestion at the start of the thread. Post #12 who said....

"I'd be looking at farmers or land owners who have got fed up with people traipsing over their land"

I recall another felling of a tree but a tall fir which inhibited the view of Poole Harbour from a resident higher up the hill .It was the same thinking... Who would benefit ? In that case it would also enhance the value of the house .

Isn't Google marvellous :D https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...eighbours-tree-blocked-sea-views-hot-tub.html
 
JohnC6 said:
Assuming the lad arrested did it then I can only think that he must have told the police who supplied the chainsaw. It would account for the reported mark on tree..ie "Cut here" . I'm of the opinion that it wasn't vandalism for the sake of it and I can't speculate who would 'benefit' from the tree 'being gone' because I don't know the area but I'm with Plain Nev's suggestion at the start of the thread. Post #12 who said....

"I'd be looking at farmers or land owners who have got fed up with people traipsing over their land"

I recall another felling of a tree but a tall fir which inhibited the view of Poole Harbour from a resident higher up the hill .It was the same thinking... Who would benefit ? In that case it would also enhance the value of the house .

Isn't Google marvellous :D https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...eighbours-tree-blocked-sea-views-hot-tub.html
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A friend and next door neighbour of mine (now deceased so no comeback) did the same thing. It was a wild cherry tree with preservartion that obstructed his view. He didn’t have it felled just “pruned” without permission while the site was being developed with a new house on it. Probably happens more often than realised.
 
I just can not understand why someone would do this.

It baffles me.
 
woof woof said:
I just can not understand why someone would do this.

It baffles me.
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What with the rising costs of fuel, maybe they were stocking up on logs, for the winter?
 
Cobra said:
What with the rising costs of fuel, maybe they were stocking up on logs, for the winter?
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You can rule out that one immediately. They didn't take any. You would have taken at least some if you went to that length unless your primary motive was to make a statement
 
LongLensPhotography said:
You can rule out that one immediately. They didn't take any.
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I would have gone back later, with a trailer or truck.
So no, I'm not ruling it out.
Even though my post was sarcasm.

Sorry you missed it.
 
Resurrecting a slightly older thread, but this put me in mind of the famous Wanaka Tree in New Zealand. I was due to visit here when the pandemic hit so the trip was cancelled. In the interim, vandals chopped branches of this tree, ruining it's aesthetic appeal. I was surprised that this wasn't referenced when the Sycamore gap incident occurred.
Attilio Ruffo took my favourite ever shot from this location... https://www.attilioruffo.com/photographs/colour/2


Screenshot 2024-03-22 085334.jpg
 
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Stunning NZ picture but not surprised it was not mentioned as few of us will have been there or even likely to. What do these vandals get from the damage they do.

Dave
 
Dave Canon said:
Stunning NZ picture but not surprised it was not mentioned as few of us will have been there or even likely to. What do these vandals get from the damage they do.

Dave
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I don't know Dave, there were lots on theories around this particular incident; some local sick of photographers trespassing or trampling through the area. This place was something of a mecca for landscape photographers.
 
Santafe2000 said:
I don't know Dave, there were lots on theories around this particular incident; some local sick of photographers trespassing or trampling through the area. This place was something of a mecca for landscape photographers.
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I can understand this to an extent, there are numerous places in the UK which social media has amplified as must do locations to a previously unknown crazy level.
They all have cars to park and litter to drop etc. Then trample the area to oblivion over time.
The entire Lake District for example :LOL:
 
4wd said:
I can understand this to an extent, there are numerous places in the UK which social media has amplified as must do locations to a previously unknown crazy level.
They all have cars to park and litter to drop etc. Then trample the area to oblivion over time.
The entire Lake District for example :LOL:
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Yes, mass tourism is always an issue but am I being unrealistic... aren't most landscape photographers respectful of their environment?
 
There's a tree on the moorland between Sheffield and the Peak District that made for a nice subject. Here's a shot I took a few years ago:

https://flic.kr/p/2df2xx7
View: https://flic.kr/p/2df2xx7


This is what it looks like now:

1000011708.jpg

B6054
maps.app.goo.gl

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
maps.app.goo.gl maps.app.goo.gl

I'm not suggesting it was the most photogenic tree in the world, but it's location close to the road (and a layby) meant it was well photographed. I can't see any reason why the tree would have been disfigured like this other than ill-intent.
 
FishyFish said:
I'm not suggesting it was the most photogenic tree in the world, but it's location close to the road (and a layby) meant it was well photographed. I can't see any reason why the tree would have been disfigured like this other than ill-intent.
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Some people sadly only find satisfaction in destroying things. :(
 
Dave Canon said:
Stunning NZ picture but not surprised it was not mentioned as few of us will have been there or even likely to. What do these vandals get from the damage they do.

Dave
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Less photographers.
 
Plain Nev said:
Less photographers.
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But the land was owned by the NT so nothing to do with anyone else. I noted that from the road there is a public footpath leading to the Wall and the tree. I personally visited Hadrian's wall summer 2022 but just took a shot of the sycamore from the road which is not ideal as you need to be lower and thus walk most the way to the tree. I would have done but my nagging wife did not want to wait. I did not bother to process the image until recently as even this less than ideal view is better than one can get now.

Dave
 
I imagine the tree was in the gap in the mid 1970s when I walked that stretch of wall on a school trip, but I don't remember a tree being pointed out as notable.

It since became a celebrity tree, famous for being famous. No loss.
 
Dave Canon said:
But the land was owned by the NT so nothing to do with anyone else. I noted that from the road there is a public footpath leading to the Wall and the tree. I personally visited Hadrian's wall summer 2022 but just took a shot of the sycamore from the road which is not ideal as you need to be lower and thus walk most the way to the tree. I would have done but my nagging wife did not want to wait. I did not bother to process the image until recently as even this less than ideal view is better than one can get now.

Dave
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Sorry, I was referring to the tree in NZ. I should have made myself clear.
 
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