What Happened at Sycamore Gap?

The answer to that question is something wonderful. Something beautiful, something that brought everyone together and then rebounded positivity out into the world. Unfortunately for this wonderful thing to happen, as is too often the case, something awful had to happen first. Words and pictures by Greg Hackett.

At The Sill, near Hexham, on a famous stretch of Hadrian's Wall, can be found an exhibition which celebrates the positive learnings of the Sycamore Gap atrocity.

In synch with Creative Communities CIC, artist Charlie Whinney has created an installation here which combines his skill as a steam-bending wood artist, the promises of those employed to guard our natural heritage, the hopes of schoolchildren challenged with processing the senseless acts of adult humans, and a treasured piece of the tree itself. What remains is a stretch of trunk just 1.7m long. Strangely, that is exactly the average height of a grown man.

I doubt it is a coincidence though that the trunk is horizontal, at waist height, as if lying in state. The public response to the felling of the tree - its death - was tangible, palpable grief. There is no other way to describe it. Who would have thought that something standing so lonely would have so many people who loved it?

The Exhibition

One year on... the exhibition is a collaborative response which emerged between Northumberland National Park Authority, the National Trust, Historic England, and The Hadrian’s Wall Partnership. With over 2,000 public suggestions, three key themes arose: supporting nature, providing space for reflection, and engaging artists. Charlie was commissioned to create an exhibition offering a place for reflection. This space can be experienced until Nov 3rd, at which time a decision needs to be made about how to permanently incorporate the trunk of the tree within The Sill Discovery Centre.

There was a touching performance of the Lost Spells, Lost Words writer Robert Macfarlane poem Heartwood (bottom of page) at the opening of the exhibition. Also available on site are copies of a book which Charlie was involved in designing.

"& Then The Gap" is a light paperback which captures the stories, letters and thoughts of those people closest to the event, either through their working roles at the time, or as artists following. It's a powerful collection of notes. Tony Gates, Chief Executive of the Park Authority, recalls speaking with his wife who was there:

"And I'm on the phone with her as she is there looking across at the site and she is in tears. I understood it then, the approach needed from us."

Green Shoots

A visit to the scene of the crime is a strange experience today. It's a ten minute stroll from the discovery centre, either up and down the undulations upon which the wall was built or a lower more direct route which no doubt saved Roman soldiers some time as they went about their business behind the wall. Either way, you come upon Sycamore Gap suddenly and the tree-shaped hole is a shock. The stump has now been protected by a wooden fence to give the tree some space to be.

I found myself approaching the site with a degree of self-consciousness. There were people there but nobody seemed to be talking. It was like entering a church. As I got closer I realised that a group was quietly arranging itself around the fence, preparing for some sort of ceremony. I decided to watch from afar and so could not make out the words of the incantation, but I could see the occasional wave of a stick and raised palms.

Well, something is working...

In August, 12 new shoots emerged from the stump, offering hope of regeneration. Discovered by a National Park ranger, these small shoots, each with a few tiny leaves, could eventually form new trees around the original stump. The National Trust and Northumberland National Park Authority are monitoring the growth closely, urging visitors to respect the site. Seedlings from the tree continue to thrive at the National Trust’s Plant Conservation Centre.

And then there is the National Trust’s ‘Tree of Hope’ programme. This is offering saplings grown from the felled Sycamore Gap tree, and inspiring communities to honour lost loved ones. One of the first recipients is Ruth, who lost her 12-year-old son Fergus to cancer. Fearing he would be forgotten, Ruth and her family had long searched for a meaningful tree to plant in his memory, highlighting the impact of childhood cancer. Now, Fergus, who loved the outdoors and had planned to walk Hadrian’s Wall with his dad, will be remembered with a sapling planted in a place he cherished.

The Sycamore Gap Seasons

These experiences of loss, grief, hope and renewal are chapters in the story of Sycamore Gap. Charlie's exhibition captures this by reflecting the story of the tree in four panels, each representing a season.

The tree was felled in Autumn, leafless. The first panel is made of strips of wood, steam-bent, interwoven and bearing etched promises provided by the staff of the Northumberland National Park Authority. "I will plant it, nurture it and love it, growing more of my own food" says one. And another: "Use my car less and public transport more".

You are also invited to make your own promise.

The Winter panel depicts the tree resting, sketched with charcoal made from sycamore twigs collected near Charlie's workshop. In front of this panel is the resting place of the trunk itself.

The Spring panel is about new growth, and is positioned in front of the only exterior window in the room to allow daylight to shine through it. The heart-shaped stump is lush green and the locations of some of the new shoots are marked around it.

And finally the Summer panel is perhaps the most moving of all. Here, local schoolchildren have written messages of hope upon leaves in response to the question "What change would you like grown-ups to make?"

Life Goes On

Walking back from my visit to the Gap, I see a group of climbers at the top of a crag gathering rope. The barking of their dog below them bounces off the bumps along the wall. They are enjoying being outside in a place of beauty, expressing their right to roam. They are connecting with nature, doing something that makes them feel good. They are a community, making the world a better place.

Whatever was going on in the heads of the perpetrators we may never know. There is a trial in December so perhaps we will know more then, or perhaps not. Or maybe it doesn't matter that we know.

What does matter is what followed. Collective love, togetherness, the inspiration of art and nature writing, the power of sharing in our natural and cultural heritage. The stories, the old photographs of family members posing with the tree. Loved ones. The caring that has followed. The way it has reached out, and branched around the world, sharing its power beyond what it even achieved when it was alive. And now we see life is back, still trying to hug us, in spite of what was done.

In Charlie's book, artist Shona Branigan reflects on leaves sprouting around the base of the tree which will eventually grow to create a kind of curtain of protection. She writes:

"I had felt that the Sycamore Gap tree was alone, separate from the forest, vulnerable as a result. Now it feels like there is a community of growth for the future which is much stronger and more resilient. I look forward to this."

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