Hadrian's Wall Sycamore Gap
Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland is the most photographed section of the Wall, a dramatic dip in the wall's course on the Whin Sill escarpment where a single sycamore tree stood for over a century in the hollow between two high sections of the Roman curtain wall in a composition of tree, wall and Northumberland sky that became one of the most recognised natural heritage images in the British Isles. The tree achieved international fame through its appearance in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and its felling by vandals in September 2023 created an outpouring of national grief quite remarkable for the loss of a single tree.
The Sycamore Gap tree was the most beloved single tree in England, a position recognised by its victory in the Woodland Trust's Tree of the Year competition on multiple occasions and confirmed by the enormous public reaction to its destruction. The young sycamore now growing from the root stock of the original tree, protected in place while the remaining trunk was removed for preservation, provides the basis for the next chapter in the story of this extraordinary location.
The section of Hadrian's Wall through which Sycamore Gap runs, between Housesteads and Steel Rigg, is among the most dramatic on the entire Wall route, the Whin Sill escarpment providing the natural defensive advantage that the Wall's builders exploited in placing their barrier here. The walking on the Wall path in both directions from Sycamore Gap provides the finest experiences of Hadrian's Wall in a landscape of considerable power and beauty.