Sycamore Gap tree felled | Man in his 60s also arrested

[Exeter Blue I am here]

Have been there twice in the last two years and guess what….

no litter, no dog shit, (plenty sheep shit though) I didn’t enquire as to mouth or nose breathing as everyone seemed to be enjoying the beautiful and peaceful scenery and the unbelievable Roman constructions around Housesteads.

As a fisherman I spend quite a bit of time in the countryside and yes there has been an uptick in folk enjoying it since Covid. Some don’t know how to behave, many do. Your generalisation is exaggerated and pretty offensive though. I wonder what has made you so cynical and angry.

I was going to post much the same thing. I went to Sycamore Gap in 2020 and again in 2021. I was genuinely taken aback at its magnificence. Amazingly, I managed to spend my time there enjoying nature's bounty and not dropping litter or drinking cans of lager or listening to Dua Lipa on a 'Ghetto Blaster'. Equally amazing was that all the other people there weren't puking into the bushes or fighting or generally behaving like delinquents either, but rather just enjoying, and, horror of horrors, taking photos of, something uniquely appealing.
Clearly though I should not have been allowed to follow in the footsteps of literally millions of pre-Covid tourists by visiting the place without prior vetting from Bluemoon's self-appointed park rangers, especially given that I was only travelling around the North East and Scotland due to the unavailability of international flights. And the last time I checked, being passionate about issues such as bio-diversity and deforestation was not a pre-requisite for visiting areas of outstanding natural beauty.
There are of course far more important issues at play in the 'living world' than the felling of a single tree, and I don't doubt that the increase in footfall at British beauty spots post-Covid has been mirrored by an increase in unacceptable behaviour (albeit that I'm far from convinced that Sycamore Gap would appeal to 'Facebook mouth breathers' particularly - far too much effort involved in driving there and walking up steep little hills), but that doesn't mean people shouldn't feel dismayed that something so eye catching and beautiful should have been so wantonly destroyed.

 

[Coatigan]

still so fucking angry about this today. In a forest a tree blends in with other trees - like its camouflaging itself - but this tree stood alone for 3 centuries tall and proud and in an unforgiving environment. It probably owes its very existence to that V shaped valley that it filled so magnificently and yet one moronic act demonstrated its vulnerability and it acts as a metaphor for what is happening to nature around the country and indeed around the world.

That's it really.

Sure, it is not a 'national tragedy', sure, lots of trees get chopped down every day. Sure, there are far worse things happening, and all that other utterly pointless 'look at me I'm so fucking contrary' whataboutery.

But it was still a totally stupid, selfish, and completely unnecessary act that achieved nothing but loss of something much bigger and older than all of us, that would have benefited many for many more years to come. I'm sorry, but that for me is worth moaning and being angry about.

 

[supercity88]

Surprise surprise the Facebook mouth breathers are now littering the site of the Sycamore with painted rocks, no doubt further tacky, social media driven tributes will follow.

These painted rocks and other twee shit such as putting Christmas decorations on trees, or creating dioramas out of miniature action figures and dolls out in wild locations (as well as the usual littering) are what make me despise all the people who've newly discovered the British countryside via Facebook and Instatwat.

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Be angry at the person who cut the tree down, not those that are choosing to pay tribute to it.

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

The fucked up thing is that as bad as society is now in 30 years time they will be viewed as the good old days that we all long for. We are on a down hill spiral heading towards a vat of shit.

Steady on now, I know Liverpool and Spurs have won a couple of games but they’re both a long way from winning titles.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

It was one of those iconic British landmarks
I visited the Northumberland National Park centre as they made an enquiry to open an account, so whilst up there I had a wander about in the beautiful surroundings and it was a fabulous thing to see

Whoever has done it needs their legs cutting off

With a few practise cuts on their bollocks.

 

[kaz7]

Still pissed off about this , not only a 300 yr old tree it has all the birds and wildlife to go with it , why are people such cunts, if the 16 rd old did it name and shame the brat , if he is o!d enough to do the crime then he can fucking do the time

 

[The Shallyman]

Yeah, I know it's a terrible thing that has happened. But the reaction is surprising.

In the UK, we will lose our shit over a tree being cut down, or a cat being kicked.

But when a baby dies in Rochdale, because their bedroom was covered in black mold. There's no outrage at all.

We've got our priorities all skewed upside down.

 

[City Hobgoblin]

There is a toxic culture war going on and it's not out of the question that this act was undertaken as some sort of protest or gesture against what some people refer to as 'woke tree-huggers'. Attitudes stoked up and encouraged by large sections of the media and various click-bait merchants.

 

[Gray]

The thought crossed my mind that it was some kind of protest. Perhaps the local council had chopped down trees where the lad lived and he was far from happy about it.

Just a shot in the dark on my part.

 

[west didsblue]

Got to be more to it than meets the eye. To cut a tree that big down with a neat cut would require a skilled lumberjack not a 16 year old kid with a chainsaw.