Gap tree felled!!

[FerlasDave]

Has anyone seen the sad news this morning that the gap tree on hadrians wall has been cut down…

Famous Hadrian's Wall gap tree 'felled overnight' - BBC News

The Northumbria police commissioner said she was "incandescent" that it looked like vandalism.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Chainsaw]

You got to wonder what's going on in the mind of such a person, they must be pretty f'ed up...

 

[Jared]

Yeah, to be that mad at something that you go out and carry felling gear in the middle of the night.

 

[Broch]

How can anyone 'be mad' at an old tree in the middle of nowhere?
The lack of respect of life that old is depressing and worrying
There's a couple near here, moved in a few years ago, who want to cut down a two hundred year old tree (not on their land) because he has to sweep the leaves up every year!

 

[Jared]

Not mad at the tree, but the tourists going to see it, I'd bet.

 

[Toddy]

That was my thought too
Someone mad at folks parking, or walking, or just accessing the site.

It's on National Trust land, but the NT don't own the local roads, etc., but they make money from the car parks.

Of course, we could be totally mistaken.....

 

[Robbi]

The lad is 16, I reckon he did it as a bet / dare

 

[Tantalus]

"Authorities believe it was deliberately felled" had me in stitches.

How could anyone have made those chainsaw cuts by accident?

 

[Paul_B]

It was an accident m'lord. I meant to cut Major Oak down but didn't know where it was!

It'll sucker up again with care surely? A few more hundred years and it'll be forgotten except for a funny shaped stump and another story to tell about it.

Seriously though, roads and selfish drivers are an issue in places up there. If that's the reason then keep an eye out for explosives at vindolanda or other hadrians wall sites!

 

[mikehill]

BBC report

 

[MartinK9]

This...... is why we can't have nice things.

 

[Woody girl]

I'm speechless!
Why on earth would a young schoolkids want to destroy the tree of the year. Their heritage?
More importantly, how did he get his hands on a chainsaw?
He could have seriously injured himself, or others that might have been with him. (Doubt it was a solo effort, or that he was wearing proper protective gear, or even had a chainsaw operator's qualification)
Vandalism of this sort needs making a real example of.
Councils that do it, too!
We need our trees!

 

[Tantalus]

I am in danger of going on a rant here but there is a whole topic of trees in general that is getting completely avoided or obscured by sentimental attachment to one single photogenic tree that is at best a temporary feature on the landscape.
Am always saddened by mindless vandalism, my point is however that trees are not constant but ever changing, the bigger vandalism is the fact that we have so little woodland and forest across all 4 nations in the UK and very little of that is native or natural.

 

[Woody girl]

I'm also very angry about the number of trees and ancient woodlands that have been felled in the name of progress, that saves 20 minutes on a train journey...hs2!
So many people trying to plant woodlands that will take years to establish properly, and then large amounts of established trees are cut down for new roads....have you seen the mess on the A303?
Hundreds of life giving trees and hedges ripped away for our need to save a few minutes on a journey to the south west for holiday makers in their cars.
=less oxygen more pollution.
I just don't understand the (supposed) logic.

 

[TLM]

that is at best a temporary feature on the landscape.

This is slightly OT but some trees do get slightly old, oldest Scots pine in Finland is 850 years, some N. Am. pines around 4000 years. So it depends on your definition of temporary.

 

[Allison McKenzie]

We happened to be there last week taking photos, it is such a shame. I hope they catch whoever did it, but doubt they will

 

[Robbi]

We happened to be there last week taking photos, it is such a shame. I hope they catch whoever did it, but doubt they will

And even if they do, very little will happen.

 

[Allison McKenzie]

And even if they do, very little will happen.

It turns out they caught a kid for doing it, crazy

 

[Robbi]

It turns out they caught a kid for doing it, crazy

Having just seen images on the news I doubt a 16 year old has the skill or knowledge to fell a tree that size so cleanly.

 

[JonathanD]

There’s more to this. Sadly the uproar of emotion is going to be picked up on and this will probably lead to more iconic trees being felled as a ‘statement’.