'Outcry shows we haven't lost touch with nature'

A literary festival is marking the first anniversary of the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree.

Organisers of the Wigtown Book Festival, in Dumfries and Galloway, were inspired by the response to the felling of the tree to make the environment the theme of the annual event.

A memorial service is taking place later to commemorate the anniversary.

It is one of a number of events taking place all over the UK, with writer Kate Fox set to do a poetry performance at the Northumberland tree's stump.

The Sycamore Gap tree stood in a dip in Hadrian’s Wall, attracting visitors, proposals and was even featured in the Hollywood blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

But on the morning of 28 September 2023, news spread internationally that the tree had been chopped down overnight.

Two men accused of damaging the tree and Hadrian's Wall both deny the offence.

The Wigtown memorial service is one of four events at the 10-day festival which focus on the loss of the famous tree.

The festival's artistic director Adrian Turpin believes the destruction of one of the UK's most popular landmarks has reinvigorated the debate about humanity's relationship with the natural world.

He said the fate of the Sycamore Gap tree had become a symbol of wider nature loss.

"The fact there was such an outburst of rage and anger, and genuine sorrow when it was cut down, shows that we as a society haven't lost touch with nature," he said.

"When we see something like this, and it's something we've talked about when creating these events, you do wonder why anyone would destroy the tree, and we don't know.

"It's felt like an act of penance, like in the old days, an act of religious idolatry. So our events are about expressing the anger, the grief, what it represents on a wider scale in our relationship with nature."

Alongside the festival, which has taken place annually in Scotland's national book town since 1999, a number of other arts and culture events are commemorating what had become a symbol of the North East.

Poet and performer Kate Fox will be at the tree stump at Hadrian’s Wall to read aloud and perform her poems dedicated to the tree, its legacy and future.

The author has written a book called A Celebration of the Tree We Lost and Those to Come.

She described it as "a book of growth, loss and renewal, a song from soil to soul, about how we all live where the earth meets the sky".

Ms Fox added: "It is for everyone who knew the famous silhouette of the tree that stood at Sycamore Gap."

Mr Turpin said many creatives had "felt inspired by the tree, and now feel inspired by its loss".

He added: "At this year's festival we're trying to tell stories about climate change and ecological change in new fresh ways.

"As a society if we're going to make a positive difference to the climate emergency then you need writers and artists to be telling those stories, and making it fresh.

"If we can tell new stories and engage the public, like through the travesty of the Sycamore Gap tree, then we can make a bigger difference."

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