Tree surgeon's Wall walk for Sycamore Gap

A tree surgeon has hiked Hadrian's Wall in response to the felling of the tree at Sycamore Gap.

Nick Wilson walked just under 88 miles in 23 hours and 10 minutes to raise money for the National Trust and Wilderness Foundation.

The famous sycamore tree was illegally felled in September sparking a police investigation.

Mr Wilson said: “I could not believe someone did such a terrible act of vandalism, it was really shocking and I wanted to show that tree surgeons really care."

Mr Wilson started the challenge at 00:00 GMT on 1 January at Bowness on Solway and finished at 23:10 in Wallsend.

He said the hike left him "pretty beaten up" but "mentally very good".

He added: "I’m really pleased with how it went.

"I’ve been training for a couple of months, but did not take into account the elevation and the hills.

"That took me off guard but I was determined to go for it and get it done in 24 hours."

Mr Wilson wanted to complete the challenge as a "powerful response" to the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree.

“When I saw what had happened at Sycamore Gap, I was absolutely devastated.

"I’ve been a tree surgeon for 18 years and feel very connected to the landscape, and feel as an arborist you understand trees at a deeper level.

“We are not just outlaws with chainsaws going around cutting down beautiful trees.”

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