Sycamore Gap tree: Artist recreates famous felled tree's silhouette in lights - as a New Year 'symbol of hope'

An artist has recreated the felled Sycamore Gap tree as a "tree of light" - to create a symbol of hope in the New Year.

Sitting in a dramatic dip between two hills alongside Hadrian's Wall, the Sycamore Gap tree is believed to have been illegally felled overnight in late September. Once voted England's tree of the year, the roughly 300-year-old tree was featured in key scenes in Kevin Costner's 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It was also believed to have caused some minor damage to the wall, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as it fell.

Northumbria Police's investigation into what happened that night is ongoing, but officers have said a 16-year-old and a man in his 60s who were originally arrested in connection to the felling would face no further action. Two men in their 30s remain on bail.

Now artist Claire Eason, best known for her sand illustrations, has spent three months perfecting a light replica of the much-admired tree where it once stood, using "just one small drone". She told SWNS she had admired the sycamore and all that it represented, and her reaction when the tree was felled in September was total "shock and a huge sense of loss".

"I had been to the tree before - and had passed it many times as well," Ms Eason, who worked as a GP for 30 years in the Midlands and Nottinghamshire area, said. "We just thought it would outlive anybody. I saw it as a landmark, the same way as I see the Angel Of the North or the Tyne Bridge. But what made it so unique and special was that it was a living landmark."

The Sycamore Gap tree had become woven into the lives of so many people who had seen it, she said, and even those who hadn't. "They would have definitely come across it in incredible Aurora photographs, the Robin Hood movie - it still meant something to them. The tree distils everything about being a human - it was a place of celebration, memorial where people scattered ashes - parents introducing their kids to nature, history."

Once it was gone, Ms Eason said she was still able to envision it - and she wanted to find a way to represent that the "spirit of the tree" was still there. She had previously spent some time dabbling with light painting and drones, and felt it was a good medium to send that message.

The artist got to work in October using a drone, a camera, her laptop and a tripod - initially practicing over the sea at Beadnell. Ms Eason, who compared the process to drawing a heart or writing your name with a sparkler, said: "It was just one drone flown on a specific flight path, captured by long exposure. It only lasts as long as the light is moving - it is the most transient thing in the world."

Starting with a pen and tracing paper, she then used Google Earth to create a flat image - and then rotated that to 90 degrees to make it a vertical image. "Once that was completed, then - with a lot of effort - it can be moved to the area you want it - the Sycamore Gap. That bit is a lot more tricky as it had to be exactly in the centre of the gap."

It took her two daylight attempts and three different nights, but her creation finally came together on the night of 5 December - creating a stunning image of the tree's glowing outline amidst a starry night backdrop. "It was -6 degrees which frosted up the lights attached to the drone - that gave a softer, ethereal feel to the long exposure, which I liked," she said. "The flight took 3 minutes and the lights were set to very low; long exposure enhances them, just as it does with star light."

Ms Eason then shared it with the public through her social media channels on New Year's Eve to create a message of hope for the next year - to a resounding chorus of positive feedback. "It's about creating a symbol of hope after destruction," she said. "I thought a new year would be a good time to feel peace, renewal and reset."