Day 21: The Sycamore Massacre

August 16, 2024: It was time to part ways with Karolina. She had to go back to work, but I would press onward to finish the Pennine Way (as well as two other trails, if all went according to plan).

The AD122 bus only came through every couple of hours and I decided that the 8:30am one was much too early, so I planned to catch the 10:33am bus back to the trail, and Karolina could catch a train about ten minutes later to Newcastle where she'd then switch to another train and continue on to Edinburgh. 

My bus arrived, and I boarded. Karolina headed into the train station in order to catch her train. 

Time to go back to Hadrian's Wall!

The bus was quiet crowded with tons of day hikers and every seat on the bus was filled. I rode it to The Sill, near where I had left the trail two days earlier and it was only a 5 or 10 minute walk from there to the Pennine Way (and Hadrian's Wall Path, for that matter).

The day was a beautiful day--sunny and clear, although there was a bit of a chill in the wind.

It wasn't long before I reached the location of perhaps the most infamous and notorious crime ever committed along Hadrian's Wall: the cutting down of the Sycamore Gap tree. The crime was a relatively recent one as well, occurring about a year earlier. 

The tree was about 150 years old, and provided a scenic backdrop to Hadrian's Wall that passed just a few feet from it, and the tree's claim to fame was greatly enhanced when it was used for a prominent scene in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Check out the scene on YouTube if you'd like to see it from that context. (As a sidenote, I couldn't help but notice Kevin Costner walking along the top of Hadrian's Wall--an activity that is prohibited nowadays to help preserve the wall. First swimming in the pool under Hardraw Force, and now this. Does that man follow any rules at all?!)

Okay, apparently that scene on YouTube is restricted in the United States. If you have a VPN, you can get around it. If you don't.... I couldn't find a YouTube clip with the entire scene that was filmed here, but I did find two that work in the US that cover the entire scene, but there is some overlap. Check here for Part 1 of the scene, and check Part 2 for the rest of the scene, skipping ahead to 2:27 into the clip.

A few day hikers check out the remains of the Sycamore Gap tree

Anyhow, it was a beautiful and much-beloved tree, and in a deliberate act of vandalism, the tree was cut down for no good reason at all. People around the world were horrified at the atrocity, and still are. A couple of people have been arrested and charged with the destruction, but as I write this, the trial hasn't happened yet. Regardless of what happens there, however, the tree will never be the same.

There's a fence around the stump with a sign asking people not to mess with it since they hope a new tree will sprout from it.

Anyhow, I paid my respects to the tree, took a few photos and continued onward.

The sign asks for people not to touch the stump since they're hoping it'll sprout and regrow (eventually) again.

 

The trail was crowded with day hikers once again, but that wasn't a surprise. After a couple of miles, however, the Pennine Way veered off from the Hadrian's Wall Path and headed northward again, leaving the crowds of people behind.

Later in the afternoon, I did meet one guy who was section hiking the Pennine Way, and he had hiked all but the last 300 miles of the Appalachian Trail. I couldn't imagine anyone stopping with only 300 miles left on the trail, and so I asked if he quit due to some sort of injury, which he confessed was the case. "Any plans to go back and finish those last 300 miles?" I asked.

He wasn't sure about that. It was a long way to travel just to do 300 miles of trail, and he was more inclined to thru-hike the PCT instead at this point. I couldn't blame him.

Late in the afternoon, I passed the Pit Stop, a small room at a farm where they provided a few snacks and cold fizzy drinks for passing hikers. Very thoughtful and nice!

Just two more fields to reach the Pit Stop!

 

And I've made it to the Pit Stop. =)

My goal for the day wasn't much further beyond that. My guidebook described a creek ahead as a "lovely riverside spot," which sounded like code for me of "a nice place to wild camp." Or at least a possibility.... Just on the other side of the river was the horribly named Shitington Hall Farm. I s*** you not!

So after a quick rest at the Pit Stop, I pushed onward, eventually reaching the creek and taking a look around decided that yes, it was a wonderful spot to spend a night. I set up the tent and didn't even put on a rainfly since rain wasn't in the overnight forecast and now I could see the views outside.

And thus ended another day on the trail.....

The trail became much flatter and easier once the Pennine Way split off from Hadrian's Wall! But much less scenic too.

I don't know what kind of butterfly this is, but the front of the wings by the face--at first I thought those were words written on it. WTF?! How did that happen?! But then I zoomed into it later and realized it was more of a zebra pattern. Still kind of weird to see on a butterfly, though.....