Northumberland #69 - Sycamore Gap and Milecastle 39, Hadrian's Wall

Yes, yes.....I know - yet another shot of Sycamore Gap! Somehow, I don't feel my personal 'documentary' of the wall would be complete without a shot of one of the most photographed trees in the UK.

Made famous in the film "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves", the tree stands at a dip on the route of Hadrian's Wall, near Crag Lough.  In 2016 the tree won the UK's "Tree Of The Year" competition.

This section of the wall follows the edge of a cliff – an outcrop of the Great Whin Sill – and several sharp dips in it caused by melting glacial waters. The tree stands within one of these dips, with the cliff and wall rising dramatically either side of it.

In this image, I wanted to accentuate the way stark rocks seem to almost shelter the tree, protecting it from the harsh northern environment. How the tree has survived so long, against both the wind and the pressures of endless walkers stamping on its roots, I have no idea.