LONDON (AP) — There is a hole in the heart of the rolling hills of northern England.
A majestic sycamore tree that once sat symmetrically between two hills along Hadrian's Wall was mysteriously felled more than a year and a half ago, causing disbelief and distress for those who considered it an almost sacred site.
“We’re still devastated by it,” said Catherine Cape, who runs a guest cabin nearby. "I can’t drive past it. ... I just don’t like looking at the space there.”
Cape was among those keen to see the outcome of a trial that began Monday in Newcastle Crown Court as a jury was seated to weigh the evidence against two men accused of toppling the famous Sycamore Gap tree and damaging the ancient wall.
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, have pleaded not guilty to two counts each of criminal damage. Prosecutors said the value of the tree exceeded 620,000 pounds ($827,000) and damage to the wall was assessed at 1,100 pounds ($1,468).
The two-week trial opened with Justice Christina Lambert telling prospective jurors that the case was about a single tree felled by a chainsaw and that they would have to set any emotion aside if they were familiar with the incident.
“I am sure each and every one of you have heard about the case given the level of media interest which it has engaged,” the judge said.
Prosecutors haven't said what evidence they have or what inspired the suspects to cut down the revered tree. The list of witnesses included more than a half-dozen police officers, a forensic expert and members of the Forestry Commission, Historic England and the National Trust, which owns the wall and tree.
A criminal prosecution for cutting down a tree is rare and the potential for any prison time for such an offense — not to mention that the maximum penalty for criminal damage is 10 years behind bars — is possibly unprecedented, said attorney Sarah Dodd who specializes in tree law.
“I don’t think anybody has got a custodial sentence for the illegal felling of a tree yet in the U.K.,” said Dodd, who researched it and discussed the matter with colleagues. “That’s on the table because of the gravity of the situation. And when I say gravity, I think value and also shock of the nation.”
The tree was far from Britain’s biggest or oldest. But the way the tree's graceful canopy filled the saddle in the hills along a stretch of the ancient wall built by Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 122 to protect the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire had attracted generations of followers. The wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The tree became famous after being featured in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves,” and was a big draw for tourists, landscape photographers and people snapping selfies for social media.
“I've never had so many conversations as I’ve had about the Sycamore Gap,” said Dodd, who plans to attend the trial as a once-in-a-career opportunity. “Everybody knows about it. It’s captured the hearts or the attention at least of the whole of the U.K. Even people that don’t really care about trees or would not really even think about it.”
The grassy spot along the wall had been the site of first kisses, wedding proposals and a place where the ashes of loved ones were scattered.
Cape walked to the tree on the first dates with her future husband. They later watched their daughter take her first steps there. And after her mother and sister both died in 2020, Cape met her brother-in-law and nephews there when they couldn’t gather indoors during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Before the tree was cut down, about 80% of the inquiries at the main visitors' center of the Northumberland National Park were from people planning to walk to the tree, the park’s chief executive, Tony Gates, said after the tree was cut down.
"The tree’s part of our Northumbrian identity. It’s something that everybody grows up knowing about,” Cape said. “For the people in the villages around the tree, who live near the tree, it was a source of great pride.”
The sycamore was removed with a crane and taken to a National Trust property for storage. A section of the trunk went on display at the park visitor center last year and seeds from the tree that were used to grow saplings are being donated for planting around the U.K.
In time, the tree itself may grow back. Dozens of shoots have sprouted from the stump.
FILE - A general view of the stars above Sycamore Gap, prior to the Perseid Meteor Shower above Hadrian's Wall near Bardon Mill, England, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015.(AP Photo/Scott Heppell, File)
FILE - A general view of the stars above Sycamore Gap prior to the Perseid Meteor Shower above Hadrian's Wall near Bardon Mill, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell, File)
CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie left-hander Parker Messick came within three outs of ending Cleveland's 45-year drought without a no-hitter.
Instead, he became the second Guardians pitcher in eight months to fall short in the ninth inning.
“I did my best. Maybe next time,” Messick said after Cleveland's 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.
Leody Taveras led off the ninth with a grounder that just eluded diving second baseman Juan Brito and went into right field for a single to break up Messick's no-hit bid.
Cleveland still has the longest current gap between no-hitters of any major league franchise. The team’s most recent one was Len Barker’s perfect game on May 15, 1981, against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Up to that point, Messick had faced only one batter over the minimum and silenced a Baltimore lineup that came into the game third in the American League in on-base percentage (.334).
Blaze Alexander followed with a line-drive single to center that ended Messick's night. The 25-year-old Messick was removed to a standing ovation from the crowd of 14,748.
“That was very special what we got to watch tonight. That’s an unbelievably talented lineup that he took a no-hitter into the ninth against and just continued to attack,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He and (catcher Austin) Hedges were magnificent with their sequencing. With that arsenal, that was a beautiful game.”
It was the first time in 11 career starts that Messick went more than seven innings. He was the 54th overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft out of Florida State and made his big league debut last year.
Messick threw 112 pitches, 78 for strikes. The 69.6% strike rate was the third-highest of his career. He walked two and equaled a career best with nine strikeouts. He was charged with two runs in eight-plus innings.
Messick got ahead of hitters early with 21 first-pitch strikes to the 27 batters he faced. The 18 swings and misses also tied a career high.
Out of Messick's six-pitch repertoire, the most effective was the changeup. He threw it 29 times and got 22 strikes, including nine whiffs. His most-used pitch was his four-seam fastball, which he threw 43 times.
“I know they were looking for it. It's just, the bottom falls out of it when you've got late movement like that, especially when you’ve set it up with other pitches, the heaters and the curveballs and cutters — you have to take an outlier swing to it,” Hedges said of the changeup. “You could tell they were trying to, but it’s just that good of a pitch.”
The sinker was Messick's third-most frequent pitch in his first three starts this season, but he threw it only twice against the Orioles.
Hedges said he had the feeling it might be a special night when center fielder Steven Kwan caught Taylor Ward's deep flyball at the wall to end the third inning. José Ramírez — who had a two-run homer in the first — made a nice stop on a grounder by Coby Mayo deep in the hole at third to end the fifth.
“The crowd got pretty loud and that’s an awesome feeling when everybody gets into it. I was really trying to lock in every pitch,” Messick said. “Pretty much about the sixth inning on, I prayed between pretty much every inning and I just was telling myself to execute.”
Baltimore averted a shutout when Gunnar Henderson’s sacrifice fly against closer Cade Smith drove in Taveras. Pete Alonso hit an RBI double before Smith retired the final two batters with runners at second and third for his fourth save.
“The boys were into it the whole game. Once Leody got that hit, I equate it to a sniper in the NBA, where it only takes one to go in for everything to change," said Orioles first-year manager Craig Albernaz, who was Cleveland's bench coach in 2024 and associate manager last season. “Messick was on. He had all his pitches dialed in the strike zone. He did a great job changing speeds in all counts, (getting) weak contact. He was on tonight.”
It was the fourth time since Barker's gem that a single Cleveland pitcher carried a no-hitter into the ninth. John Farrell went eight innings on May 4, 1989, against Kansas City before Kevin Seitzer broke it up with a single after Willie Wilson reached on an error.
Carlos Carrasco went 8 2/3 innings against Tampa Bay on July 1, 2015, and Gavin Williams had a no-hitter for 8 1/3 innings last season on Aug. 6 against the New York Mets.
Carrasco came within one strike of a no-hitter when Rays left fielder Joey Butler lined a slider on an 0-2 count that just eluded the glove of leaping Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis.
Juan Soto broke up Williams’ no-hit bid with a home run to center.
Messick is one of five American League pitchers with at least three wins. He improved to 3-0 this season and is third in the AL with a 1.05 ERA.
“I mean it (stinks), but it is baseball. I’ll have plenty more years to pitch a baseball game, so it might happen again,” he said.
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Cleveland Guardians' Parker Messick pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Cleveland, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians center fielder Steven Kwan catches a fly ball for an out on a ball hit by Baltimore Orioles' Taylor Ward in the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Parker Messick (77) tips his hat to the crowd as he is taken out of the game in the nintgh inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Cleveland, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Parker Messick reacts after the third out in the top of the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Cleveland, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Parker Messick, right, bumps gloves with catcher Austin Hedges, left, as he is taken out of the game in the ninth inning of a baseball game against tghe Baltimore Orioles in Cleveland, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
