A sapling grown from the Sycamore Gap tree was stolen from Wray Castle grounds in Cumbria, and Cumbria Police said Sycamore Gap sapling theft in Cumbria is being investigated as having happened between 9 and 16 June. Laura Lee said the tree's loss would be "deeply felt" and asked those involved to return the sapling or come forward.
The sapling had been planted in April 2026 at Wray Castle, near Ambleside, as one of 49 grown from seeds taken from the tree felled in September 2023. It was part of Branches of Care, a joint National Trust and St Mary's Hospice in Ulverston initiative that uses nature to support people experiencing illness, dementia and bereavement.
Laura Lee on the sapling
Lee said, "The tree belongs to everyone." She also said, "We urge those involved to do the right thing, return the sapling, or come forward." The appeal places the next step with whoever took it, not with the site itself: the National Trust wants the sapling back, and the public message is aimed at ending the theft without waiting for a longer investigation.
Wray Castle and Cumbria Police
Jez Westgarth said his team believed the sapling was taken from the remote site to be replanted elsewhere. "It hasn't just been pulled up recklessly - somebody's thought about what they're doing," he said. Westgarth also said it was the first time he had been made aware of a plant being taken in this way, which sets this case apart from ordinary damage to a young tree.
Branches of Care value
Christopher Neilan said estimating the value of the sapling was difficult because of its intangible sentimental value, and he likened it to a piece of "stolen art". That is the part the theft leaves behind for the people connected to Branches of Care: a plant with no simple replacement value, tied to remembrance as much as to horticulture, and now missing while Cumbria Police investigates who took it and where it went.
