A huge 100ft tribute to the iconic Sycamore Gap Tree has been shared for the first time to mark six months since it was chopped down.<br /><br />Retired doctor and beach artist Claire Eason led the 10-strong team of volunteers who spent six painstaking hours etching precise lines in the sand.<br /><br />The group used garden rakes to carve the intricate boulders onto Bamburgh beach in Northumberland. <br /><br />The iconic tree is shown standing proud along a rendition of Hadrian's Wall while a carved root scene is depicted underneath. <br /><br />Claire took the lead on creating the tree and its wall while her team of dedicated volunteers created the boulder and root section. <br /><br />The project was led by the BBC's The One Show and paid tribute to Sycamore Tree, which was hacked down by vandals on September 28 last year. <br /><br />Claire, 59, said: "The idea is that it was quite a graphic boulder design as we had a lot of volunteers who hadn't done anything before and it made it easier. <br /><br />"It was for The One Show and it was produced by a local company called Signpost Productions.<br /><br />“When the tree came down a lot of us had a personal shock. That prompted me to create a design. <br /><br />"After that we had an idea of doing something more inclusive than me with a community. <br /><br />“Underneath there is a route system that embraces huge boulders which shows whatever happens next for the tree, where it will sprout again. <br /><br />"It’s a suggestion of Hadrian's wall, nothing too detailed, just bold and graphic. I gave the volunteers free control over the boulder design. <br /><br />“There were 10 people. The day did change a lot because of the weather, they turned up without any hesitation.<br /><br />"We arrived at dawn on the beach and the film crew were there. The light was beautiful. There’s a lot of repetition for filming. <br /><br />"The whole thing took a good six hours. The extra hour was waiting for the tide to come in.”<br /><br />The group carried out the project on February 13 after a break in the weather, but have only shared it now for the first time to mark six months since it was felled.<br /><br />Claire mapped out the design on her computer beforehand and uses a complicated grid system to ensure accuracy.
