Latest news with #lumberjack
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Former lumberjack falsely accused of being the Sycamore Gap feller had to wear 'Rod Stewart' wig to avoid abuse after trolls targeted him
A former lumberjack falsely accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree had to wear a Rod Stewart wig to avoid abuse after he was targeted by trolls. Walter Renwick was arrested the day after the famous tree, which stood in a valley along Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland National Park for around 150 years, was illegally chopped down in September 2023. Officers searched the ex lumberjack's home and removed a chainsaw from his property after he was accused by online sleuths. Following his arrest, he became scared to leave the house as people would accuse him of felling the tree when they saw him in public. 'It was heartbreaking. There were police everywhere, drones flying around the valley, divers in the lake, they were 100 per cent certain I'd done it,' he told the BBC. Eventually, Mr Renwick resorted to wearing a disguise to stop so many people recognising him. 'Every time I went shopping in Haltwhistle or Hexham, people were nudging each other and saying, ''That's him that cut the tree down'', stuff like that. I know it was daft but I put a Rod Stewart wig on so people didn't spot me,' he said. To make matters worse, Mr Renwick had recently been evicted from Plankey Mill Farm, near Bardon Mill, meaning he was also dealing with the loss of his home. In December 2023, Northumbria Police let Mr Renwick, as well as a 16-year-old who had also been accused, go following a stressful and public process. The force said it had carried out a 'meticulous and proportionate investigation' and recognised the 'strength of feeling' caused by the felling of the iconic tree. Police arrested Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, both from Cumbria, over the crime. The pair were both convicted of two counts of criminal damage and sentenced to 10 years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court in May this year.
CTV News
06-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
N.B. lumberjack competition kicks off summer circuit of timber sports
A competitor races over a log floating on the pond at the Central New Brunswick Woodmen's Museum during the New Brunswick Lumberjack Competition in Boiestown, N.B., on July 5, 2025. (Nick Moore, CTV Atlantic) Sharp axes and revved up chainsaws were the tools of the trade in Boiestown, N.B., this weekend with the New Brunswick Lumberjack Competition launching the summer circuit of timber sports events across the province. The annual event, hosted by the Central New Brunswick Woodmen's Museum, brought together 26 competitors on Saturday. lumberjack race Two competitors race to chop through logs during the New Brunswick Lumberjack Competition in Boiestown, N.B., on July 5, 2025. (Nick Moore, CTV Atlantic) 'It's a pile of fun to watch, but a pile of fun to do actually,' said Rod Cumberland, a competitor who has championed the sport for 40 years. 'It takes a lot of skill, a lot of endurance, a lot of strength, so it's got a lot of everything.' Events at the Boisetown competition included several chopping and sawing races along with axe throwing challenges. The kettle boil event had competitors race to build a fire to heat a can of water, starting out with only an axe and block of wood. The final event – the boom run – saw competitors race across chained logs floating in the museum's pond. fire race A competitor races to start a fire during the New Brunswick Lumberjack Competition in Boiestown, N.B., on July 5, 2025. (Nick Moore, CTV Atlantic) Cumberland, who is also president of the Maritime Lumberjack Association, said competitors will meet again in Prince Edward Island at the end of July before a busy late summer schedule of logging sport events. 'You go to the different events, you get points for every event, and the person with the most points at the end of the year wins,' said Cumberland. 'This is our first stop in Boiestown.' boom run A competitor is pictured racing across logs floating on the pond at the Central New Brunswick Woodmen's Museum during the New Brunswick Lumberjack Competition in Boiestown, N.B., on July 5, 2025. (Nick Moore, CTV Atlantic) The summer schedule of logging sport competitions around the Maritimes includes:
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Lumberjack who was falsely accused of chopping down the Sycamore Gap tree 'considered taking his own life' after being arrested for felling the iconic landmark
A lumberjack falsely accused of chopping down the Sycamore Gap tree has spoken of how his arrest drove him to the brink of suicide. Walter Renwick, 70, was named on social media as being responsible for felling the famous landmark, in September 2023, and arrested by police the following day. He was released without charge but yesterday, as Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were found guilty of cutting down the 50ft tree, Mr Renwick told the Mail how being wrongly accused almost 'broke' him. The pensioner said he was shunned by friends and left so isolated in his community that he considered taking his own life. 'That sounds horrible to say but I really felt flat. I thought, this is not the way I planned my life,' he said. 'It was really horrible. Every time I went shopping in the village, people would say, 'He's the man who did Sycamore Gap'. 'Everyone turned against me. Everyone who knew me as a friend, they were having doubts. They were looking at things online and believing them. 'Everybody had me guilty.' Pictured: the Sycamore Tree Gap which flourished in Northumberland alongside Hadrian's Wall. It became a location for marriage proposals, a place of pilgrimage, a site for ashes to be scattered, and even a scene in the Kevin Costner film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Shortly before the tree was felled, Mr Renwick was evicted from his farmhouse and campsite following complaints about anti-social behaviour. He said the finger of suspicion was wrongly pointed at him because of the dispute, and because he has worked as a lumberjack since he left school, aged 17. Mr Renwick, of Allendale, Cumbria, added: 'There isn't any phone signal at the farmhouse so I hadn't seen the news. 'My brother came down and told me about the Sycamore Gap tree. He said my name was being bandied about. I said, 'Of course I haven't done the tree'. 'Then it started going silly.' Mr Renwick was arrested on September 29, the day after the tree was cut down, and released the same day. But he remained under investigation until the police confirmed they had dropped the case against him altogether on December 13. He said he had never met Graham or Carruthers but he thought they were 'bad people'.
Times
08-05-2025
- General
- Times
How to be a better man: learn about tree felling
When it was suggested by my editors that I learn a craft or skill that might make me a better man for Luxx, I was concerned that the column would be rather short-lived. Aside from a few menial tasks, what more could I learn? Over the years I've learnt how to whittle a woodpecker from a lump of wood, been taught how to fold shirts by a professional wardrobe organiser, watched an Old Firm football final in Glasgow, decorated a house during lockdown, sired two sons, married a woman and also a man (not at the same time). Surely I was already better at most things? What did you have in mind, I asked. The list of suggestions that pinged into my inbox for the rest of the day was so plentiful that I had to upgrade my iCloud storage. A bit rude. Top of the list, to my consternation, was to learn how to fell a tree. The traditional image of a rugged lumberjack in a plaid shirt shouting 'timber' is still clearly an alluring one to some (google 'lumberjack films' and at least 36 titles will pop up — and that's not counting those on Pornhub). Since I moved to the Lake District five years ago, I've discovered that a lot of tree felling is taken care of naturally by the weather. We've often been stuck at home, or unable to get to our home, after violent storms have blown down trees. What I've also discovered is that pottering about pruning in the garden with an axe or small chainsaw can be immensely satisfying. No one wants to chop down a tree — unless it's dead, dangerous or diseased (although you're allowed to on your own property, unless it's subject to a tree preservation order or in a conservation area). It is worth remembering, though, that any injury or damage caused to a neighbour or their property while you're felling is your liability. Advertisement The biggest liability, of course, is the damage you could cause yourself. While watching a few YouTube videos will teach you how to wedge, hinge and back cut a small tree, anything heftier will require a little more expertise. Which is why I spent a morning with the tree specialist Will Hicks in Windermere. • Wear pink but don't cry: what young men really think of masculinity Brandishing a chainsaw is not as easy as Elon Musk made it look. Those things are lethal — and heavy. And that combination when you're swinging from a tree 20ft in the air is something you need to be better at before trying it on your own. Hicks, whom I witnessed felling some tall ashes suffering from ash dieback — a widespread fungal disease ravaging forests and parks throughout the UK — recommends that any amateur completes a course in basic chainsaw maintenance before undertaking anything more onerous than chopping down a Christmas tree. It is not the most exhilarating way to spend a day or two, according to Adam Brown, co-founder of the swimwear brand Orlebar Brown. He and his husband recently bought a beautiful estate in North Yorkshire and, while he has a groundsman to help him to maintain the land, Brown decided it would be beneficial to learn some of the skills himself ( To his surprise, and that of his friends, this style-setter is now in possession of a Lantra Level 2 Award in chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting. It's the Academy Award of arboriculture. And, equally impressive (or alarming), alongside his colourful collection of trim-fitting swim shorts, he now has a pair of chainmail trousers and gloves, safety boots, hi-vis helmet, visor and ear protectors. • Only 3 types of men? No! I know of at least 5 Advertisement A good half-day of the course, Brown warns, involves learning how to take apart and clean a chainsaw — which is not going to make your Instagram reel go viral. But, Hicks says, you won't regret it. Things snap and nuts come loose on these machines, and the biggest cause of accidents is chainsaw kickback, where the guide bar (which holds the cutting chain) gets thrown upwards and backwards towards the user at high speed. He has witnessed a number of severed fingers fly through the air, fellers fall to the ground before a tree does, and others crushed by a tree with a rotten cavity that has fallen in an unexpected direction. But be warned: as I discovered, these courses are often booked up months in advance. If you fancy something in the meanwhile, do watch Hicks in action on his Instagram (@will_hicks_arboriculture). Or if you want to throw yourself into it, like Brown has, enroll on a more advanced course: three days learning to fell and process trees. I suppose, in a way, trunks are already his speciality. For advice on tree felling law and legislation, see • Next time: baking
