The trial for two men accused of felling the celebrated Sycamore Gap tree in the north of England opened on Tuesday. The tree, a beloved landmark that stood by Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was found illegally cut down in September 2023.

Two men — Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, both from Cumbria, England — have pleaded not guilty to two charges of criminal destruction.

On Tuesday, they appeared in Newcastle Crown Court, in England’s northeast, less than an hour’s drive away from where the tree stump stands.