In the north of England, the mystery of the slain maple

• From our special correspondents Vincent Jolly (text) and Emily Garthwaite / The Company for Le Picaro Magazine (photos)

The victim is a tree. 8:50 a.m. on Thursday, September 28. Northumbria, a quiet rural area in the north of England, wakes up after a violent night with a violent storm. Gary Pickles is bedridden with Covid-19 fever. He jumped when he got an email from a higher-up. A grower says the sycamore gap was cleared overnight.

A Northumberland National Park ranger climbs into his vehicle and speeds toward this nationally famous sycamore maple stand, perfectly positioned in the hollow of a ravine between two mountains. He should be clear on that. Pickles speeds along the military road that cuts through the bleak but majestic English countryside that separates Newcastle and Carlisle.

Through the windows, the 54-year-old man sees the verdant slopes and steep cliffs of the famous Vin Cili, a rock formation on which the emperor Hadrian built his wall, defining the territory of Rome, passing at full speed. Gary knows every rock, every fence, every nook and cranny of this landscape; All these details were his daily life for many years and no one noticed. As he turns a bend, he glances sharply to the right. His blood runs cold and he gasps. The tree no longer appears on the horizon, but in the landscape where it grew.

“I've been sad twice in my life: Diana and Sycamore”

It was 9:11 am when he sent the following message from his cell phone. “It's gone.” (“ He disappeared. “) “The wind finally…