The saplings are now being given to charities, groups and individuals as "trees of hope".

Dame Judi plants individual trees in memory of friends who have died and, on the day of Dame Maggie's funeral, her gardener found the sapling planted for her fellow acting dame had borne fruit.

Young saplings need moisture to build strong root systems, and the wet weather also relieved stress in some older trees which had been suffering during the parched weather.

Volunteers fill in gaps with saplings sprouted from mature trees growing right there on the avenue.

Each sapling represents a foot in height of the tree, which stood in a dip in Hadrian's Wall and was cut down in September 2023.