A month after the old Richards Department Store was destroyed by fire, Abergavenny has lost another landmark — the trainer tree!

One was made of bricks and mortar and an architect’s vision. The other of bark and root and an elusive hand. Yet both helped define the town and its character.

For decades visitors to the town’s Castle Meadows gaped with awe and snapped pictures of the leather and lace fruit that hung from its branches like a testament to failed athletic ambition everywhere.

The exact origin and meaning of the tree lie buried beneath the passing of time and countless Facebook posts. Yet it was the intrigue and speculation it helped to generate that mattered!

Were those trainers hung there as part of an ancient fertility ritual or were they simply thrown there by people leaving for university?

Either way, there is one less tree in the world and that’s always a shame.

However, although the iconic tree is gone, the Meadows remains in all its windswept and half-drowned glory. Check out the video below for more…..