Blanchland

Its been a little while since we last posted on this blog and our friends who make artificial grass over on the west coast suggested that we get the posts going again. So to kick off 2012 I have uploaded a couple of pictures from Blanchland. The first shows the old school which is now a quite nice tea room. And the second was taken outside the Sawmill, a small holiday cottage in the woods.

Northumberland tales website is live

Our sister site, Northumberland-Tales, is now live and receiving visitors. There is a large section on Vindolanda and currently we are working on smaller Northumberland Villages.

and here is a picture of Hethpool Mill ...which is where we will be for a short time in August!

Hadrians Wall

Been reading Alastair Moffat's great book on the Wall. So much of what he says is new, things i had never thought about. For instance the Wall wasn't just to keep the Scots out. It was also to separate the tribes in the North from those in the South.Stop them plotting! Thats why the Vallum is on the south side of the Wall.Always puzzled over this but now i know.
Also there was a sea wall, well perhaps more a road and forts down the west coast , possibly as far as Ravenglass.
Also the fact that Hadrian was a complete fan of the Greeks.

Alnwick Castle and Harry Potter

Two Harry Potter films, the Chamber of Secrets and the Philosophers Stone used Alnwick Castle as a film location and in particular to recreate the lawn where Harry first learned to fly on his broomstick. The following photographs show the lawn and the Castle.

Langley Castle.

Driving from the A69 up to Allendale we passed Langley Castle. All the years we have been in Cumbria we have associated the castle with the meals and entertaining. However AG Bradley's book on the "Romance of Northumberland " , first printed in 1908 tells an altogether different story. The early owners were the Tindall family but the house eventually passed by marriage to the Lucy's. The third generation of the new owners was Sir Thomas who fought at Crecy and immediately afterwards was sent to fight the Scots at Neville's Cross. It was the money from these two famous battles which went into changing the house into the Castle. And it was no folly either, for those times were dangerous indeed with the Border raids. The next owners were the Percies. and it then passed to the Nevilles and in the seventeenth century to the Ratcliffes. The Earl of Derwentwater then passed it, wlong with the rest of his estate to the Trustees of Greenwich Hospital. From there it was passed to Cadwallader Bates who started the restoration work.When his wife died in 1932 it was used as an army barracks and then a girls school. It is now a luxury hotel.





Panoramio
Wikipedia

RAF, WW2, The Cheviots and Dutch Friends

Walking up the College Valley we came to the memorial for airmen killed in the Cheviots during the second world war. Touchingly at the base of the monument was a letter from Dutch families who obviously had memories going back to those dark days. Dunsdale house and Coldburn Cottage are within 1 mile of this poignant reminder.

Gefrin , Wooler and ancient history

Gefrin, the Royal Township of the Anglo Saxon Kings of Northumbria. It was here in AD 627 that Paulinus, the missionary, preached and baptized the local people in the River Glen. Where ever you travel around Wooler and Cheviot hills you are not far away from medieval and ancient history. The Countryside, away from the coast, is intimate and speaks of old times. There is magic in the air.




If you want to experience this wonderful part of England then we have a number of houses available.

Hethpool Mill in the College Valley, also nearby are Coldburn cottage and Dunsdale House


Croft cottage

Akeld Hill View

To list just a few