Category: Northumberland
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Milecastle 39 and the Sycamore Gap
Day 14; 2 weeks now into this lockdown and the morning routine has developed into my daily exercise during which I look for inspiration for a photo to post that evening. This morning I had read that it was on this day in 1199 that King Richard I, perhaps better known as Richard the Lionheart, […]
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Bamburgh Castle
Or should I say Bebbanburg, the ancestral home of Bernard Cornwell’s Uhtred in the book and film ‘The Last Kingdom‘? An Uhtred the Bold did exist, he was made Earl of Northumbria in 1006. But Cornwell’s Uhtred lived 140 years earlier. A long, long time ago, maybe the time of Uhtred, maybe before or maybe […]
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Coquet Island
An RSPB reserve about 1½ km offshore at Amble. Apparently it’s home to a colony of Roseate Terns. In the 7th-century the monk Cuthbert, living as a hermit, met Ælfflæd, Abbess of Whitby here. The island’s isolation appealed to many later medieval hermits and became a Benedictine monastic cell linked to Tynemouth Priory. The tower […]
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Durridge Bay
I must be something of a thalassophile at heart because I do enjoy running along the coast, even though memories of being helplessly seasick are so vivid. But then a beach is also the worst place to run. Time never passes. The beach at Durridge Bay on the Northumberland coast is a 7 mile stretch […]
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Farne Islands
The evening sun falls on the lighthouse on Inner Farne seen through a narrow sound mapped as Piper Cut. Three and a half kilometres away. We were anchored off Big Harcar and about to jump into the shallow water to “swim with the seals”. A brilliant experience. The Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland, […]
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Morpeth Castle
Morpeth Castle; or what remains of it. This is actually just the gatehouse and dates from the 1340s. Very little is left of the rest of the castle. But even though this gatehouse has been much altered throughout the centuries it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building. It is now used as a holiday […]
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Dunstanburgh Castle
Another day, another castle. Dunstanburgh is 14th century, built by Thomas of Lancaster who was executed and the property forfeited to the Crown. Its been a ruin since the 1500s and today is a national trust property.
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Bamburgh Castle
Staying on a farm about two kilometres from Bamburgh. The castle dominated the skyline. So after dinner decided to get a bit closer. Ended up underneath it. Parts of the castle date from the Norman times but underwent major expansion under Henry II. The castle boasts excellent air quality as there is no industry nearby. The same can’t be […]
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The Clock Tower, Wallington Hall
A second visit to this National Trust property in just over a week. This is the Clock Tower Gate providing the entrance to the courtyard and hall. A Grade I listed building it was designed originally as a chapel in 1754 by Daniel Garrett (no relation as far as I know).
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Wallington Hall
A National Trust property in Northumberland the first of its kind to be donated to the Trust.