Gadgie Walks

Saturday, 12 March 2022

Bolam Angerton Middleton Shaftoe

Bolam, Angerton, Middleton, Shaftoe (Northumberland) March 11th.

Regular readers will be right in thinking they have followed this walk before but my job is to record gadgie walks, not find new ones although fresh fields are always welcome.

Today seven of us (John x 4) Brian, Margaret and I are starting and finishing a walk from St. Andrew's Church in Bolam. Several ways to get to the start, we went through Ponteland, turned off right at Belsay for Bolam and just beyond the lake turned right up the hill and then to the church where you can park all day for free. You may use the lake car parks for a fee.

The weatherman said fair today with rain late afternoon.

The map to use is OS Explorer 325 Morpeth and Blyth.

St Andrew's Church Bolam. Beautiful little church with a Saxon tower and mostly 12 and 13 Century body. The small window is where a WW2 bomb penetrated the wall but fortunately failed to explode.

Parked outside the church, preparing to walk. The seven of us walked in formation at times.

Margaret John C

Brian John H John L

Me John Ha

(Slowest at the back! )

We headed off through the church yard, passing the tower and going through a gate into fields.fairly dry after recent rains with one soggy stream to negotiate before we came to Angerton Steads, farm and bungalow with its own tennis court too. Continuing north and being good boys we walked the edges of fields, crossing a dismantled railway line converted into track for horse training, until we reached the next farm at Low Angerton.

Low Angerton and the River Wansbeck.

Just beyond the farm we crossed the river and a little further on at a finger post turned west to cross a series of fields to Middleton Mill. At times the path is close to the river:

Further on the path crosses a field sprouting this year's crop. Last time we came this way the field had a fine growth of oil seed and although the farmer kindly leaves a path through it, tall plants crossing the way kept tripping us. Not his time though. (mile 3)

So different from the last time!

At Middleton Farm (mile 4) we walked the farm road and turned left, crossed the Wansbeck and almost immediately followed the sign post on the right, walked a short way across a field to a shelter wall like a flattened V and decided it would make a good spot to Herb.

Herbie time: Viennese whirls, biscuits, flapjacks, savoury and sweet from Mrs A and a special biscuiut John L said he had stolen from a hotel. It's not really stealing if they are in your romm though is it. Discussion on which book we remembered reading first; Tom Sawyer, Wind in the Willows, Famous Five and so on.

Lunch over we resumed, walking to the next farm at Middleton South (mile 5) and then across more fields towards Shaftoe Crags, passing a Standing Stone on the way.

Standing stone, standing alone, a sort of singular henge.

Turning south east we followed a track lined with sorry looking trees to a gate where we turned south, passing the entrance to the Salters' Nick (a gap in the crags) and on to Shaftoe Grange. On previous occasions we have walked the few yards up to the rock known as Piper's Chair but today we followed the path below it to East Shaftoe Hall.(mile 7)

East Shaftoe Hall, it doesn't really slope.

The farm road beyond the farm is partly a concrete road and partly laid with old concrete railway sleepers which came all the way from Glasgow! Makes a mud free walk anyway. At the nd of the track, Bolam West Houses we turned right towards Bolam Lake Country Park. The plan to take the footpath on the west side of the lake was scuppered when a couple of men who were tidying up timber from recent storms told us the way was passable but difficult. We took their advice and a little further down the road entered the park and walked the footpath round the east end of the lake, taking time to admire the wooden chairs:

Bolam lake and furniture.

At the visitor centre (mile 9) we struggled a bit to get past fallen trees but having made it we walked up the road and back to the cars.

On the way home we stopped for rehydration at the Blackbird Inn in Ponteland.

The Blackbird. Approximately fifty five and a half years agoin this pub there was a beginning.............

Contains OS data , copyright. Crown copyright and database right 2022.

Mile markers are only approximate.

The walk is about 10 miles, easy going.

Stll wearing his courting clothes

Fox hunting at Middleton South

First frog spawn seen this year
The Piper's Chair
Ready for the fields

Saturday, 5 March 2022

Back to Riding Mill

It was a muddy day, every cloud was in the sky.

(Northumberland) March 4th

TRIPLE MUD WARNING!

Four of us out today on what we have been told will be wet and cold until late afternoon when it will be only cold. The walk starts from the village of Riding Mill: west on A69, turn off at Corbridge roundabout and follow the signs for about four miles. Call in at Brockbushes Farm shop and cafe on the roundabout though, great place.

Four of us out today, numbers reduced by weather and family commitments. We are: Brian, Margaret, John H and me.

The walk, though relatively short is on three OS maps:

OS Explorer 316, Newcastle upon Tyne, OS 307 Consett and OL43 Hadrian's Wall.

There is a car park in the old school playground close to St James' church which is an 19th century building.

Parking in Riding Mill. Old school in the background.

St James' Riding Mill.

The walk is well marked with the usual little yellow arrows.

Walking past the church we climbed a road lined with detached homes before turning off into a muddy field through which we continued to climb until we reached High Plains. (Mile 1) No sign of Clint Eastwood but a couple of fields were laid out for equestrian events.

Walking in front of the house we soon came to the first wood of the day. A very muddy footpath arced through the wood which also had a few downed trees to negotiate until we came to a road. (Mile 2)

Crossing the road we entered a field (mark 158 0n OS map) before entering the second wood of the day and followed another muddy footpath downhill to March Burn, crossed by a footbridge, and then climbed up the other side of the valley to a road (Point 123).

There has been a lot of rain recently........................

Going left and heading west we soon came to a sign post on the right (Mile 3 and a little bit) which sent us off to Todburn Steel and the third wood of the day., Dipton Wood.

The track through Dipton Wood was relatively mud free and a tumble down wall made a satisfactory Herbie Spot. (Just after mile 4) We shared apple pies, flapjacks and Mrs A brought a savoury cake and vegan apple cake.

Fairly dry and mud free in Dipton Wood.

Lunch over we continued north to a road, turned left and walked the tarmac to the next junction. (Mile 5)

here we turned right towards West Farm but went through a fine gate on the left hand side, across a field and into another section of Dipton Wood.

A fine gateway, entered from the other side.

The path here was as muddy as any today and to add to the difficulty it went downhill to High Town (just after mile 6).

Here we entered a field and were met by a very friendly lady walking two Labradors. She cheerfully told us that the end of the field was very muddy and she was right. However, across the field we joined a road lined with a few houses and followed it to the Hexham Corbridge road. (Mile 7)

There was a bus stop! Margaret and I caught a bus to Riding Mill, the journey only took a few minutes, and then drove back to pick up the other two. Why not all catch the bus? Margaret and I were the only sensible ones who had brought our passes!

Changed from muddy boots we called in at the Wellington; Blacksheep and Old Golden Hen.

Contains OS data, copyright. Crown copyright and database right 2022.

The walk is about 7 miles. Lovely in summer when it is dry.

Keep going to the end

Saturday, 26 February 2022

The Physician's manor and the Duke's Folly.

(Northumberland) February 25th.
Today's walk has been done several times before but it was chosen because we hoped that after all the recent rain and storms the tracks would be relatively mud free. A reduced team, five macho males only;:

me, Dave, John H., Brian and Ian.

The walk starts, and finishes in Lesbury; A1 north, turn east at Alnwick and follow signs. There is some limited parking near the church. Lesbury gets its name from " laece-burg" OE for "leechburg" a leech being a physician.

The map to use is OS Explorer 332 Alnwick and Amble

Parking outside the church of St. Mary, Lesbury. 13th Century origins with additions in 17th, 18th and 19th Cs.

Once booted up (no breakfast today!) we set off west along the village road before turning right at the first roundabout and walking along a busy road north west. No pavement on parts too. (Sidewalk for you Americans).

Once under the railway bridge we turned right up a lane past the old station cottages. A train passed.

Azuma train heading north to Edinburgh on the main east coast line.

Beyond the cottages we turned left through a marked gate into a field with a fine flock of sheep. The footpath reached a farm track (mile 2) which we followed for a short distance before leaving it for a grassy cross field track to Dunsheugh Farm.

Friendly but not keen on being photographed without his agent.

Just beyond the farm, having taken a short cut by climbing a fence rather than using the track, we reached Ratheugh Crag with its Observatory.

Built by the first Duke of Northumberland in the 18th century on a high spot giving fine views over the sea and over his estates to the west. Marked on OS maps as Observatory. (Mile 3)

A footpath round the building was overgrown with brambles and blocked with trees blown over by recent storms finally reached a field. Crossing it we came to a road.

Mrs Whitehead, one of my junior school teachers always maintained the roots of a tree were as large as the tree itself. She knew all about yurts, she might have misunderstood "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Said it meant don't tell lies!) but she was wrong about the trees. Victim of Arwen or Dudley or Eunice or Franklin.

We turned left on the road then at the cross road turned right and walked to Peppermoor farm. From here the signed footpath crosses a field before entering a narrow footpath alongside a disused quarry. The footpath comes out at the entrance to Longhoughton Quarry which has only recently reopened and is marked as a small pond on the OS map. It was a pond two years ago. (mile 4)

Longhoughton quarry.

A short distance down the road we spotted the fingerpost that pointed the way along a path on the side of the quarry, across fields, under the railway and to the village of Longhoughton. Just beyond the Running Fox cafe there are a couple of benches which made a great place to have a Herbie.

Herbie time in Longhouton' Blackcurrant and apple pies, almond slices, flapjacks and Mrs A sent savoury and sweet cake (chocolate)

Moving on we followed the road beyond the Running Fox down to the beach at Low Stead (mile 6) where we turned south and walked along the good track through the village of Boulmer.

Art work on farm walls near Boulmer.

Beyond Boulmer we took to the beach, the sand was quite firm fortunately. Towards Fluke Hole (mile 9) we climbed up to the golf course at Foxton Hall, passed several houses and the clubhouse before reaching a road. Straight over and downhill towards the meandering river Aln.

River Aln and Lesbury.

The path crosses fields, goes close to the river and eventually reaches Lesbury. Changed we headed for the Ridley Arms at Stannington which had enough Timothy Taylor's Landlord for one each before the barrel was emptied. Lindisfarne by way of compensation.