The Greens go to Bolam

 The Greens go to Bolam. July 21

An extra walk with the Green walking group.  Not a political organisation, they are named for the gym they go to, and they have an organised walk every other Sunday.

We met at the main car park at Bolam Lake. From Newcastle head through Ponteland to Belsay, just beyond the village take the right and follow signs for Bolam Lake. Pass the first car park and turn into the second, which has a visitor centre, cafe and toilets. The cafe does a five star bacon sandwich and there are plenty of benches outside. The charge to park for a whole day is £4.50 which compares favourably with Craster Quarries £9 and Housesteads £10. And as for airports.....

The map to use is OS Explorer325 Morpeth and Blyth.

                    A contender for the calendar?

                      Cafe and shop at Bolam Lake

We took the footpath behind the toilets and walked through woodlands lit by a hot July sun. The path follows the perimeter of the park, passing areas that were cut down by storm Arwen. When we reached the road we turned right and avoided traffic for a short distance to Bolam West Houses.

                             Follow the finger post.

The track from Bolam West eventually becomes one laid with old concrete railway sleeper. At a small parking area we followed the wall on the right across fields until we reached Salters Nick.

          Salters Nick on an old drove road.

Once through we turned left and followed a boggy track, passing Shaftoe Grange, close to Shaftoe Crags and eventually made it to the Piper's Chair.

               The Piper's Chair. Tradition has it it was the site of a Shaftoe wedding, the bowl on top of the chair supposedly filled with wine. For us it made a good Herbie although Greens to not take part in exchanging goodies. But Mrs A had savoury and sweet offerings. And John had Bourbon creams.

Lunch in the sun over, although dark clouds were approaching we past  the hardly visible ancient fort and went on to East Shaftoe Hall.

                                                               East Shaftoe Hall.

Turning south we crossed fields. Still unable to pick out the line of the Devil's Causeway, a Roman road that cuts diagonally across the fields.

Turning left we followed a good track to Sandyford, the symmetrical farm.

                             Symmetrical Sandyford.

Just beyond the farm there is an unmarked footpath on the left which took us to the farm at Shortflatt Tower.

                Shortflatt Tower, an old pele  on the right

Through a gate near the new holiday homes, across fields and at the White Gate we were back at Bolam Lake. There is a car park at this point and a choice of paths. We took the one passing the wooden chairs and going round the north side of the lake back to the visitor centre.

                             Not the most comfortable seats.

On the way home we stopped at the Blackbird in Ponteland for a well earned rehydration. It had been a warm day.

               The Blackbird where it all began!

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The walk is just under 7 miles, easy going with a few boggy bits, even in summer.

On the bus again

On the bus again,or not. But always have a plan B. July 19th

Promised a hot day, six of us have opted for a familiar beach walk, hoping for a cooling breeze off the sea.  Brian, Margaret, John H., John L. Ian and I are driving to Seahouses farm south of Craster, walking to Howick village, about a mile, and catching a bus to Beadnell. Then walking back.

Covered by OS Explorer332 Alnwick and Amble and OS Explorer 340 Holy Island the walk follows the newly named King Charles III England Coastal Path. Easy to follow.

Leaving the cars and admiring the Limosins we walked the quarter mile to the hamlet of Howick  and stood waiting at the bus stop. And we waited. A local walked by, we asked how reliable the bus was, he admitted it was a bit of a gamble. There was a road closure nearby, perhaps the bus was diverted. After a half hour we decided on plan B so today's walk starts from Howick, not Beadnell.

                    It is not the start but it is the end

                                 Pedigree Limousin at Seahouses Farm.

We walked back up the road and after a short stretch on the Craster road we joined the King Charles III England Coast Path or St. Oswald's Way. Heading north we reached the familiar fishing village of Craster. The cafe has closed but at the Quarry Car Park the Piper's Pitch makes a five star bacon sandwich. Outside seats only but there are toilets in the old information centre. (Closed).

             You can have a kipper sandwich if you prefer.

Crossing the road by the centre we walked towards the harbour but turned left up a short steep hill through a few houses to join the footpath on the Heughs. Most people cross the fields to Dunstanburgh Castle, this route, being higher gives better view of Lancaster's folly.

                                Looking down on the Harbour

                           Dunstanburgh.

At one point we left the Heughs and followed the footpath round the castle and past the famous anticline.

                    The famous anticline (Graymare Rock).

Instead of heading for the beach as usual we stuck to the path through the dunes. Much up and down and long feet trapping grass and scratchy plants. At The Skait

we left the dunes, walked the edge of the golf course, through the collection of chalets, past he bird hide and arrived at Low Newton by the Sea.

                         The square at Low Newton. The Ship pub in the corner

                                        Embleton Bay

                       Some of the chalets.

Low Newton has several benches so we called a Herbie. (apple pies, cookies and sweet and savoury from Mrs A)

Turning back we walked some distance on the beach, the sand was quite firm but we took to the edge of the golf course again. At the small parking area near Dunstan Steads we took the road to that farm, turned left and followed the concrete strip back to Dunstan Square. 

                        Lime Kiln and WW2 bunker on the concrete strip

Turning left across a field, then turning right on the footpath below the Heughs we were soon back at Craster Quarry Car Park. After discussing the route to take we followed a path signposted Howick which went behind the Craster Houses. At a gate we turned left and were back on the Charles III England Coast Path which we followed all the way to Seahouses Farm.

                    The bathing house, once for the ladies of Howick Hall, now a holiday let.

On the way home we called in at The Ridley Arms, Stannington to rehydrate. It had been a very hot day.

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The walk is about 10.5 miles, easy going.

 

Waterloo and cowstand

 Waterloo and Cowstand July  12th

Back on the track after a couple of weeks off. Holidays!

Brian, Margaret, JohnC and I off for a local walk from Stamfordham, a village to the west of Newcastle.

The map for the walk is OS Explorer 316 Newcastle upon Tyne

Stamfordham is a "long village" with a large green separating the two sides. On the green is a

                   The Butter Cross, built in 1735 as a market area I suppose.

And an

 Early 19th century Lock Up for the naughty folk of the area.

And the church of St. Mary,

             Possibly Saxon origins but mostly 13th Century.

And of course there is car parking, free.

Parking just off the green.

The walk, at last.

We started the day going through the church graveyard on the south side of the building to find the gate at the beginning of the walk. From there we crossed fields, walked farm tracks and slices of road  passing several farms and  missing the ruins of a medieval  village at East Matfen before reaching the slightly more modern village of Matfen.

Although we had only walked about 3.5 miles a bench and table outside the village store and coffee shop seemed a good place for a Herbie. (Apple pies, chocolate biscuits and sweet and savoury from Mrs A.)

Matfen is a very pretty village. A large green being the centre of an "estate village".  Holy Trinity church is 19th century.

                          Matfen village green

                  Holy Trinity Church.

Over lunch we discussed the rest of the day. The original walk was just over 10 miles but it was suggested that we could make it 11 with a little extension. Somebody who shall remain nameless said "Let's go for the biggy" and so we did.

At the west end of the green (mile 4) we had originally planned to walk to Low Hall and then across fields to Waterloo. With a changed plan we took the road north from Matfen and at the first junction found the stile into fields covered in hawthorn so we climbed the fence and  headed across a field full of long grass, much of which was flattened. Following the grass we walked across a field of young swedes, passing the ruin on the map which was one stone house end. We walked round the edge of a field of barley although the official right of way crosses it. Next a field of rye until we reached the road at Ryal. We scambled over a tumbledown wall to get on to the road.

                   Not exactly a field of gold but heading that way.

                        The church at Ryal, 12th century chapel of ease, rebuilt in 1870

                                   One of the many horses in the area.

From Ryal we walked east, turned left at the next junction and headed for Ingoe, a hamlet with a bench and table for a mini Herbie. There is a "Warrior Stone " on South Hall farm but we missed it.

From Ingoe we walked the road east to North Fens where the retired farmer showed us his entry for a coming fair.

                  Nora, built from an old motorised grass cutter.

              And he was restoring a convertible Rolls Royce!

Leaving North Fens we walked south to South Fens, turned left at the finger post and headed east towrds Cowstand (mile 10). The footpath through the wood had a welcome sign:

                                 Keep out.

However we walked through the wood which had lost a number of trees recently.

                    It was a bit of a struggle getting through.

At Cowstand we should have turned south, crossing more fields of barley to Westerheugh and beyond. But not wishing to go round more field edges we walked the farm track to the B6309 road, turned south and headed back to Stamfordham,

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The walk is 12.5 miles. Easy going with little climbing but beware of fields of barley