Wylam, Prudhoe and Stanley Burn

 Wylam, Prudhoe and Stanley Burn. December 13th

Sounds like a firm of solicitors.

Wylam village is west of Newcastle, on the north side of the Tyne. Head west on the A69, turn off at the sign post for Wylam and head down towards the free car park close to the bridge.

There are seven of us, breakfast in the Coffee Tree near the church.

              Parking at Wylam. Plenty of space and free!!!

                        The slightly out of focus Tyne at Wylam

Leaving the car park we took the narrow path under the bridge and walked on the river bank, joining a firm track and reaching Hagg Bridge which once carried a railway line on the north side of the river. Once across it joined the line to Carlisle on the south side. 

                             Hagg Bridge

We stayed on the track to Ovingham Bridge where there is a cafe and car park next to Prudhoe station. As the crossing gates were closed we used the footbridge, pausing to watch a rather disappointing freight train pass. On the way we passed "The Spetchells". Artificial mounds created from lime slag used in the manufacture of munitions in WW2.

                   Mural at the cafe at Prudhoe station

                           And the train.

The station is next to the river and as any Geography teacher worth the jacket will tell you, railways follow valleys.

Leaving the Station we walked uphill through Prudhoe, passing the Doctor Syntax pub and the ruins of Prudhoe Castle, built in the 12th century for the Umphravilles.

                                              Castle gate

              Dr Syntax was a horse, not a linguist

Still on an upward path we turned right and, opposite St Mathew's Primary school, took to the fields. 

Eventually we reached the top of the grassy hill and headed down to the farm at Durham Riding.

                             Tree House at Durham Ridings

                                     Durham Ridings

Beyond the farm we turned left and walked a muddy lane to Humble Farm. The neatly arranged stones at the entrance provided a good Herbie Spot. (scones, cherry Bakewells, cookies and, of course, sweet and savoury from Mrs A.)

Full we walked along the road for a short distance before entering fields on the right.

The almost invisible footpath took us to the hard to find entrance to Stanley Burn.

For a mile we followed the narrow track, up and down, crossing footbridges until we reached Stanley Bridge and a road.

We followed the road, passing Prudhoe golf course and then turned left to go round the waste disposal site. Just beyond that we turned right at a finger post, followed a woodland walk until we reached Hagg Bridge. From there it was a short walk back to the cars.

Some went to the Fox and Hounds which has TTL.

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The walk is about 9.5 miles, easy going with a couple of steady climbs

                             A proper doctor!

                        The Spetchells

 

                                  You can call me Al.

                                     Stanley Burn

Felton and Morwick. Muddy but goody

 Felton and Morwick. December 6th.

Muddy but goody!

Felton is a village some miles, but not too many, north of Newcastle, just off the A1. It has a Running Fox cafe for breakfast bacon. Felton is Old English for "field farm".

The walk is covered by two maps:OS Explorer 325 Morpeth and Blyth and 332 Alnwick and Amble.

Hopefully it's dry, but it is cold so the man on the TV says, and we won't  get the latest  storm until Saturday.

We had breakfast at the Running Fox, one of the finest bacon sandwiches available in the North East. It is advisable to book at this very popular bakery/cafe.

No car park, we left our vehicles on the street.

                    Parking and a nice old bridge which is next to a modern concrete one.

We crossed the modern bridge and turned left. There are two paths, one next to the river and a higher one which is part of St. Oswald's Way. We went with the saint, initially staying close to the river  but leaving the bank after about 1.5 miles and plodged along a muddy track, crossed a road and continued to plodge through or close to pools of water and yards of mud and going under the East Coast railway line.

              River Coquet, full after recent rain.

We walked through the mud of Rake Lane until we reached a road, turned left and after a few hundred yards turned into the Morwick Dairy and  ice cream shop, which was open. 

                     Morwick ice cream shop.

There were several picnic tables in the yard so we called a Herbie: Cherry Bakewells, cookies, cake and sweet and savoury from Mrs A.

Lunch consumed we headed off through the farmyard and across fields and woodland until we reached the railway line again. The footpath crosses the railway line, take care.

                 An exercise in perspective.

Once across the line the footpath took us over fields and into a wood which had a sign proclaiming "Sid's Wood". It also had feeding barrels for pheasants. 

Reaching a road we turned right and crossed the Coquet.

The ruins of Brainshaugh Priory chapel, close to Guyzance which is possibly named for the Guines family who came over with William.

Turning left we followed a rough track, passing the memorial to the Guyzance tragedy.

                     The Guyzance Tragedy.

The path crossed fields but at about 8.5 miles goes off to the left and descends to the river bank. The entrance to the path is not marked but is fairly easy to spot.

                 A mini waterfall adding to the Coquet.

Leaving the riverside walk we crossed a field and joined the road back to Felton.

On the way home we called in at the Ridley Arms, Stannington, which had Wylam Gold on offer. A good session beer.

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At nearly 10  miles of muddy but easy going tracks this is a good walk, fields, woodland and riverside, plus the opportunity to have an ice cream.

The Greens in the dene.

 the Greens in the dene. December 1st.

Another Sunday stroll with the Greens. Starting from the village of Earsdon, or very near it, a walk through fields and Holywell Dene. 

Covered by OS Explorer 316 Newcastle upon Tyne.

We met for tea or coffee or bacon at the Earsdon Garden Centre and left cars on the roadside nearby.

Not even a car park really, but free.

Leaving the "car park" we walked back towards Holywell on the road, quite busy too. We crossed the bridge, crossed the road and took the footpath down to the dene. From here we simply followed the footpath alongside Seaton Burn, walking through woodlands which were muddy underfoot and were also, in places, used as a track for young lads having fun riding mountain bikes. 

                                Dene View

Leaving the dene after about 2.5 miles we followed the road into Seaton Sluice, crossed at Hartley, walked round the Delaval Arms, stopped to admire the refurbished St Mary's lighthouse and took the footpath along the cliffs to the the grassy area by the harbour. Just under four miles, we stopped for lunch, utilising the benches close to the King's Arms. (No sharing the Greens aren't into that, yet).

 St Mary's lighthouse, almost vertical!

                             The little mermaid at Seaton Sluice

                      Seaton Sluice harbour. The sluice itself, designed to scour the harbour was dismantled years ago but the famous cut remains.

Lunch consumed we crossed the road and took the footpath to the right of "Harbour View" famous for fish and chips but closed today and walked back to the dene. Not far in we crossed the stream using the footbridge and climbed up to what looks like a dismantled railway. Not marked on the OS map, possibly an old wagon way from a pit but we followed it heading south west, even after it became a farm track, and eventually we reached the hide at Holywell Pond, time for a breather and bird spotting.

                    Holywell pond, busy with a variety of water birds.

Soon we were back in Holywell.

Strother Farm in Holywell. Part of the building dates back to 1654.

Crossing the road we headed down to the dene again but followed a series of farm tracks round the edges of fields. The track we took was well signposted . Beyond Holywell Grange farm we turned left, passing Fenwick's Close farm and were back at the cars. Some went to the pub, some went home.

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The walk is about 8 miles, easy going but muddy today. Woodland, coast and fields, can't be bad.

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