Support your local footpaths

 Support your local footpaths. September 4th

Several of the team are away for various reasons, mostly holidays, so a few of us are having a very local walk. Starting from Holywell, a village near Seaton Delaval, walking cross country to Blyth and back along the coast to Seaton Sluice.

The walk is covered by OS Explorer 316 Newcastle upon Tyne.

It is difficult to find a car park in Holywell. fortunately a friend invited me to leave my car on his drive. No photo though, invasion of privacy!

Assuming you start the walk on the main street, opposite the Fat Ox say, head east turn off the main road at the Milburn Pub, walk to the very last street, East Grange, and turn left.

At the end of the road, between two houses, is a footpath that took us round the edge of a field and past the Holywell Pond Nature Reserve. All quiet today, a few ducks and geese and the vandalised hide is still being renovated.

                             The pond, centre of image

Not far beyond the pond we came to a cross paths and turned left on the Tyne and Wear Heritage Trail. The first mile is on an old railway track and leads to The Avenue, once the drive to Seaton Delaval Hall. Crossing the road and going a few yards to the right we continued on the road towards Seaton Red House Farm.

 

Once positioned at the entrance to Seaton Delaval Hall, I was told. Now next to the road that goes towards Seaton Red House Farm.

WE continued on our way, roughly north west on tracks and fields to Lysdon Farm.  The path is next to the recently reopened Northumberland Line, we became trainspotters for a while.

Freight train taking fuel to Ellington Power Station.

We walked the edges of a couple of fields to South Newsham Road, turned right and headed for the cafe at South Beach.

Really good restaurant and cafe at South Beach. Although tempted we didn't have the fish and chips, just coffee. tea and a milk shake.

From Blyth South Beach we walked along the metalled Eva Black footpath/cycle path that runs between the beach and the road.

             The memorial to the men who were tragically killed in a road accident some years ago. 

When we reached Seaton Sluice we crossed the road and headed for Holywell Dene.

                          Seaton Sluice

 Starting on the north side of the Seaton Burn we followed the stream, crossed to the south side, followed the stream and crossed to the north side again.

An upended post directed us across fields , back to the cross paths on the Tyne and Wear Heritage Trail, past the hide and back to Holywell.

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The walk is about 9.5 miles, easy going. Fields, woodland and coast a great walk.

A little damp in Wylam

 A little damp in Wylam. August 28th

The weather forecast has suggested there will be thunder and showers for the day in the north east of England. The few gadgies who are out have decided on a short walk near home with cut offs if the heavy rain starts.

Starting from Wylam, west of Newcastle in the Tyne Valley using OS Explorer 316 Newcastle upon Tyne, this is a familiar walk mostly along the river side. 

Park for free down by the Wylam Bridge.

The path by the car park was a railway line, now a horse/cycle/walkers track and we set off  on it, heading west.

After about half a mile we crossed the Tyne on the Hagg Bridge, 19th century predecessor of the Tyne bridge.

                     Hagg Bridge. The line it carried joined the Newcastle to Carlisle railway on the south side of the river.

Not long after crossing the Hagg Bridge we took a footpath on the left, crossed the railway, walked through woodland , crossed a road and continued on footpaths through more woods high above the industrial area of Prudhoe until we came to the castle.

Prudhoe Castle. Dating back to the 11th century, owned then by the d' Umfravilles who came over with William it is now a ruin run by English Heritage. Only open to pre-booked tours. However we walked round the outside, which explains the loop on the map.

Leaving the castle we headed down to the Tyne Riverside Country Park for coffee.

Art at the Tyne Riverside Country Park. Next to the picture is a dog washing area, hot and cold and shampoo and everything for your pooch.

 We crossed Ovingham Bridge, controlled by lights for vehicles but there is a footbridge parallel to it.

                                          The Tyne at Ovingham.

After a slight detour to admire the Bridge End Pub and restaurant  we took a path that, after a short flight of steps, brought us to the track into Whittle Dene. 

There are a number of small cottages in the dene and at mile 4, close to a ruined building that could have been a mill once we settled down for a Herbie. (Skinny whips and apples)

Lunch over we headed back down the dene to Ovingham, just as the promised rain started. Crossing to the south side of the Tyne we followed the tarmacked path back to Wylam, passing the famous Spetchells which are artificial low hills made from the waste produced by a nearby factory that made fertiliser and explosives in WW2.

 Now covered in shrubs trees and flowers they are a nature reserve.

The path, next to the river took us back to the Hagg Bridge and the car park. And then we went home!

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The walk is about 7.5 miles, easy going, woodland and riverside.

Rothbury Terraces

 Rothbury Terraces. August 21st

The terraces above Rothbury were laid out for Lord Armstrong as carriage drives around his home at Cragside. Now they make for a good gadgie walk with spectacular views over the Coquet Valley.

We parked in Rothbury, there is a good sized free car park on the south side of the river. Reached by going north on the A1, turning on to the A697 at Morpeth and turning left at Weldon Bridge. Turn left on Rothbury High Street, cross the river, turn right and park.

Rothbury is on the edge of two map. OS OL 42 Kielder and OS 332 Alnwick.

Car park in Rothbury. I have cropped the picture, hope you approve.

Booted up  we crossed the river by means of the convenient footbridge and walked to the Newcastle House Hotel for breakfast. Strangely not a bacon sandwich or scone in sight today, tea or coffee for all.

Ready for a walk at last we crossed the main street, turned right and took the  second on the left, passing the terrace of flats Lord Armstrong had built for his retired workers and, having spotted the gate (or was it a stile?) crossed a field to Hillside Road. Turning right  we walked a short distance to the stile which guided us across a field to the track at Addycombe.

Looking down on Rothbury from Addycombe.

From here the track (drive?) wanders through woodland still showing the scars of storm Arwen in places. After a mile we found, on the right, the footpath leading down to a track near Primrose Cottage.

The start of this footpath is not marked, the path is narrow and for a while the ground has a covering of rocks, difficult to see as the bracken is high. 

Unfortunately these two are not at the start of the path permanently, but watch out for it.

The path is narrow to begin with, goes downhill, crosses a stream by means of a footbridge  and then arrives at a forest track near Primrose Cottage.

                               The blooming heather. The hillsides are covered with it.

We followed the track until we reached the turning into Blue Mill 

                            Take this track,

 The track goes gently uphill. After a bit less than half a mile we took the footpath on the right, clambered over a stile and continued on a grassy trail until we had clocked up about four and a half miles.

A well built stone wall provided shelter from the breeze and an old gatepost which had fallen over made a seat for some. Herbie time: Caramel tarts, a new experience, flapjacks and sweet and savoury of course.

                                                                       Dining out

Moving on we turned downhill at a gate and headed down to Physic Lane and the village of Thropton. Crossing the Wreigh Burnusing the footbridge next to the road bridge we then crossed the road and followed the footpath alongside the same burn until we reached the footbridge over the River Coquet.

                  Crossing the Coquet.

The footpath that follows the river back to Rothbury has, we were told, been partly washed away. Regardless, some of the team wandered across fields by the river, crossed it by another footbridge and followed a footpath back to the car park. (Reached by another footbridge)

Some took a slightly different route, heading toward Newtown but we all finished at the same time, more or less. And then some went home.

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The walk is about 8,5 miles, easy going after the first climb and worth it for the views.