Belsay, Bitchfield and Milbourne. (Northumberland) Dec 15th.

 Sounds like another trio of solicitors but they are three places on today's walk, which again is a local one.

Starting at Belsay, the Blacksmith's café near Belsay Hall along the road from Ponteland, three of us are out to enjoy a country stroll on a cold, probably wet, December day. The mini team is Harry, John Ha and me.

The map to use is OS Explorer 316 Newcastle upon Tyne and the café is at GR NZ101785

Although we are not visiting it Belsay Hall is worth a mention. The original castle, built in the 14th century was inhabited by the Middleton family until Charles Monck (real name Middleton too but he changed it to Monck to get an inheritance, who wouldn't) designed and had built the new Belsay Hall between 1807 and 1817. He supposedly designed it on honeymoon in Europe, as you do on honeymoon, design houses. It is now an empty shell, owned by English Heritage but nevertheless it is well worth a visit, along with the castle, the beautiful gardens, formal and informal, the tea shop and of course the gift shop.

           Belsay Hall, supposedly the first stately home in England built in this, Doric style

                       Belsay Castle and the old hall.

WARNING: THIS CAN BE A MUDDY WALK.

  After coffee in the Blacksmith's, a cosy café which offers top ups and sells some local farm produce, we booted up in the car park and began the walk. A new walk, devised by Harry, mostly flat and across farmland. We made a couple of errors and a couple of route changing decisions so on the map I have marked the route we took in a continuous line and the plan in a broken line.

                           Blacksmith's café. We parked round the back.

 No sooner had the three of us headed south along the track to East Beechfield farm than the heavens opened. Expecting rain we were already in waterproofs but still stopped to add covers to rucksacks. And it only rained for a half hour. At the farm we failed to spot the footpath marker and walked round the edges of a couple of fields until we hit the path, left it again and crossed fields to West Newham farm, thus missing out on West Bitchfield which has a great name and a Peel Tower.

                                    West Newham?

The road from the farm is familiar, we have cycled it on many occasion heading for Stamfordham. We opted to follow the road rather than take the footpath across fields. At the end of the farm road we turned left, still on a public highway until we reached the track on our left which took us to Huntlaw, a settlement of pretty cottages and nothing else.

Beyond the cottages we followed a good track north to Newham plantation, then east and south across fields before getting back on the footpath.

At this point we called a Herbie Spot; a poor one I am afraid, mince pies and cookies. Nothing wrong with them, just a lack of goodies!
Herbie time over we walked across fields West Grange and then on to to Milbourne, another pretty little Northumbrian village, complete with church and brick built Wesleyan Chapel. Missing the path again we walked along the road until we found a signpost directing us north to East Newham farm. The footpath crosses a field  planted with turnips but the farmer, wisely and helpfully, has marked out the path across the crop, using an occasional plastic post.

The rusting remains of a wind powered well  East Newham.
At this farm we headed west along the road to Middle Newham Farm and the site of a Medieval Village, not much to see of that but mounds outlining houses. Here we took a footpath across the muddy fields  to East Beechfield, first farm on our journey and then back down the track to the Blacksmith's at Belsay.
Changed, we were about to set off for the Blackbird at Ponteland when Brian appeared. For his own reasons he had started the walk well after us, had gone the opposite way too but we had never crossed paths. I am guessing he kept to the real route and we passed, like ships in the night on the dotted bit near Huntlaw, marked Stony Hill on the map.
The Blackbird had several ales on offer, I chose The Blackbird IPA, very refreshing too.
A grand walk for a winter's day, one to be kept and extended for the future. Thanks Harry. Not having Dave and his four pedometers with us today the matrix is greatly reduced:

                                                                         steps                                     miles
NAK                                                                22750                                    9.33
IPhone                                                             18017                                    8.7
OUTDOOR GPS                                                                                           8.4
Brian                                                                                                              8.25