Gadgie Walks

A wander round Wylam (Northumberland ) March 23rd.
A regular reader recently rebuked me for not publishing an excuse for having not blogged last week. It was cold, it was very wet, it was windy. Several of the lads were away. Those of us left decided to stay at home. There was a time we would have walked regardless but no more heroics.
This week there are only three of us out on what is promised to be a cool but sunny spring day. A gentle walk round the Tyne Valley village of Wylam has been proposed, ending in the Boathouse.
Easy to find, Wylam is off the A69 a few miles from Newcastle. There is also a train service and buses go there too, but check timetables, they are not frequent in the evening.
The three of us are John H., Dave and me. The map to use is OS 316 Newcastle upon Tyne, but it isn't essential.
There are two car parks in the village, one by the railway station which charges, and one in the centre which is a Yorkshire one. However I left my car at John's house, even better.

I don't like to disappoint the daughters. Car parked at John's.
From the house we walked down a couple of back lanes to the river, crossed the Tyne and turned into the station car park. The Keelman's way starts here and follows the south bank of the Tyne. A good solid path next to the Carlisle and Newcastle Railway.

The Tyne from Wylam Bridge.

The Keelman's Way, popular with walkers, cyclists and dog walkers
Not too far into the walk we came to Ryton Golf Course, quite a few members out, someone shouted "Fore" too. Beyond the course we came to the old ferry house, between the river and the railway.
Once upon a time on both banks of the river there were coal mines, possibly some were bell pits even. The coal was loaded on to the keel boats from staithes and sent down river. No more mines but there is evidence of the industrial past.

This old coal heap has smouldered for years As we approached Newburn we past the post advertising the rowing clubs on either side of the water.

There was nobody rowing today, it was very windy.

At Newburn we crossed the river to the north bank and turned west to follow the Hadrian's Way path, like the other one it is popular with cyclists, dog walkers and walkers. Cyclists come in three groups, those with bells, those without bells but loud voices and those who cycle in silence. Dog walkers come in groups too. Some control their dogs as cyclists and walkers pass, some have long leads that can be reeled in and some just leave their dogs to run free.
Newburn is the site of one of the first battles that led to the English Civil War. The Scots took on the English here in 1640 and eventually won, moving on to capture Newcastle.

The Boathouse pub at Newburn, we didn't go in

Information on The battle of Newburn

Apart from the official pathway there are several routes and muddy footpaths that cross the area. The one we took was next to the river, muddy but pleasant enough. Several of them are ancient wagon ways now used as footpaths.

The tide stone, limit of the tide once? Look carefully and it has the three castles on it from the city coat of arms.

Beyond this we came to Close House, soccer pitches, hockey and rugby pitches too, and a golf course.

Clear enough I think

Approaching Wylam we stopped for a Herbie at Stephenson's Cottage. The birthplace of George Stephenson, father of railways, he later moved to Killingworth north of Newcastle. He is famous for building steam engines, his "Rocket " won the competition on the Liverpool Manchester railway almost 200 years ago. The cottage is owned by the National Trust but is closed at the moment.

Stephenson's cottage. We ate at the back on a picnic table, sharing pork pies, fruit cake and Titans, ALDI's answer to Mars Bars.

Lunch over we walked to Wylam and toured the village, finding the birth place of Timothy Hackworth, another railway pioneer fro Wylam

Hackworth birthplace, Wylam, sadly I missed.

And in another street we came to the birthplace of William Hedley, yet another early railway man.

Three railway pioneers in one village! Now that is amazing. The silicon valley of its day.

Having seen the cottages we crossed to the south bank of the Tyne by the Hagg Bank bridge. I remember when I first came to the north east in the swinging sixties it was a railway bridge, the track joining the railway on the south side just over the river.

Hagg Bank Bridge, known by the locals as Points Bridge.

We walked along the well made footpath along the river until we reached "The Spetchells". These mini hills are the spoil heaps from what was once a nearby chemical factory. Now covered with small trees and grass they are, apparently, still muddy to climb in damp weather, so we didn't. Instead we walked a footpath by Hagg Bank, past a pond which is probably a result of mine subsidence, over the railway and on to a road.

Old mine pond. Little bird life but we did see a deer.

We walked along the road, the fields alongside had horses in them, some very friendly, before taking a footpath on the left that went downhill to the station at Wylam. We walked back to John's, changed and headed for the Boathouse pub, next to the station.