Belford, Beacons, Bays and Bamburgh...Nov 20th.(Northumberland)
Belford is a village in north Northumberland with a population of about 1500, a church dating back in parts to the 13th century, several pubs and a small railway station. The name means either "Bella's Ford, "settlement on a bell shaped hill" or " a glade near swampy ground. Take your pick. It is however the starting line for today's walk, a p;opular one covered several times in the blog but never in The Times "A good Walk". The forecast has once more postponed the trip to Teesdale, or even the Northumbrian hills. The second storm has been, the Met Office called it Barney because they thought it might produce some rubble!
It's a real gadgie walk because we are driving to Seahouses and catching the X18 or 418 to Belford. An infrequent service if you want to uise it, check timetables available on the Nexus site.
To get to Seahouses, A1 north beyond Alnwick, turn east and follow signposts on minor roads. There is a large car park on the site of the old railway station, a gear shop in case you have forgotten your socks, and several fish and chip shops.
The team today; John C., Brian. Ray, Harry, Dave and me  the blogmeister. Which reminds me, I got a note from a gentleman who liked the interesting but redundant gate post last week. He directed me to photos of several others near Skipton in Yorkshire in the area I was born. There were also some Green Lane markers (qv). Dave the archaeologist was interested too.
I have no idea why it turned blue.
Should you need a map for the walk the one to use OS Explorer 340 Holy Island.
We arrived in time for tea at Trotters Bakery and Cafe on Seahouses High Street, a bacon sandwich was awarded 3.5 flitches, the tea was fine and the staff were friendly. We caught the 11am bus and got off at the Golfclub in Belford to start the walk.

                                       Belford main street, St Mary's church.
 A sign post for St. Oswald's Way (again!) pointed us on our way alongside Belford Burn, next to the golf course. Soon we came to the A1, major road on the east side of Britain between London and Edinburgh.

                            The A1 in a quiet moment. A single carriageway. Had it been in the south it would have been duelled  years ago if not upgraded to motorway standards, but it is in the north so it doesn't matter. Perhaps the conservative MP for the area can persuade the government to get on with improving it.
  Across the road we followed the footpath alongside the grain silos, Northumberland is an agricultural county producing wheat, barley and root vegetables, plus a few leeks for show.

     The silos near Belford. There is a heating system to dry the the crop, Brian feels it goes against the grain and he should know, he studied agriculture.
 In the field  by the silos was an interesting but small flock of sheep, possibly Jacob's, or maybe belonging to somebody else.

                                                  Jacob's sheep.
  Next stop the railway; it is the main line between London and Edinburgh and there is a pedestrian crossing here. You are asked to use the phone by the gate to ask permission to cross, we did, and once over we phoned from the other side to tell the signalman we were safely over the lines.
The footpath crosses a stretch of old and rusty track that once served the nearby Easington Quarry, crosses a couple of fields in a very straight line and emerges at a minor road. On previous occasions we have followed the road to the right past the dovecot but today we turned left, leaving the holy man's way and walked down the road a short distance.

A distant view of the Outchester Ducket or dovecot. Built for feed storage and for keeping doves it is now a holiday cottage.

                                   The ducket on a sunny day. It may, says the archaeologist, be built on the site of a Roman Camp.
 Near a cottage we found the sign post on the right leading us to Waren Mill.

                                                     Sign post for Waren Mill.
The footpath crosses a couple of fields, muddy today like most of the fields we have crossed  before coming to the road at the mill.
Waren Mill is ancient, a plaque on the wall says it had links to Bamburgh Castle and gets its first mention in 1187. originally water powered it started to use steam in 1819. being close to Budle Bay it could import coal and export milled grain. It finally closed as a mill in 1984 and is now a block of flats, sorry, luxury apartments.

                                                    Waren Mill

                              Budle Bay on a grey day with the tide out and lots of ducks on the mudflats. North of Budle Bay on Ross Sands there is a Naturist Beach, probably too cold for that today! And beyond that are two stone built Navigation Towers, 500 feet apart, built between 1820 and 1840.

Navigation towers north of Budle Bay. They are 500 feet apart. I have tried to explain to my wife that this can not be exact because it is  continuous and not discrete but she says I am being silly.

Just beyond the hamlet we went through a gate onto the shore and walked along the soft sand for a couple of miles before we came to a derelict pier which made a fine shelter against the cold north west wind. We declared a Herbie Spot.

    A bit low on treats today, almond slices, flapjacks from www.cakepoppins.co.uk and chocolate and beetroot muffins from Mrs A. There are still some who will not join in the exchange of goods. Shame on them.
Break over we continued along the beach, rounding Budle Point  and passing the light at Blackrocks Point. Stag Rock is nearby, so called, according to Brian in a long rambling tale, because it was painted in the days of King Arthur bu Lancelot when, on his wedding eve, he invented the stag party.

                                The light at Blackrock Point

                             An early work by Sir Lancelot, impressionist style and minimalist in use of colour.
Rounding the point we came to the finest looking castle in Britain if not Europe, Bamburgh.
It has ancient foundations and a Norman Keep. It featured in a recent film of Macbeth and had a magnificent mountain painted in digitally behind it. The film was pretty good, the Scottish soldiers looked ill throven and badly dressed, not a Hollywood quif between them.

                                    Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland. Built on the Whin Sill it was a Saxon Fort, a Norman Keep and a film star.
Passing the castle  we continued on the beach all the way into Seahouses where, having changed, we refreshed ourselves at the Olde Ship Inn which had a variety of beers, Speckled Hen, Directors, Theakstons, Farne Island and the cheeriest bar maid we have seen in years. Very much a locals pub, be careful where you sit.
Not a bad day for the birders, ducks, waders and a kestrel, but it was a windy day, best stay in your nest lads. Harry and Brian spotted the bird of the blog though, a little auk.

Little Auk, nothing like the big ones in "Lord of the Rings"

                                     The Olde Ship Inn, Seahouses.
The Matrix MMXV  YYYYY
                                                                        steps                         miles

LIDL 3D                                                        21405                        8
Nakosite                                                         21316                        9.0
Dave's LIDL 3D                                            19205                        9.4
""        USB                                                    18716                        9.15
Nakosite                                                         18611                        9.10
etrex                                                                                                  9.3
John C                                                                                               9.44
Brian                                                                                                 9.1
Settle for 9.2

Contains OS Data, Copyright. Crown Copyright and Database right 2015

Whittlesnittering in Northumberland..Nov13th (Obvious)
   Whittlesnittering is almost a lost skill in Northumberland. Back in the days when agriculture was horse-powered a farm labourer, usually the youngest, was given the task of cleaning the clarts (qv) from horses hooves before they were re shod, especially if the ground had been really claggy. (qv too). As it was not a glamorous task it has rarely been seen at village fairs, unlike sheep shearing, sheep dog trials and pony-riding. Perhaps one day it will make a comeback.

You can see how well the Whittlesnitterer has done his work in this photo, a neat pile of clarts.

  The British Meteorological society has a gentle sense of humour. Older Britons will well remember the unfortunate BBC weatherman, Michael Fish, using information from the Met Office, telling the nation there was no truth in the talk of a great storm one night in October 1987. That night over four million trees were uprooted or blown over in the south of England leading to a rise in the sales of wood burning stoves and artisan furniture.
  This year the Met Office has decided to follow the practice of other countries and give names to storms as they approach. The first, scheduled to arrive on Thursday night, November 12th, has been called Abigail. How subtle is that, A Big Gale. In future we can look forward to Harry Kane or Teresa Felling.

Today's walk round Teesdale has been postponed, mainly thanks to Abigail, and we have chosen a more sheltered walk from Rothbury, country town in Northumberland. (A1 north, A697 and follow the diversion signs, the road has still not been fully repaired since it was washed out two years ago.)
Six of us out, Ben, Brian, John H,, John C., Dave and me, two cars and meeting for breakfast in Tomlinsons cafe and bunkhouse on Bridge Street, Rothbury. A top cafe, good food, including beer and wine if you want, a bunkhouse and some books on local interest and walks for sale.
The walk:
A map is more than useful on this walk although much of it is well marked. The map to use is OS Explorer 332 Alnwick and Amble. We started at Tomlinsons cafe, there is limited parking on the street and there is a car park across the river.

Still there although the Tour of Britain is long gone.

                              www.tomlinsonsrothbury.co.uk
        From the cafe we walked up the hill, past the church and onto Rothbury High Street. Easily recognised it is very wide and lined on the north side with proper shops. Look out for an alleyway or ginnel on the north side, there is no signpost but a notice tells you the Cooperative Funeral Service is at the top. The alley is quite steep, the Grisdale of Rothbury. At the top we turned left on the road and then almost immediately turned right, still climbing up a lane past several bungalows. At the end of the lane the footpath enters a wood, still climbing too, and slippy after much overnight rain. Once out of the wood we took the right fork in the path and headed across boggy moorland before entering the Primrose Wood plantation.

Walking through the sun dappled woods.

                                                                                                                        Look out for an old trailer on the left, it has been there for years. We turned left at the forest road and leaving the primrose path headed north to Crocky's Heugh. (A heugh is a hill or cliff, not to be confused with a haugh, which is a bit of flat land by a bend in a river. You could have a haugh below a heugh!). We followed the track across the moor until, near a wall, we spotted a signpost that took us on another muddy, boggy path heading north up and over Cartington Hill, mostly interesting for its three cairns, in a straight line.

                                                Cartington Hill only about 980 feet high.
At the end of the summit plateau we followed a path going west that is not marked on the map. It led to a gate marked "Private No Access" but as none of us can read we went through, joined a farm track and soon arrived unmolested at a road turned right and walked on to Bankhead. At the farm it started to rain, courtesy of Abigail, and we stopped to don waterproofs.

                               Cloud covered Cheviot. A scattering of snow visible when it was clear.


At Bankhead we turned left down a farm track and crossed several fields before reaching the farm at Whittle. Whittle means white hill. It is a fine looking farmhouse with a friendly collie guarding the gate.

         Whittle farm, the dog had turned to call his agent                                                                                              The footpath is well marked with little yellow arrows on white discs, easy to follow.
 We followed the footpath alongside a field sown with winter wheat already showing before turning right across the field and entering a wood, crossing Blackburn by a footbridge. On the edge of the wood we called a Herbie Spot.

                        Caught in the sunlight. Today's treats included Ben's ginger biscuits, almond slices, flapjacks from www.cakepoppins.co.uk, Corbyn cookies aqnd apple muffins from Mrs A. The apples game from the Algar garden.
Lunch over we headed south of west along the edge of a field before turning left and crossing more fields until we reached Snitter.

           Snitter, a hamlet. Nothing to do with cigars or sad Danes it is a settlement without a church. The name Snitter means a blast of icy snow.
  For years English teachers have told their pupils that the Inuits do not have a word for snow but have seventeen  words to describe different types of snow. Google it and you will find the teachers are wrong. Inuits have words as we do to describe different forms of snow, like sleet presumably. A recent dictionary of the Scottish language claims the Scots have over four hundred words to describe snow!
  We turned right along the road going north west out of the village and then almost immediately turned left again, crossing more fields, pausing  only to look at an interesting gatepost before reaching a road.

                      An interesting, if redundant gatepost.
  After walking a short distance on the road we came to Thropton. The footpath to Rothbury is not too obvious. Look for the Recycling Area and walk down the lane. It is on the right of the main street. Halfway down the lane is a signpost telling you you are on the right track. The footpath crosses the river Coquet and wanders across fields before joining a good path which leads to another footbridge.

                                        River Coquet near Rothbury.
 Back on the north side of the river the well made footpath leads back towards Rothbury. Look out for a set of narrow steps near the car park, they lead back to the church and Tomlinsons.
On the way home we visited the Anglers Arms which was selling Taylors Golden Bitter and Bombardier, the Speckled Hen had just been finished.

MATRIX MMXV    YYY
                                                                         steps                              miles
Nakosite                                                          27594                            12.56 (needs adjusting)
LIDL3D                                                          24718                            8.45       "           "
Dave's 3D                                                       22220                             10.21
USB                                                                21543                             9.86
Naosite                                                            21412                             9.8
OUTDOOR GPS                                                                                   10.1
etrx                                                                                                        10.13
Ben                                                                                                        10

settle for 10 then.

Abigail was like a baby, a bit wet and windy. And we saw a heron
Aw come on, you didn't really believe it did you?

In the land of the Makems.... November 6th (Wearside in Durham)
  Not being a native of the north east I do not have a tremendous passion for Newcastle United, but I do watch them. Their great rivals are Sunderland. Sunderland folk are called "Makems". The usual explanation is that when ships were built on the Wear and the Tyne, those built in Sunderland (Wearside) were taken to the Tyne to be completed. Hence the shipbuilders of Sunderland "make them" and the fitter outerers of Tyneside "take them"; Makems and Takems.
  We have a guest gadgie today, another John, John Hall, John Ha, not to be confused with John Hampton, John H. A friend of Brian's, he likes easy walks, who doesn't these days, so we are walking from St. Peter's on the north side of the Wear, to South Shields on the south bank of the Tyne. The walk has not been blogged since "Curry and Rice Pudding" February 24th 2014. It is a true gadgie walk, involving bus/metro passes and we are meeting at St. Peter's Metro station. Easy to follow, no map required. The Tyneside metro system is pretty good. About 30 years old it was built largely on existing railway line but it disappears underground as it approaches Newcastle. On the north bank of the Tyne there is a loop connecting all the riverside towns. The track crosses the river and then goes to South Shields on one track or Sunderland on another.

                                                 True gadgie walk, bus and.......

                                   ..............................    Metro train.

St Peter's is one of the oldest churches in England. Built about 675 AD, added to in the 12 and 13th centuries and remodelled later, its most famous connection is with the Venerable Bede who started his monastic life there before moving to St. Paul's in Jarrow on the south bank of the Tyne. He wrote The Eccliastical History of The English People and several other works. He was made a Doctor of the Church in 1899 by Pope Leo, a bit late really.  he also popularised the use of BC and AD for dating events, but he didn't invent it. Nowadays it is PC to use BCE and CE so as not to offend. A bit like getting rid of pounds and ounces, pints and gallons and proper money. Anyway he is buried in Durham Cathedral.

                                        St Peter's Monkwearmouth. The tower is mostly Saxon and if you walk through it you follow the footsteps of three saints, but I can't remember their names.Possibly Cuthbert, Hilda and Bendict Biscop.

  A big turnout today, John H, John C, Harry, Dave, Brian, Ben, me and guest John Ha.
The walk: You really don't need a map but if you do use OS Explorer 308, Durham and Sunderland and OS Explorer 316 Newcastle upon Tyne.
We crossed the road outside St. Peter's using the subway as we are getting on a bit and the road is busy. The church is signposted and well worth a visit, if you like old churches. There are usually a few people in who will show you round and point out the features. There is also a cafe, but we walked on today down the steps through the University of Sunderland. As an alternative there are some steps by the bridge and if you go that way you walk along the riverside promenade which has replaced industry with some pleasing works of art.

                         The David Puttnam Media Centre, University of Sunderland. David, or Lord, Puttnam made some top class, Oscar winning films, Chariots of Fire etc. For some reason he was made Chairman of the General Teaching Council. At a union meeting I asked why and was told it was because he was interested in education. My reply that I liked films but they didn't make me chairman of the British Institute of Film was met with snarls from the union spokesperson. A woman actually but a right on one.
  Beyond the University buildings is the Sunderland Glass Centre which has a fine display of locally made glass objects and a cafe, but the best bit is the workshop where you can see a demonstration of glass blowing, fascinating, with a live commentary too.

                  The team approach the Glass Centre. The lady I talked to said we all looked fit, it was because we had just started I answered. Perhaps she meant something else.

 Once famous for ship building, Sunderland harbour is quiet these days, apart from this.
  Beyond the Glass Centre the path follows the promenade, beware of fishermen and their rods. It goes round the marina, past some new housing and emerges on the sea front close to Roker Pier. The marina has art work built into the walls.

 Brick art. A miner has his bath in-front of the fire which is a traditional range with an oven. His miners safety lamp is bottom right next to a water bottle.

                                 The marina. Some of the fishing boats had witty names, like "Catch 22"              

                            Roker Pier. Sunderland  AFC had their ground in Roker before they built the Stadium of Light on top of a coal mine.
From here on the path follows the coast except it is necessary to make a detour through Roker Park as some of the promenade is closed for repair.

Near Roker Park we saw what we first thought was a war memorial. It turns out to be a Bede Memorial. I would have had to walk backwards to get it all in so here it is in sections.  

                       On one side is a copy of an old picture of Bede's last hours, and a pointing finger.

                                                                                            Initially most of the path is in front of buildings; houses, hotels, amusement arcades and cafes. Just beyond Whitburn there is an army rifle range. If it is being used you must walk round it but today there was not a soldier to be seen. At the north end of it, by what appears to be an observation post, we called a Herbie Spot.

 This ones especially for you Sue of Forest Hall. Today's treats were: Alpen biscuits, chocolate iced biscuits from Mrs A, flapjacks from www.cakepoppins.co.uk, Yorkshire flapjacks from ASDA, Ben's home made ginger cakes and lovely ginger cake from Mrs Ha. Apparently John Ha was told he had to bring something! No comment on weight until the end. That's Harry's leg on the right, he always stands up to eat.
There are a number of sea stacks along the coast an, as Dave the Geologist pointed out some interesting rock formations.

                                             Sea stacks.

Laid down 255million years ago in dry desert areas in the Permian era this sedimentary rock has been changed by chemical reaction into the concrete looking stuff below, some of the bits are nicknamed cannonballs. I could have been a geologist but I didn't have a hammer.                                                                                                              

Beyond the Herbie Spot is Souter Lighthouse, a National Trust property currently being renovated, hence the scaffolding. It also has a splendid pair of fog horns.

Souter Light House and fog horns. There is a cafe here too.

  Still sticking to the coast the next place of interest is Marsden Rock. A pub built into a cave at the foot of the cliff, accessible by lift. If you want to visit though, check opening times. And further on is Marsden Lee, once a coal mining village, now cleared and grassed with a mysterious car park without an entrance road. The lime kilns remain though.

Marsden Lime Kilns. Plenty of coal and limestone in the area.

There are several bays as you approach South Shields, one being Frenchman's Bay, so called because in the 17th century a French ship hit the rocks and foundered. Good job it wasn't Hartlepool.

As you arrive in South Shields there are cafes, amusement parks, a sports ground and it is of course the end of the Great North Run, the annual Tyneside half marathon. We cut across the park, mainly to see if there were any potchard ducks on the lake, There weren't but it had been a good day for the birders, spotting kestrels, redshanks, golden plovers, lapwings, sanderlings and cormorants as well as the usual LBJs.

 Brain is not a Wetherspoons fan at all, but surprisingly, possibly under duress, he suggested we end the walk there before going for the traditional curry. John C offered the Stag hotel but it had a limited selection of beers so Wetherspoons it was. The time at the end of the walk was about 4pm, the curry houses open at %.30. What's a poor gadgie to do but fill the time in sampling the extensive rang of real ales on offer, and all at reasonable prices. Several pints later some went home and some went to the Asha Restaurant on Ocean Road. This is a favourite eating place for gadgies and is also used for the famous "Curry Night" which have been mentioned before. Curry and Cobra all round, a stagger to the Metro Station and journeys  home after a fine day out and an increase in weight probably with all the drink and food.

The Matrix MMXV ZZZ   (New pedometers being tested today)

                                                                   steps                           miles

Nakosite the new                                       29775                         13.15 need adjusting

LIDL3D                                                    25640                          12.1

Dave's Nakosite                                        25770                          12.1

Dave's LIDL3D                                        22394                           11.4

Dave's USB                                              22211                           11.2

Ben's GPS                                                                                     10.9

Contains OS data, copyright Crown copyright and database right 2015