Category: Northumberland

I’d fought my way into Newcastle as the girls wanted to shop, then headed west along the A69. South to Ovingham where I parked by the church – NZ085636. I ambled down to the bridge – www.bridgesonthetyne.co.uk/ovingham.html – which is a very rickety bridge. Built in 1883, I’m surprised it is still holding together. Apparently it has had a 10 mph speed restriction for the last 40 years. I didn’t walk right across to Prudhoe station – we’ll deal with that when we do the church and castle. Looking at an old map – www.disused-stations.org.uk/p/prudhoe/index.shtml – Prudhoe Colliery was rather...

On the Feast of Stephen (which this year fell on a Sunday) I had a turkey sandwich for lunch and then drove to Chollerford and parked by “The George”. The North Tyne was frozen, and it looked gorgeous. The bridge replaced one destroyed by a flood in 1771 – more information at www.bridgesonthetyne.co.uk/chollro.html – this is a marvellous website, and it tells me that “literary giants W.H. Auden and John Steinbeck” have stayed at the George – one day they will add the line that “literary blogging giant Peter parked his car here”. I am (very slowly) walking Hadrian’s Wall,...

The snow is almost gone, but we’re all getting fed up of grotty weather. I spent an hour and a half singing carols at Waitrose in the morning and was climbing the walls by late afternoon. I needed out! We drove to the neighbouring village of Stamfordham. It has a population of about 1,000, a school, two churches, two pubs, a nice village green with lock-up, even a bus depot – but no shop or post office. St Mary’s church (NZ076720) has a website http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stamfmatfenchurches/ and is open at 3 pm on a dark December Saturday. Please don’t expect brilliant...

The snow which started on Wednesday 23 November is still lying deep on Tuesday 7 December. We were supposed to be in the Lakes today seeing friends Joyce, Ye Min and Clare who are over here from Singapore, but that was not possible. Instead I got dragged round Newcastle shops. Having done that we needed lunch. We drove up the main road to Belsay, then across to Whalton. I like the “Beresford Arms” and have eaten there on several occasions. The snow meant that the three of us were their only lunchtime customers – and apparently all their evening...

“Oswald set up the sign of the holy cross and, kneeling down, prayed God to send his heavenly aid to those who trusted in him in their dire need. This place is pointed out to this day and held in great veneration. It is said that, when the cross had been hurriedly made and the hole dug in which it was to stand, the devout king with ardent faith seized the cross and placed it in position himself, holding it upright with his own hands until the soldiers had heaped up sufficient earth so that it stood firm. This...

I had been to Heddon (NZ135669) before, on a trip with our Coffee Club, and this time visited with dad. The Wardens were sitting in the meeting room they’ve inserted at the west end, and gave us a guided tour and a cup of coffee. They have done a lot of work on the tourist potential of the church – realising that all visitors are welcome visitors. It would be lovely to think that Roman Christians worshipped on this site, the Wall is only a few hundred yards to the north. The original church is Saxon, with a suggested...

My clever daughter directs the Bailiffgate Singers at Alnwick – www.bailiffgatesingers.org – and we had a concert to sing in at SS Peter and Paul, Longhoughton (NU243151) on Saturday 23 October. A drive up the A1 with my learner-driver-daughter and we parked by School Green Sculpture, erected by the Parish Council in 2004. Carved by Gilbert Ward of Fourstones, Hexham, it suggests a Celtic Cross whose shaft is broken, leading the eye ever upwards. It is a fascinating and beautiful church, with a very large graveyard – and a modern bier parked by the wheelie bin. The walls of the...

A shopping trip to Morpeth, and we headed north out of the town simply because that was the way the car was pointing. We turned left for Hebron although I didn’t know if there was an Anglican church there – it sounds like the sort of settlement which was named after a non-conformist chapel. I was wrong – the village was called Heburn in 1242 and, like Hebburn in Durham, its name comes from the Old English (pre 7th century) “byrgen” meaning a mound, especially a burial mound. St Cuthbert’s church is in the centre of the hamlet at...