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July 2, 2024

northernvicar – January to March 2024

I’m coping with chemotherapy, but managing to get out. No churches visited, but you might like these photos. The level crossing gates remain at Thorneyburn station on the Hexham-Riccarton Junction route – the line closed in 1958. Lovely snowdrops at Newbrough church. On Sunday 18 February I was feeling good and it was a lovely day, so I went for a drive up the A68. Bremenium, Old Rochester, is a place I have not been to for years. The Roman fort is very atmospheric. I just had a short walk, but it was lovely. There is a new website...
Categories Northumberland/Railway History/Roman Britain Comments: 0
January 18, 2024

Bewcastle, Cumbria – St Cuthbert (again)

On Tuesday 9 January 2024 we had a hire car sitting on the drive – Bristol Street Motors in Hexham being unable to get the right part to repair ours and Motability having a duty to keep their disabled customer on the road (a duty they have failed to cover in the last four weeks as their “preferred supplier” Europcar just say “we haven’t got an automatic”). Sorry, rant over. Now we have a hire car, let’s get some miles on the clock. As the sun sank slowly in the west we headed towards it, and ended up in...
Categories Cumbria/Roman Britain Comment: 1
January 11, 2024

northernvicar November and December 2023

One of my ambitions in life has been to see the Northern Lights. We should have been in Orkney for the last fortnight, and there have been some lovely photos from there. We have also seen photos from Northumberland over the last few months, but never seen the real thing. This evening the app started flashing red, a high chance of seeing them. So we went on an Aurora hunt. We drove north up the A68, then took the Bellingham road in West Woodside. There is a laybye on the north side of that road, and we could see...
Categories Northumberland/Railway History/Roman Britain/Scotland Comments: 0
September 10, 2023

northernvicar August 2023

We started the month with a trip north over the Border to Melrose, and a visit to the Roman Museum at Trimontium – https://www.trimontium.co.uk/. It reminds us that the Romans did move north – by 79 AD they were pushing into southern Scotland and constructed their fort at the place of the three hills, the three peaks of Eildon. There were Iron Age forts here, indeed several thousand people may have lived in the area the Romans conquered. This same site was to be used several times over the next hundred years or more, as the site was abandoned...
Categories National Trust/Northumberland/Personal/Railway History/Roman Britain/Scotland/Trams Comments: 0
August 2, 2023

northernvicar July 2023

Our last month in Derbyshire, and we can still find new experiences. Kedleston was a favourite spot during lockdown, but my days of walking “The Long Walk” are over. On Monday 3 July I found they now have a Tramper to hire, so I accepted my condition and enjoyed the ride. Memo to self – reduce speed before seeking to go through a gate! My brother and I decided we needed a day’s jaunt round Lincolnshire to do the railway lines I should have done over the last seven years, and I managed a day in London to do...
Categories Northumberland/Personal/Railway History/Roman Britain Comment: 1
July 29, 2023

northernvicar June 2023

The Ecclesbourne Railway have done a superb job with a disabled access coach – other railways, please take note. We had a visit on Sunday 4 June, and I got on the footplate at Shottle. We went to Hardwick Hall on Monday 5 June, meeting our friend John. It is rather amusing that he was my Best Man forty years ago, now he gets free admission as Julie’s “essential carer”. Then a series of train trips as I went to and fro to Manchester for various hospital jollies. We managed a week in Wales, and called in to the...
Categories Personal/Railway History/Roman Britain/Wales Comments: 0
August 26, 2021

northernvicarwalks – July 2021

Northern Vicar is not very good at walking. I only managed 17 miles this month, partly because of an ingrowing toenail. I did manage railway trips to Marple, the tram curve in the middle of Sheffield, the early morning curves used in Toton yard, the line at Amerton, and the East Coast Main line from Doncaster down to Peterborough and back via Pyewipe Junction in Lincoln. Here are the railway records – part of my campaign to do all British Rail track for a third time. I did manage to do some work. We have 10 am services in...
Categories 1,000 mile walking/Northumberland/Railway History/Roman Britain Comments: 0
November 1, 2019

Binchester, County Durham – Roman fort

We drove on about four miles to Binchester Roman Fort. We last came here in 2010 on a warm May Saturday when there was a bunch of re-enactors on site and the place was buzzing. Rather different to a very wet Friday in September when the only people on site are us and the lady from Durham County Council – who came and found us later in our visit to lend us an umbrella. Although there is no café and the loos are portaloos, everywhere in the main buildings are wheelchair accessible (as is a portaloo). More details at...
Categories Durham/Roman Britain Comments: 0
November 1, 2019

Escomb, County Durham – Saxon Church

On Friday 27 September we left Northumberland and drove back down the A68, then we turned off to Escomb Saxon church – NZ 189301. A church literally in the middle of the village, surrounded by a circle of 1960s houses, parking outside, and the key hangs on a hook outside number 28. Church website – https://escombsaxonchurch.co.uk/, and it’s on https://www.explorechurches.org/church/escomb-saxon-church-escomb and http://www.greatenglishchurches.co.uk/html/escomb.html. They also mention a Small Pilgrim Places Network, which looks worth finding out more about – https://www.smallpilgrimplaces.org/ This church was built about 680 AD. Just mull that over – 680. When we read the Lindisfarne Gospels and...
Categories Durham/Roman Britain Comments: 0
February 17, 2019

Chester’s collection of Roman gravestones

Chester is not a city I know particularly well. We had a couple of nights here on a narrow boat when we were young and in love – I remember going to early Communion in the Cathedral, and taking the boat down the staircase locks at the end of a long day. I’ve changed trains here on a few occasions since, but haven’t visited the Cathedral for years. On Saturday 26 January we drove across and met our friends Jeremy, Sue and Ella. The girls went shopping – Jeremy and I did the museum and a church. I wanted...
Categories Cheshire/Roman Britain Comments: 0