Jolly Northumberland
Hitting the best of history, beach time on England’s north coast
History and beach time on England’s north coast.
NORTHUMBERLAND, U.K. – My trip to northeast England began with a yelp. Not a dog’s yelp — my own.
I had just been served a most welcome cup of tea, in a chilly community hall in a charming village called Kirknewton, nestled in the High Hills of Northumberland.
Shivering from the damp, cool air, I gladly accepted the steaming cup. But when my purse slipped off my shoulder onto my bent elbow, it jostled the cup and its piping hot contents spilled on my hand. Ouch!
So began my latest trip to the land of hope and glory.
I love visiting the United Kingdom. I’m drawn by its rich history, rolling green hills, fun pubs, great capital city with its west-end theatre and impressive museums, and the expressive energy of its people.
I enjoy visiting the countryside and seaside and got a good dose of both during a recent fall trip.
Another draw is my good friend Sheelagh, who used to live in Alberta but now calls northeast England home. On this trip, we decided to take her good-natured black lab Charlie with us on an adventure tour that included a day in the hills, doing a photo-shoot of a mini-Stonehenge, staying at a splendid country-house hotel called Matfen Hall, walking to the mystical ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle and exploring the busy seaside town of Seahouses.
When the tea-scalding incident happened, a group of us had gathered to hear archeologist Paul Frodsham talk about the area’s Iron Age hill fort, Yeavering Bell.
The twin peaked hill, 360 metres above sea level, is enclosed by the stone wall of a hill fort built around 500 BC.
Unlike the Roman-built Hadrian’s Wall, it’s not a huge tourist attraction, but Yeavering Bell is interesting and evocative nonetheless.
After the community hall talk, our group — accompanied by several members’ dogs — bundled up against the cold for the tour.
It was fun to imagine, with Frodsham’s help, what the fort’s grand palace Ad Gefrin was like in the time of the Anglo-Saxon kings.
Nearby lay an airfield, built by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. There, St. Gregory’s Church has 12 white gravestones of air force servicemen, including Canadians and New Zealanders, who died between 1942 and 1944 while training or on flying missions in the Cheviot Hills.
I found it particularly moving to see the graves of the Canadian airmen who gave their lives to the cause of freedom.
On another chilly day, we took a long walk through a farmer’s field to see the Duddo stones, estimated to be 4,000 years old.
The Duddo Stone Circle is a collection of five large stones near the village of Duddo, about six kilometres south of the Scottish border.