‘Hidden gem’ has so many reasons why it’s worth a visit
DANIEL HALL visits one of the most attractive corners on Northumberland
DEEP in North Northumberland, away from the stunning beaches and coastal castle, lies what many still consider a hidden gem.
The Ford & Etal Estates lie around half-way between Berwick and Wooler, within a maze of roads and fields between the A1 and A697. The two main villages, Ford & Etal, have just a handful of people living in each, yet are home to several tourist attractions that many aren’t aware are so close to their own doorstep.
Both villages have a castle, while there is also a heavy horse farm, a heritage railway, and one of the UK’s only working water mills all on the estate – the latter of which dates back to the 13th century.
The jewel in the crown, though, is arguably in Ford, the Lady Waterford Hall, a former schoolhouse which is home to stunning pre-Raphaelite paintings.
Many of those who live in Ford have been seduced by its charms when on holiday, or they’ve ended up here by happenstance.
And though few live in the village, there are a handful of small businesses including a pottery, antiques shop, and a multi-functional village shop.
Graham Hopper runs Ford’s shop, tearoom, and bed and breakfast with his wife Jenny. The couple moved up from Manchester in 2017 for a change of lifestyle.
Sub-postmaster Graham said: “It’s quiet, and it may sound odd but I think we’re affected by the tides. On Easter Sunday, it was beautiful and the tide was out all day, so everyone was at Holy Island.
“It never gets packed here like it does at Seahouses and Bamburgh, but it does get busy in the summer.
“We’ll have all the tables full in the tearoom and outside.”
Graham holidayed in Northumberland for years before the move, and he followed his younger sister to the area. He and his wife received a warm welcome, and he wouldn’t trade living there for the world.
He finished: “We used to live in an estate where I was community into the centre of Manchester surrounded by thousands of people who I didn’t know. Here, there’s hardly anyone, and we all know them and
they all know us.”
Tamara Wichary ended up in the village after a move to San Francisco fell through at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.
After four years in Ford, she says that she’s finally found her home.
Marketing director Tamara said: “It’s completely magical, I know it sounds crazy but it’s like no other place and I have lived all over the world. This is just home now.”
Tamara’s daughter Daisy has also moved to Ford, where she has given birth to her first child, Arthur, meaning there are now three generations living in the village.
They plan to have Arthur’s baptism in the Lady Waterford Hall in the coming months.
Tamara added: “The feel of community here is so strong. I traded San Francisco for here, you’ve still got the mountains and the coast, it’s just not the Pacific!”
Not everyone who has moved to
Ford fell in love with the village first, however. For John Marrin, a “young lady” from Edinburgh brought him up many years ago from Kent, and they chose to live in Ford as a compromise between the two locations.
Now he runs the Old Forge with Roy Harmiston and Peter Fagan, with John’s particular speciality antiquarian books. A bookseller for more than half a century, there’s nowhere John would rather have his business – though he wouldn’t mind the entire estate being less of a hidden gem. John said: “It’s very nice, we’re not bowled over by huge numbers of people like the coast is.
“We attract fewer people but once people have found us, they come back again and again, so we do have a regular following.
“We’d always like more people to know about us and visit. But we’ve got a quite a job on our hands to bring more people in as it’s so remote.”
Ford and Etal’s attractions are open for their 2024 season until Sunday, November 3. It is possible to walk between Ford, Etal and Heatherslaw, or to rent bikes from the village shop – the journey is around a four-mile round trip.