Weekend in Northumberland....

.....Making the most of the sunshine, we started the weekend in our local town of Hexham. This charming market town is situated in the Tyne Valley, just a few miles south of Hadrian’s Wall. With stunning architecture, this market town has cobbled streets that are lined with a blend of boutiques and coffee shops.....and, of course - pubs. Dominating the centre of town and opposite the outdoor market area is Hexham Abbey - which with Marjie was obviously a must see......so with thanks to Trevor for doing some nifty driving moves to secure us a parking spot, we headed straight to the Abbey.
A place of worship since for over 1300 years, the current Abbey was built between 1170-1250 AD. The high alter features a 16th century painting of the Holy Family and all of the stained glass windows are lovely. Prior to the abolishment of the rules of sanctuary being abolished in 1623 by Janes I, Hexham Abbey provided 40 days of safety for fugitives - the Frith Stool or Chair of Peace can be seen here as a symbol of this. Another interesting piece is the carving over the baptismal font......this intricate piece was carved by a Belgian refugee in the early 1900’s. Welcomed by the people of Hexham, he became apprenticed to a carpenter and in his spare time, using “off cuts” from his work, he carved the piece and donated it to the church as a way to thank the people of the town.
In the Abbey, I had a conversation with a conservator who was working on a painting done on wood. Although not doing any restoration, “conservator Bob” explained some of his interesting work, as he painstakingly melted and spread a little adhesive underneath the flaking paintwork.
Another conversation with a knowledgeable volunteer, gave us some information on, and access to, the crypts. These crypts were discovered in 1725 by a builder while working in the Abbey, when he unearthed a passageway of a crypt that had been hidden for hundreds of years....he actually fell into a hole! Built almost entirely from recycled Roman stones, it’s believed to have been influenced by the catacombs of Rome. It was also discovered that during the 19th century it was used as a private burial place of a wealthy, local family.
During our tour of the Abbey we were fortunate to be able to hear the organist, who was practising that day, which was certainly a bonus, and added to the overall atmosphere.
We walked around the area surrounding the Abbey and Priory grounds - now a lovely park - and strolled the streets of town. Before heading home to our cottage, we had just enough time left for a sampling of a yummy slice of “egg pie” from a butcher’s shop - which if you ever get to Hexham, we highly recommend!
The coast had been calling to us - so when another day dawned sunny and (slightly) warmer, off we went - our first stop being Bamburgh. We walked through the village towards the castle enjoying a perfect English summer scene. This postcard-pretty village has little shops along the streets, and a couple of country pubs where plenty of people were sitting outside and enjoying “the weather” - but it’s the huge castle, set high on a rocky plateau, that draws everyone towards it.
Bamburgh was the historic capital of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria and is believed to have been occupied for over 1,000 years - although there is archaeological evidence that people lived in the area 10,000 years ago. From Bronze Age burials through Roman, Saxon, Norman & Medieval times the history continued.......the castle later becoming the world’s first coastguard station, a school and a hospital.
Facing out into the North Sea it’s one of the UK’s most iconic castles, and has been used for such movie sets as Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth and a couple of versions of Macbeth. With a huge beach of dune-fringed sands on one side and the Farne Islands on the other, it has plenty of atmosphere! Some areas of the castle can be visited (and flats can be rented there), but we decided to stay outdoors and walk through the dunes to the beach - where there’s certainly plenty of space for everyone to enjoy the open expanse of sand.
We spent some time on the beach watching families, dogs and surfers before retracing our steps back through the village where the traditional bakeries and pubs were getting busier and a restaurant tucked behind the lovely walled garden of a small garden centre, was doing a brisk trade from their outdoor pizza oven. Driving out of the village, our last glimpse of Bamburgh did indeed look like a movie set.....the local croquet green was in full swing with the back-drop of the brooding Bamburgh castle towering over it.
Less than 5 miles down the coastal road is the fishing village of Seahouses, where boat trips from its harbour leave for tours of the Farne Islands - one of the UK’s top wildlife trips.......150,000 seabirds breed annually on these islands + lots of grey seals can be seen in one of the country’s largest colonies. Not being a fan of boats, I had no intention of such a tour - but due to this being a popular tourist attraction and the sunny weekend conditions, it would have probably been impossible - the place was crowded - we couldn’t even find a parking spot!
Continuing down the winding coast road we turned off at at an even smaller road - more of a laneway - which led us to a very well placed golf course set behind huge sand dunes and another lovely beach. Although we’re not golfers it would obviously be a lovely spot for those who are - the club is also open to the public. Sitting in sight of Dunstanburgh Castle, the course wraps around the magnificent Embleton Bay, recently voted the best stretch of coastline in Britain. Following our instincts to turn down that narrow laneway proved to be a bonus!
We retraced our drive back up the laneway, following the road around Embleton Bay, to our last stop of the day - the fishing port of Craster - famous for it’s kippers. The village is also the access point for the previously glimpsed, Dunstanburgh Castle and is a popular home-base for coastal walkers - this area has some serious hikers! The harbour was built to commemorate the death of a member of the Craster family who died while serving in the army in 1904 - the village being named after the family who held this estate since 1272.
We browsed some small shops selling local products - mainly kippers - and admired the sea views from the harbour wall and the beer garden of “The Jolly Fisherman,” voted the best Northumberland pub of the year.....and....although we didn’t linger there for a beer, we did sit by the harbour savouring the sea air and with “a nod” to the warmer temperatures, enjoyed an ice-cream before heading home!
We ended the weekend with a visit to Seaton Delaval Hall, home of a notorious Georgian family, known for their love of hosting wild parties. Designed in the early 1700’s by one of the most famous and sought after architects of the time, Sir John Vanbrugh, it was damaged by a huge fire in 1822. There is a massive conservation project currently underway to bring the Hall back to its former glory - only a very small part is accessible to the public - so in many ways , there is not a lot to see.....and on the day we visited the central upstairs area was closed due to electrical problems - which could have caused another fire, but fortunately did not!
With one wing also empty (it housed German prisoners during WW2), we used our imagination (helped by volunteers in the house), and solid facts from our family historian Dr. Marjie, to make the best of the hall and its surrounding landscape.
We were able to take a look in one wing where the family lived after the fire, which had a lovely dining room, some interesting art, gloves that were apparently worn by Elizabeth I, and a tapestry that is 250 years old.
We were also allowed to take a look at the great entrance hall where guests arrived before filtering off to “freshen up” - ladies to the right side and gentlemen to the left - before they met up again in the salon, where the stage would be set for a play, a masquerade ball or some other form of entertainment. In an age for notorious extremes of behaviour, this family stood apart as partygoers and pranksters. Imagine being an overnight guest and waking up to find your room “turned upside down” - with the furniture fixed to the ceiling.....and even worse if you had been drinking or taking opium. During the Georgian era, opium, in the form of laudanum, was common.
We toured the gardens - that although small, were pleasant - with a formal area, a pond, a woodland and a “weeping ash” tree that at over 200 years old now needs some extra help to keep it upright. A very small, old church (built on 1102) was an interesting find - tucked away behind high hedges, it could also be reached by a lovely archway covered in greenery. Our time at Seaton Delaval Hall ended in the outdoor courtyard café with scones and cake......not such a wasted day-trip after all!