Northumberland Trig Bagger

Here's your muppet of a blogger embarking on another local 'collecting' obsession. It started a few years ago with Wainwright-bagging in the Lakes (I might get this one completed during 2023 - I've got 49 of the 214 fells left to do); I then thought I'd walk the entire North-East coast from Staithes to the Scottish Border in stages (two days of walking left here, I reckon) ... and now it's time to call in at all the surviving trig points for the county of Northumberland.

It all came about as the result of a gift. Knowing of my addictive personality for this sort of thing, my son, Matthew, bought me this for Christmas:

... so I thought: why not? Not being a driver, though, I shall be dragging my wife, Angie, along with me over the next few years in an attempt to complete the set before I become too unfit (or die). Needless to say, my good wife will be my official photographer.

 

I've already been to a few of the landmarks in question over the last 30/40/50 years, but I shall probably do them all again just for the fun of it. The picture at the top of this post is the climax of 'bagging' trip No.1, being that officially known as 'Brunton Bridge Farm' trig-point on Brunton Lane, Kingston Park. It's a tricky little customer to find, being buried in a hedge and up against a garden fence on the busy roadside. Only 164 to go then.

Pointless, I know, but it gets me out the house. I would be interested to know if anyone out there has embarked on the same, or similar, long-term expedition. 

P.S. Don't worry, I shall not be boring you all with an account of each and every trip. But I'll keep you abreast of my progress from time to time. Yawn.

Favourite Newcastle Books No.4: 'Newcastle upon Tyne: It's Growth and Achievement'

When I first became interested in the history of my hometown in the late 1980s I had a look around the local bookshops and the libraries to see what I could find on the topic. I was astonished to discover that there were no recent histories available. The best I could do was this effort by S.Middlebrook, Senior History Master at the city's Royal Grammar School, which had been published as long ago as 1950. Of all the tomes I have acquired since, this remains probably the best of the lot.

As nothing like a comprehensive history of Newcastle had been produced for a long time prior to this book (60+ years), and nothing else would follow for several more decades, Middlebrook's effort enjoyed a special place in the hearts of historically-minded Novocastrians for a very long time. But even this book had its problems. The text was finished as early as 1946, but publication was delayed by various difficulties encountered by printers and publishers in the late 1940s (whatever they were - was paper rationed? 😆).

As you can imagine (thanks to the occupation of its author) this reads very much like a text book. But that gives it a certain air of authority, and is kind of comforting. By his own admission, Middlebrook relied (of course) on the work of earlier historians for the really early stuff, but he invested a great deal of his own time researching everything after about 1820. Unlike most previous historians of the city's past, the author avoided surrounding the straightforward facts with an "air of romantic glamour" (as he puts it - and he's right).

The main thread is the economic development of the town and city, but it is much more than that. It is a social history, too; and Newcastle's place in the grand scheme of things - the wider geographical and historical setting - is carefully chronicled. It is a little light on historic buildings and famous personalities, but don't let that put you off. 

Amazingly, it has never (as far as I am aware) been re-published following its initial appearance in 1950. However, there are always copies to be found on Amazon, eBay, and the like - and even, occasionally, in second-hand bookshops. You've just gotta get a copy.

Newcastle upon Tyne: Its Growth and Achievement, by S.Middlebrook, published by Newcastle Chronicle & Journal Ltd, 1950 (hardback, 361 pages).

Cocklawburn Beach & Thereabouts

Looking south from the access road

You'll be happy to learn that my wife and I's North-East coastal walk (Staithes to Scottish Border) is approaching its conclusion. We've only a couple of stretches to go now, up near the Border; and three weeks ago we knocked off a fair chunk betwixt Waren Mill and Spittal - and very interesting it was, too. Blessed with two gorgeous winter days, we covered twenty-odd miles of this incredible stretch of English coastline. Stunning, stunning, stunning.

Of the many beautiful and interesting items on offer, I should like to point you in the direction of one spot in particular: Cocklawburn Beach. I had never been there before - hadn't even heard of it, in fact - and thought it a lovely little place, with, it transpires, an interesting history.

We approached from the south. Having stuck rigidly to the official coastal path for several miles, we ventured a few yards off the same when we clocked this little beauty on a hillock overlooking the coast: 

Gun emplacement

View from inside gun emplacement, looking south

This is no pillbox, as evidenced by the rather large 'pillar-box'-type slot! Turns out (with reference to the info panel, below), that it was home to a rather large piece of WWII ordnance. It really is a belter of a spot, and you can freely access and wander within its still near perfect interior.

Info panel (click to expand)

The information board gives you a pretty good oversight of the area, with its old lime kilns, geology, natural history, as well as the obvious military stuff. As we moved on fairly swiftly, I didn't get a chance to properly explore the immediate environs via the little tour suggested on the board, but its an interesting story, and will hopefully prompt you to spend some time there. The panel can be found in one of the bay's car parks, and afterwards we spied an opportunity to angle down from the official path and onto Cocklawburn Beach for a delightful couple of hundred yards walk north, until a rocky outcrop (Saltpan Rocks - more industry!) forced us back onto the waymarked route. Nice, though.

Looking south again, after we'd clambered off the beach

If you're taking your car, the dead-end access road leads into the bay from the village of Scremerston to the NW. It was busy when we were there in mid January, so can only imagine what it'd be like at the height of summer! There are, though, a few car parks to be found along the said road, as can be discerned from the info panel above. 

And there's far more to the story of Cocklawburn Beach/Bay then I've hinted at here, so do check out the links below - especially prior to your visit, so that, unlike me, you don't miss out on any interesting bits.

More info can be found here. And an especially interesting look at the area's history can be found here (with a further link near the foot of the page, too, for even more info).

P.S. For anyone who's interested, we parked our car at Spittal, walked half a mile to Tweedmouth to catch a 477 bus (Wed & Sat only), then alighted at the start of the Holy Island Causeway and walked the 9 miles north back to our car. Highly recommended.