Shaftoe Crags' Shadows of the Past

(click to enlarge)

The other day I spent a couple of hours wandering around Shaftoe Crags, Northumberland - you know, the area a little to the west of Bolam Lake. I'd been to the latter many, many times over the years, but this time we decided to drive straight past the same and head for a small lay-by at Bolam West Houses and, well, try something new for once.

Off we set in a westerly direction, then executed a clockwise tour of East Shaftoe Hall Farm, the trig point, then up through the crags themselves via the famous Salters Nick. Then it was back in an easterly direction to the car. It was all very nice, and we didn't get wet.

Salters Nick

Let me first of all say that I know nothing of the area in question, including its history. The land marked in a yellowy-brown wash is Open Access land - and it easy to see why, as its rocky demeanour renders it pretty useless for farming. It probably hasn't changed very much for thousands of years, and, as you can see there are plenty of references to ancient stuff - or sites of antiquity, as they are more properly known. 

I printed out the above map for navigational purposes and the more I studied it the more I noticed just how many of those ancient sites there were. In what is a very small area there are TWELVE such spots - 6 old 'settlements', 3 tumuli, 1 old fort, 1 standing stone and another named 'Shortflatt Tower'. In addition to this little lot - and not marked as 'ancient' on the map - are FIVE 'lost villages', namely, West Shaftoe, East Shaftoe, Harnham, Shortflatt and Bolam (see Beresford's Lost Villages website ). This makes SEVENTEEN places of historical interest in total. Amazing!

It does get you thinking just how much historical 'stuff' is out there waiting to be properly investigated. I've not looked into the history of Shaftoe Crags in any detail, but a quick search of the internet for the area does not reveal a great deal of info about the crags and their surroundings.

If anyone has any observations or comments then please feel free to contribute below.