Newcastle, Northumberland, NORTH England

Newcastle itself and neighbouring Gateshead are worth a visit. The Tyne bridges are certainly something to remember. Gateshead I have not seen recently. It used to be pretty dire but a lot of money seems to have gone into restoration and renewal and I should love to see 'The Angel of the North,' a huge sculpture. Of Newcastle there may be some who do not know that it has a fine network of underground railway. Further North you will reach Warkworth on the A1068 near the coast, a surprisingly fine ruined castle and children love it, and just North of this on the A1 itself is Alnwick [l silent,] historic seat of the great border family of Percy, of terrific power and importance during the Wars of the Roses, and hereditary Dukes of Northumberland. This time the castle is vast and not a bit a ruin!

North and West of here is the next choice, Chillingham, with some marvellous tombs in its church but most noted for its herd of white wild cattle, unique in England.

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Only just North of here but on the coast is the little town of Seahouses where there are trips to the Farne Islands, an excellent reserve for birds and seals. A bit further on is Bamburgh with its lovely coastal walk to a castle and sands in close proximity.

On to Lindisfarne or Holy Island, with an ancient religious history. Lastly Berwick-upon Tweed, with its spectacular border history of wars and sieges is a must. This changed between being Scottish and English many times. The above route has kept near to the East side of Northumberland. Further west you might want to see the National Park, based on the Cheviot Hills, or the masive reservoir at Kielder where red squirrels still live and which transported water to near Huddersfield in Yorkshire during bad droughts late in the 20th century. Best known of all however is Hadrian's Wall which was built by thw Romans to resist Scottish attacks - [now largely some considerable way South of the border.] [I refrain from covering trips across the border here but I could make suggestions of some very accessible sights if anyone wants to write a message.]

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I have not been here since I had to stop driving and a car is certainly useful because the best sights are spread over a large area.

Apparently there are now 22 bridges over the Tyne but here I am not concerned with those upriver and restrict it to the more important ones between Gateshead and Newcastle. Traditionally the best known has been the Tyne Bridge itself with its superstructure of arching metal connected by verticals to the lower part. When this was completed as late as 1928 it was the largest single-span bridge in the world! We seem to have had a bit of progress since then. Perhaps the oldest of the more interesting bridges is the high-level rail bridge which connected Newcastle with more Southern parts by rail in the middle of the 19th century. A brand new feature at the time was a road bridge below the rail one and part of the same structure. Then there is the Swinbridge built later in the century.

Two bridges, one road and one for the Metro were built during the Queen's reign prior to the millenium.

Now however there is the Gateshead Millenium Bridge which I have yet to see. This will surely overtake the Tyne Bridge in fame and popularity. It would be invidious for me to write much about it but PLEASE see the official website on http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/bridge/bridged.htm

Twenty years ago taking its name from Gateshead would have seemed highly unlikely! This is a measure of this town's recent development and of the money pumped into it, quite justifiably in my view.

I have not yet seen this but it seems daft to do a journal on the area without mentioning something so important that may not yet be known worldwide. Any info here is cribbed from the website which is well worth a visit: http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/angel/ In very short it is a sculpture with a 54 metre [175 foot] wingspan and height of 20 metres [65 feet.] it weighs 200 tonnes and is thought to be the world's biggest angel sculpture.

This is a spectacular village which would be famous if it were further South. As it is the Newcatle conurbation is the only one from which day trips make sense so on the whole its visitors are people staying in the North. The houses are mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries but the layout of the village still adheres to a far older, probably Norman, plan. Its church is the only one in Northuberland which is predominantly Norman. This is toppped by a 14th century stone spire and there is a priest's room over the porch.

The town is built by the side of the river Coquet with a 14th century bridge on the North side, now used only by pedestrians. It is near to the mouth of the river so the castle was a defense from shore incursions and the village still clusters around it.

The catsle itself is wonderful, like a child's dream and children certainly love it and can be pretty safely allowed to play hide and seek. Most of what remains now, including the superb keep, is from the 14th and early 15th centuries but the castle goes back to the 12th century.

If you want a bit more there is a good clean sandy beach within a mile with an area of sand dunes on the way whose plant life has made it a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The first impression you get is opulence and you certainly keep it. The little town, now bypassed by the A1, is attractive enough but obviously it is famous for is castle, the seat of the Percy family. It costs nearly £7 to go in [adults] but there is certainly a lot to see in the castle itself, the second largest in England after Windsor,including Italian decor and good collections of furniture and paintings.

The castle was probably built shortly after the Norman conquest and was acquired by the Percy family early in the 14th century The fourth Lord Percy became the First Earl of Northumberland and the political power of the family was at its height in national terms in the 14th and 15th centuries. They seemed to find no difficulty in forming alliances with the Scottish kings when it suited but Percy played in important role in the campaign to transfer the throne from Richard 2 to Henry 4 although, as Shakespeare has depicted in Henry the Fourth part 1, htis did not stop his son, harry Hotspur, from being a prominent rebel against Henry 4.

The second earl, reconciled to the crown was the pillar of the defence of England against the Scots and he took the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses, being killed in an early battle. The third Earl, [since they were all called Henry this is the only way of distinguishing between them]was a prominent Lancastrian, who died at the battle of Towton in 1460. For a tie his title and property went to the brother of the Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker but as Warwick increasingly became a threat to the throne the son of the third became the Fourth Earl about 1470. He was now a prominent Yorkist and fought for the Crown against Warwick, successfully. He was regarded as a supporter by the last Yorkist King, Richard 3 but something was strange at the battle of Bosworth where he is thought to have substantially contributed to Richard's defeat by not bringing in the rearguard at an appropriate time. Interestingly the website of the castle fails to mention Bosworth at all. No 4 was murdered in 1489.

Although the succeeding earls were extremely important in the North and still played a part in national politics, the great age of the Peers was coming to its end as the Tudors built up the supreme power of the Crown. The gardens are also magnificent and owe a lot to 'Capability' Brown. If you are dubious about whether the family will let you go, relax. Alnwick was the set for Harry Potter and the Philosopher,s Stone!

This is not just a herd of cows! Their DNA is distinct from that of other cattle and they are thought to be descended from the original cattle which ran wild over much of Northern England and Southern Scotland.

First the history which forms a necessary condition for the creation of this herd: in the 14th century the King allowed the area of the park to be enclosed and thus a number of cattle were corralled. It is assumed that the main purpose was food but obviously it safeguarded the hunting in the area as well. From that time on, except for some supplementary feed, the cattle have been left strictly alone; for instance no veterinary attention is given. They are completely insulated from any other cattle and thus have survived only by interbreeding. I gather that King Edward the Seventh was the last person to hunt and kill one.

History has combined with the genetic behaviour of the herd. As is the case with a number of other wild animals, all calves are fathered by the 'King Bull' at the time, thus ensuring that, on one side, only top quality genes are handed on. Apparentlyfrom the skull size of some remains that have been found, the size of the cattle has diminished somewhat over time but otherwise the interbreeding does not seem to have caused any adverse consequences.

Challenges to the King are usually fairly formalized bouts of fighting and, provided that a defeated bull withdraws decently from the herd for a while, there is rarely a fatality.

There is apparently a ceremonial entry to the herd for new calves once they are of age. Being wild they are, of course, potentially dangerous and this particularly applies to cows with calves and to defeated bulls. Nobody is allowed into the area without the warden, who takes you as close as safety permits. His talk is highly informative - memory of it provides the basis of this page!

Chillingham Castle nearby has been owned by the same family, the Greys, who fought on the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses [and one of whom was the first husband of Elizabeth Woodville who later married Edward the Fourth.] In the church are alabaster figures of a crusader, Ralph Grey, and his wife.

Southward from Berwick there is a wonderful, scenic and interesting stretch of coast containing fine beaches, interesting castles and the historic semi-island of Lindisfarne, whilst just out to sea are the Farne Islands, a great breeding area for seals and seabirds.

First comes Lindisfarne, not really quite an island - most of the time anyway. It is possible to drive over the causeway except at high tide so it does make sense to check when you can get there - AND BACK!

This is a really ancient site of Christianity, one of the earliest in England, seeking to introduce the religion in England from the 7th Century. The Celtic church of Northumbria rivalled that of Rome in much of England for some time.

The key buildings are the castle which you will have seen well before you get to Lindisfarne and the ruined priory, built as a Roman Catholic foundation in the 11th century. There was of course an earlier monastery associated with the Celtic church.

The castle is owned by the National Trust and is very well maintained. There is also an old harbour with terrific views of the Farne Islands.

The Farnes, real islands this time, are accessed from Seahouses [often a rough trip]. They are owned by the National Trust and are a noted haven for geese, gulls and auks as well as grey and common seals.

On the mainland, just about level with the farnes is Bamburgh with a spacious beach area and a castle. This is far from being a ruin; infact it is a home. It is also licensed for weddings and its fabulous aspect and views render it very popular.

Dunstanburgh Castle, further South, is very different; it was ruined in the Wars of the Roses and has been derelict ever since. it is reached by a considerable walk along the cliff top, either from Craston or Embleton and commands excellent views of the coast.

I must be something of a romantic at heart as I get much more from the shell of Dunstanburgh than from the superbly complete castle at Bamburgh!