ST ANDREW'S ANSWERS THE TOURISM CHALLENGE
How parishioners at Heddon on the Wall have come to the rescue of inquisitive — and occasionally needy — visitors to their church.
A BORDERLINE CASE OF EXPLORATION
IAN FILTNESS and ALAN WINLOW are now familiar with every twist and turn of Northumberland’s county boundary, having followed it on foot and bicycle. Ian explains how it was done.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BLOODY CRANESBILL
SUSIE WHITE sings the praises of the pretty member of the geranium family which has been chosen as the county flower of Northumberland.
THE WILDLIFE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAPMAN
IAN KERR celebrates the achievements of a Victorian Northumbrian whose views on nature conservation were ahead of their time.
FLEET OF FOOT AND FEARED IN FABLE
TONY JOISCE takes a suitably seasonal look at the hare and some of the superstitions which surround it.
FIGHTING HITLER FROM A BORDER AIRFIELD
As the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War approaches, GRAHAM WHITE hears two eye-witness accounts of wartime years at RAF Milfield.
THE AGE OF DO-IT-YOURSELF DARWINS
MIKE PRATT, chief executive of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, suggests ways in which we can follow in the footsteps of the eminent evolutionist and record today’s wildlife for the benefit of future research.
CATERING FOR THOUSANDS
The seventh ‘walking season’ on the Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail will open next month. David McGlade, the man responsible for developing this 84-mile footpath, talked to STEWART BONNEY.
THE CUTTING EDGE OF PATH MAINTENANCE
IT would be hard to find anyone who knows the Hadrian’s Wall Trail better than Alan Gledson and Richard Thomas.
GUARDIANS OF THEIR THREE-MILE STRETCH
JENNY and Dennis Harrington were among the first Trail volunteers to start work in 2003 and are responsible for the three-mile section between Heavenfield and Brunton Turret, which stands just half a mile from their home in Wall village.
A BUSY YEAR OF SIGHTS AND LIGHTS
THE job of managing and preserving the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site, and developing the economic benefits deriving from its promotion, is handled by Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd, a not-for-profit company funded by One NorthEast, English Heritage, Natural England and the North West Regional Development Agency.
VILLAGES WHICH WENT ACCORDING TO PLAN
We usually think of villages as having developed piecemeal over the centuries, but this is far from true in the case of those built to serve the county’s big estates, as JOHN GRUNDY explains in the first of two articles.
SPRING IS IN THE AIR
ALLAN POTTS looks for signs that nature is awakening after its winter sleep.
SPRINGTIME IS GARDENING TIME
WEATHER permitting, April is the month when we all set to work in the garden planting, sowing, tidying up or creating new borders and flowerbeds.
THE GLEAD GLIDES BACK TO NORTHERN SKIES
KEITH BOWEY, project manager of Northern Kites, charts the reintroduction of the red kite to the county after years of persecution.
KITES ARE FLYING, BUT STARLINGS HAVE FLOWN
BRIAN MOORHEAD looks back over 40 years since the formation of the RSPB’s local group in Newcastle, comparing the mixed fortunes of some of the breeding bird populations.
A CLOISTERED WORLD OF RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE
GLEN LYNDON DODDS describes the scope and purpose of Northumberland’s medieval abbeys and priories.
A WOODED GORGE KNOWN TO SCOTLAND’S MEN OF LETTERS
JOHN SURGEY visits Gilsland for a walk along the River Irthing valley, once the destination of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.
THE HILL FARM WITH A ROMAN SECRET
Anyone driving up the South Tyne valley on the road between Slaggyford and Alston, in the furthest south-west corner of Northumberland, might pass Castle Nook farm without giving it a second glance.
Yet here, contained within a small patch of the North Pennine fells, is “one of the best kept archaeological secrets in the north of England” which farmer’s wife, Elaine Edgar, hopes will soon be given wider recognition.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...
NEWS VIEW
Mountain biking changes up a gear
Walkers head for Haltwhistle
Follow the art trail
A pioneer of conservation
Chantry reopens
Pavilion fundraising
Brinkburn music for all tastes
Lucky Spot leaps back to Belsay
BOOK REVIEWS
READERS' LETTERS
READERS' OFFERS
Post-free books and CDs
WHATS ON GUIDE
