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Published: April 21st 2024
Hadrian's Wall
Housesteads Roman Fort We left Alston in Cumbria and crossed into Northumberland. It was a short drive to Haltwhistle, following the route of the River South Tyne. You automatically think and associate Newcastle as being on the River Tyne, but the two tributaries North and South never seem to get a mention or an acknowledgement of their existence. Haltwhistle, a small market town of about 4,000 people on the main East / West route between Carlisle and Newcastle, has a similarly little known claim to fame. Haltwhistle is the Centre of Britain or at least, so it claims. There are others with a similar claim to the geographical centre and Haltwhistle conveniently disregards measurements to Shetland and settles at Orkney as the most northerly point. Claim or counter claim aside, Haltwhistle has branded itself. We positioned our Vera next to the road sign at the edge of town. A hotel in the town centre has renamed itself the Centre of Britain Hotel and for good measure, you can find a Centre of Britain Launderette. There must be some comfort to be found in washing your smalls in such a prominent geographical location. There was a sleepy feel to the town on this midweek afternoon
Haltwhistle
Centre of Britain in March. The busiest place appeared to be the Haltwhistle Comrades Club - the full title being the Haltwhistle & District Comrades of the Great War Social Club & Institute - at one end of the main street. A group in dark suits assembled outside on the footpath, either heading to or from a prominent local funeral. It looked a good turnout. There would be no crowd outside the Working Men's Club across the way for the forseeable. It went up in smoke on 1 December 2023 - a faulty electrical appliance apparently - and there seems to be some local anguish at the lack of action to resurrect the building. The building stands only just in a part demolished state. The surplus drinking business appears not to have transferred to the local Conservative Club opposite. The building also seemed to sub-let to a dog training school - Halty Hounds and to create space for the older generation to get their feet "done" courtesy of CJH Podiatry. Times must be hard enough to need the rent in the blue corner. We had a cup of tea, a very nice fruit scone and walked the full length of the main street
Corbridge
Corbridge Roman Town to the Railway Station. Haltwhistle Station is something of a time capsule, with a number of Grade 2 listed structures - a water tower, signal box and original wooden shelters. Trains these ply their routes twice an hour towards Hexham and Newcastle and Carlisle in the opposite direction. Haltwhistle was once the junction in the line for the branch serving the metropolis of Alston.
It was time to check into our next accommodation. The so called Military Road runs parallel to the A69 trunk road and follows the line of Hadrian's Wall. The Romans expanded their Empire north to this point and decided to hold what they had. The troublesome people from the lands to the north were to be kept at bay by an extraordinary feat of engineering. The Emperor Hadrian decided a wall should be constructed between the Solway Firth and Wallsend, in the east of modern day city of Newcastle. The construction began in AD122. It spans approximately 73 miles with forts and additional defences added periodically along the distance. We had planned to stay at Twice Brewed or as it is marked on maps, Once Brewed. A village? Not exactly. The buildings comprise of a
few farms, the odd house, a fancy looking YHA and the Twice Brewed Inn. The YHA building is a replacement for the old premises and comes with the fancy title of The Sill. It was opened in 2018. The accommodation and the cafe are decidedly not dog friendly so it was never an option for us. We checked in at the altogether fabulous Twice Brewed Inn next door. I guess it would best be described as unpretentious, but the combination of friendly people, comfortable rooms, great beer and wholesome food proves a winner. On a midweek night in March, the place was heaving for both food and drink customers - and don't forget there is not exactly a large centre of population round the corner. The Twice Brewed Inn has their own microbrewery and tap room next door to the main building, which was a bonus. There are some places with grand reputations, but others where you just feel comfortable from the off. The Twice Brewed Inn is such a place. I possibly had too many pints of Sycamore Pale Ale. Vera enjoyed her breakfast sausage every morning and all the staff made a big fuss of her. We also
by chance met up with some great drinking companions in the pub. Where else to you get to meet up with a former member of a 1960s chart band?
Whilst the Wall has many great points and highlights, Twice Brewed is close to one of the most visited locations. In a dip in the Wall, a lone Sycamore tree grew. It was the subject of many classic photographs and immortalized in a Kevin Costner remake of Robin Hood. Of course, the fact that Nottingham or Sherwood Forest aren't exactly just round the corner wouldn't let Hollywood spoil a good location shoot. A poster from the movie hangs in the pub and listening to a random tourist from across the Atlantic talking to his Mrs on the phone, he was almost making out he had just had a pint with the said Mr Costner is his "local bar". The weather set fair for a couple of hours, we set off to walk up to Hadrian's Wall and along to the Sycamore Gap. Of course, the tree is no longer in situ. In an act of complete lunacy and vandalism, a person or persons unknown cut it down with a chainsaw.
Hexham
Colonel Benson Statue A huge public outcry followed, but I'm not sure if any commensurate legal penalty has ever been applied to the perpetrators. The tree stump is now fenced off, signs of life have been detected and the hope is that one day the Gap will be Sycamore Gap once more with a tree. A steady stream of walkers passed us on our limited expedition, all striving to complete Hadrian's Wall Path and hit their various overnight checkpoints. I was surprised how many were from overseas and particularly the US.
It had never been part of our plan, but we ended up joining English Heritage on the trip. I recalled a school trip to Housesteads Fort, when I was possibly 11 and decided it was about time to revisit. There was a deal on with a 25% reduction, so we signed up. Our National Trust membership has long since lapsed, largely due to their understandable reluctance to let our 4 legged friend inside many of their properties. The English Heritage portfolio is largely ruins, so dogs are permitted almost everywhere. We calculated we could easily recover our outlay in saved admissions in this short break alone. Housesteads Fort is one of
the largest remaining structures on the Wall. It was abandoned in circa 400AD, but large areas remain surprisingly intact. You would go a long way to fi d a better preserved Roman latrine apparently. English Heritage now manages the Fort on behalf of the National Trust. They acquired the property in 1930. In for a penny, in for a pound - we also fitted in a visit to both Chesters Fort further East and the Roman town at Corbridge on our way back South. I guess Housesteads has the most spectacular location, but all have something to add to your understanding of the Roman period of history in Britain.
Hexham was the nearest big town to our base. I have been before, but it was a long, long time ago. We stopped off by the River Tyne and took Vera for a long, muddy walk along the banks. Tyne Green Park had the added bonus of free parking. Hexham is dominated by the Abbey. It was originally founded as a monastery in 674AD, but the gothic building seen today is a construction built between 1170 and 1250. The doors are open to visitors - free admission, donations welcome -
so I would pay it a visit. Along with Durham Cathedral, Hexham is probably the most impressive religious building in the region. We hunted out a dog friendly coffee spot in the vicinity and settled in the Market Place with a view of the covered market. The Shambles - not to be confused with those in York - is a covered market, dating from 1766. The building looked familiar, because we had sent it on a recent episode of the ITV series, Vera. The other buildings of note in the Market Place were the Moot Hall - originally a defensive gate and an old cinema, partially converted into a Wetherspoon pub. The Forum is now community owned and possess some fine Art Deco architecture. The Old Gaol just beyond the Moot Hall is apparently one of the first purpose built prisons in the country. We chanced on the old Bus Station. Whilst the building is no longer used - it closed in 2016 - a fine Art Deco shell remains.
The Abbey is flanked by a wonderful looking public park, The Sele. Hexham"s War Memorial and Bandstand lie within. The road opposite, Beaumont Street, has some grand buildings including
the Queen's Hall. The 1866 building houses an Arts Centre and Library. A statue to Colonel Benson watches over traffic at the top of the Street. He was an Officer in the Royal Artillery and was killed in the Boer War in 1901. Whilst the area in the immediate surroundings of Beaumont Street still retains that air of grandeur associated with this prosperous part of greater Tyneside, the rest of the town centre is looking a bit run down to be honest. Logically, post COVID and with half the country working from home, Hexham should be a top choice in which to live. Good schools, easy access to the big city and countryside on the doorstep are all here. I was a bit surprised, thar there weren't more independent shops booming.
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