Grid Reference NY8355. Allendale is around 34 mi (55 km) to the west of Newcastle. 11 mi (18 km) to the south of Hexham. 35 mi (56 km) to the east of Carlisle. Allendale refers to the "dale" or valley of the river Allen. Evidence of prehistoric settlement has been found on the surrounding moorland. In the 16th century this area, … Continue reading Five Miles of Allendale. (East)
Should you ever care to walk, or dare some length of Emperor Hadrian's Wall, it is advised, by Roman Legionnaires and other hardy souls in the know, to lay your best foot down way out in the west & march into the east. The wind, a constant howl across Northumbria, will be at your back and … Continue reading Witches Knickers.
The shape of The Shale Basin, soon to be wintered, shading the bed of the Puget Sound, etching, at anchor, an orbit in the near-frozen water, caught between kelp and canopy of cloud. Low, early December sunlight casting long shadows, shafting the surface; an ever-complicated dance. Slow repetition, return and feign of … Continue reading The Shale Basin.
There aren't so many pirates at the pirate party. Mostly, it's just people at a party. Dizzy, though, who I haven't seen since Lemons, him and me spent that week in Cornwall, is stood at the window, staring at the sea. He has a blackjoke, plastic pirate patch over one eye. It has a skull … Continue reading The Pirate Party.
Grid Reference: NT977272 The ascent of Humbleton to the Iron Age hillfort. The Battle of Humbleton September 14 1420. The sky is bigger, better, here. It settles in the treetops - sketches distant pencil lines from left to right. Such detail. Black-face sheep, blue numbered, vast & herded. Sheets of … Continue reading Five Miles of Wooler Common.
24/10/18 OS grid ref: NY 7083 6412 Haltwhistle is a small town and parish in northwest Northumberland. It lies 10 miles east of Brampton and has a population of 3,800. Early forms of the name are Hautwesel (1240), Hautwysel (1254), Hawtewysill (1279), Hautwysell (1381), Haltwesell (Speede/ 1610). The second part '-twistle' relates to two streams … Continue reading Five Miles of Haltwhistle.
