Old and New Places

Our stay at Filey had passed, it was time to move onto pastures new. Our journey, ‘Up The East Side’ was to take us further north. The next destination being the River Breamish Caravan and Motorhome Club site, which is in Northumberland and situated between Rothbury and Wooller. It was a drive which we’d been looking forward to in our progression north.

We left Filey and followed the road around the outskirts of Scarborough and on to Whitby. Provisions were required, so it was good to find a convenient ‘Sainsbury’s’ as we arrived at Whitby, with plentiful parking. The opportunity to ‘stock up’ was taken and the larder and fridge were full again. The road bypassed the centre of Whitby and we were soon quite literally going uphill and down dale as the twisty road went through the magnificent North Yorkshire Moors. The scenery was delightful and although progress was slow, it was an enjoyable drive.

Soon we came to the outskirts of Middlesbrough and Teeside. The drive around here count be described as scenic, by any stretch of the imagination - but it was interesting to me. For this was an area I had spent most of my teenage years, living at Hartlepool and Yarm On Tees. I hadn’t been around the area for many years and it was strange to see some of the old place names and landmarks. One of these being the distant Middlesborough Transporter Bridge, where I’d somehow lost my first ever pay packet. Things had changed, it all seemed so much larger now, but it was good to pass through and be reminded of days long gone.

The A19 took us further north, past Sunderland, and around Newcastle. We joined the A1, near e described as scenic, . A magnificent sight and one which I hadn’t seen before. We entered Northumberland and stopped for some lunch in another sloping lay-by. Thankfully on this occasion, I left Sheldon in gear and applied the handbrake, so no repeat of moving backwards, as in my previous blog. Lunch was safely taken and we continued our journey to the site, where we arrived at 1.00 pm.

River Breamish Caravan and Motorhome Club Site is set in the heart of rural Northumberland. It is delightfully situated, with Nature Parks on each side. The site was busy and had its own facilities (toilets and showers). These were in use, but like other club, sites were limited to 2 people at any one time in each of the Ladies and Gentlemen’s sections. A simple but efficient ‘wristband system’ was in use where each customer was given a wristband. If you were using the facilities, you put your wristband on a hook outside the facilities block. If 2 wristbands were already hung up, you had to wait in a queue until a place was available. On leaving the block you removed your wristband from the hook. It was a system that worked well - providing you remembered to take your wristband from the hook when you left.

As was going to become a pattern for the holiday, our time at River Breamish was weather-affected. This meant that going on ’excursions’ away from the site, was less attractive as its not fun driving Sheldon in wet and windy conditions. Although our time at the site was also short,  we did manage to enjoy a great day out in the English/Scottish Borders.

We left the site and traveled north to the delightful market town of Wooler. It was good to walk around some shops and feel safe. The town was quiet with tourists presumably staying away due to Coronavirus. Whilst, this would be bad news for the shops and businesses that depend on the holiday trade to boost their income, for us it was good to avoid crowds. The local shops enabled us to restock our essentials, the gift shop to purchase some souvenirs and a visit to one of the Cafes enabled us to top up our caffeine levels. Our brief stop at Wooler had been enjoyable and we left feeling we’d benefited from the experience. The road took us further north to Coldstream before we turned west to Kelso. Both of these towns were bypassed, but the drive and the brief glimpses of each place were enjoyable. On we went, in a South Westerly direction to Jedburgh.

Jedburgh was to be our lunch stop, but before that we explored the town. It is a place which is steeped in history. Foremost in this, is the Abbey which was founded in 1147. It has a rich history. But as a result of the Border Wars with England it became a ruin in the 16th century. The ruined Abbey continues to dominate the town, standing proudly on the South West side of the town. At the time of our visit, it was closed due to Covid 19, but it was clearly an impressive structure. Jedburgh itself has quite a history. Not only does it have the ruined Abbey. It also had a Castle which was built in 1174 and demolished in 1409. Mary Queen of Scots stayed in a house in the town in 1566, that house is now a museum. Numerous other notable people were born in the town including MP’s, Ministers of the Church, Bankers and Sports Men and Women. The town continues to thrive today with textile, tanning, glove making, grain mills and electrical engineering offering employment to local people. Despite our visit being short, we liked Jedburgh. It had a good feel to it, that important mix of history and current activity showing that it also has a good future ahead.

Jedburgh Abbey

Our journey continued south from Jedburgh. This was a good road which travelled through the ‘borderlands’. We came to the Border between Scotland and England on the A68, which offers views both north into Scotland and south into England. The views were glorious and you could see for miles. The road took us further south past the site of the Battle of Otterburn and skirting the current Military Training areas. We took a left turn which took us on the road to Rothbury. The countryside is beautiful and wild. The road was a bit narrow, hilly and ‘bendy’ in places, but Sheldon coped well.

The 'Borderlands'

We eventually arrived at Rothbury which is a beautiful small town with long greens down the high street and the scenic River Coquet. It is very picturesque but busier than we expected, so we had a drink and set off back to the campsite. It is as you leave Rothbury that you pass one of the jewels in its crown. Traveling up a steep hill, you come to Cragside. Cragside is a Victorian Country House which is now owned by the National Trust and welcomes visitors. We visited it a number of years ago and were very impressed with what it offers the visitor. The house was built for Sir William Armstrong, who was an industrialist based in the North East of England. The house has many interesting features. One of which is that it was the first domestic house to be lit by its own hydro-electric power source. Lord Armstrong (as he was to become), was a great engineer and inventor and much of this inventiveness is still evident at Cragside. It is well worth a visit not just for the inventiveness of its former owner, but also its architecture, art collection, and gardens. Soon we arrived back at the site. It had been an enjoyable day, where we had sampled some of the delights of the area. There is a surprising amount to see in this border area and I’m sure we’ll return someday to further explore it.

River Coquet at Rothbury

The weather continued to affect our stay. But we were able to explore the nature reserves which sit either side of the site. These include lakes with hides to watch wildlife in. I also went to the main road to see the River (Breamish), which is crossed by a modern road bridge. Near the bridge you can see a small ‘salmon ladder’ and in the wooded embankment, there are otter signs put up by Northumbria Wildlife Trust. It clearly is an area with a great deal of wildlife.

The other four photos are from the nature reserve.

On our final afternoon at the site, we walked further up the local single track road to the small village/hamlet of Branton. It was here that we belatedly came across a fabulous cafe offering homemade cake etc. We partook of this particular pleasure with a coffee and were highly impressed by the place. It’s called ‘The Bosk’ and also offers Bed and Breakfast and Self Catering Accommodation. The facility has its own website which is https://www.breamishvalley.co.uk. It’s well worth a look at. (I have no association with the business and have not stayed at any of the properties - we just enjoyed coffee and cake in the cafe).

Our time at River Breamish had now drawn to a close. We felt refreshed and were looking forward to our next site and a continued stay in Northumberland. But more about that next time.

Thank you for reading this blog, which I hope you have enjoyed.

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