Guided Walk date - 12/08/09
The group met at the Coquetdale Centre on a beautiful summers evening and looked over old photos of the village of Rothbury and compared them with the modern village, the footprint of dwellings looks exactly as it did in 1892 on a photograph of the then Rector crossing the road to All Saints Church could have been taken yesterday!
A photograph of Lord Armstrong in the main doorway into Cragside the marvel of a modern country house close to Rothbury pictured with a Japanese envoy was posed and splendid and a short history of Lord Armstrong vision and genius, as we know It was the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power. And was originally to be a small country home for the Armstrong Built into a rocky hillside, this was a man who had great ambition and vision and the “modest” country home quickly became a miniature wonder of the modern world.
Before launching ourselves in to the evening sunshine, a short history of the village and an explanation of the lengths that villagers go too to keep Rothbury the charming and vibrant place that so many people enjoy. We set off along the riverside past the old County hotel, now the home of the RAF association and the group chatted about the heyday of post Victorian life when the train brought visitors to the area on the Rothbury branch line from Scots Gap Junction to enjoy “a day at the Races” when the modern Golf course was the site of the Rothbury horse racing track, passing the old “grandstand” by the riverside we headed to the Lady’s bridge and admired the old mill at Tosson with the charming hamlet of houses that run parallel to the single track road that took us to the Haughland that took us to the ancient village of Thropton.
Crossing the Coquet and then following the Wreigh Burn we talked of fishing and Otters, crossing the Wreigh Burn by the splendid sandstone bridge and on towards Physic Lane and on to a viewpoint to watch the sunset before returning to Rothbury with the lights of the valley farms in the distance, on returning to the village one of the first meteors streamed overhead, with clear skies it would be a great opportunity to view the regular August meteor showers known as Perseids.
To view more pictures taken on this walk please click here.
- To find out more about the guided walks in Northumberland that are coming up please click here.
