Edlingham Castle

 

This is night No.26/2020 living in the caravan. This will be our third night at River Breamish C&MC near Powburn in Northumberland.

Woke to a cold, clear morning and took the dogs around the nature reserve next door.

Returned to the van and after some breakfast, we took the 10min drive to Thrunton Wood, not far from Rothbury. Been here many times in the past, and is a bit of a regular haunt when down this way as it has some excellent way marked routes.

Quite a hilly forest, the walk takes you through some crags and boulders. A spaniel is included for scale.

After the walk, I thought we would do a triangular route back to the site, visiting Edlingham Castle, then Alnwick, then back.

Next to the castle is a 5th century church. Very impressive but closed.

Next, we took the short grassy path down to the remains of Edlingham Castle and its impressive 'Solar Tower'.

The castle started life as a Hall House, but was fortified and the tower built during the times of the Border Reivers to protect the place. The Tower has seen better days!

I wasn't really worried about a collapse, but what did worry me was the rather flimsy fence which kept back cattle on both sides of the path, and they had calves.

In the afternoon, headed for a fairly long walk to Powburn, round the round the ponds at Hedgeley, then along some of the Public Footpaths to the site. Again, a lot of dragonfly.

One thing I don't see very often, a cut pile of very mature Oak. I could identify it as the foresters had painted 'Oak not firewood' on some sticks.

Followed another Footpath into Powburn.

Passed under a railway parapet like one further north which crosses the River Breamish. Abandoned some time ago:

"This railway bridge lasted for nearly a century before the floods of 1948 destroyed it and the other railway bridges, along with the rest of the Glendale rail network"