Carlisle Castle

For this post we are going a little way over the Northumberland/Cumbria border...to the border city of Carlisle. It tends to be one of the less glamorous castles but there is real history here.
For instance these are just three lesser known facts

1. Carlisle is a Crown castle. One of the only ones outside London.
2. Apart from the Tower of London there is no other Castle who has had a regimented billeted there for so long.
3. When Rudolf Hess flew into Scotland during WW2 he was captured and taken south. One of his overnight stops was at the Carlisle Castle.

We have the Ostlers at Gilsland which is only a few miles east of Carlisle. Anyway this is just a short blog to remind our visitors of what is up here.

College Valley - feral goats

Just one picture to show that College Valley Estates try to check the goats each year. Give them a once over as it were

So if you are interested in feral goats and how they survive in the wild then why not come to one of the remote cottages in the College Valley.

Paul Corica

We are delighted to have Paul's permission to use some of his photos for the movie on our front page. If you are interested in finding out more about Paul and what he does then please look at this web page we have written.

Burning heather

We've got some rather impressive pictures of burning the heather. This thins it out and makes it easier for the grouse to nurture their chicks.It also gives the distinctive mosaic or patchwork pattern to the Cheviot Hills. On this trip we passed through the historic village of Elsdon.

Trafalgar wood

Here are a couple of pictures for something that is often missed. As you come into the College Valley, just before you drop down towards towards Hethpool the view is fantastic.Everyone looks ahead and up the valley but just on your right hand side is this small wood planted in 2005. Its called Trafalgar wood in memory of Lord Collingwood. Nearby you have Hethpool Mill and just before you come into the Valley there is Akeld Hill View.

Flying fortress on the Cheviot

You might recall that a little while ago we wrote a short blog about the WW2 memorial alongside Cuddystone Hall?

Well recently when we stayed at Dunsdale House we took the opportunity to climb past Bizzle Crags and on to Braydon Crags. It was up here, hidden in the large furrows amongst the peat we came across the remains of 44-6504, a Boing B-17G flying fortress which crashed here on 16th December 1944.

We found a small book, "Where the hills meet the sky" by Peter Clark. It covers many more crashes than just this Boing but what it also does is to talk about that afternoon in December when the plane crashed. It tells the story about the Shepherds and the Border Collie climbing the Bizzle to bring down the survivors. The two men who climbed the hill were awarded medals. The Collie also received the Dicken medal...the only non military dog to be given the honour during ww2.

Four of the airmen were brought down to Dunsdale.Three made their own way to Mount Hooly . Unfortunately two were killed.

You can see the pictures here on flickr.