Otterburn, Northumberland

Otterburn is a small village in Northumberland on the banks of the River Rede close to the confluence with the Otter Burn.
It is well known for a number of reasons.

Historically it is associated with the Battle of Otterburn and of course it is in the centre of Border Reiver lands

It is the site of Otterburn Mill. This Mill was built to work with the local wool which was and still is an important industry for the area. There is some evidence that the mill dates back to the 15th century. however little is known prior to the 1820's. The Mill grew and prospered until the late 1960's when a lack of funds to invest started a decline until manufacturing ceased in 1976. The Mill was eventually sold to the Pringle family.

Then there is Otterburn tower a fortified Northumbrian country house which was founded by a cousin of
William the Conqueror in 1086.It is now a quality hotel, restaurant and wedding venue.

Near to Otterburn are the large ministry of defence lands and of course the historic medieval village of Elsdon.

Useful links include

Our blog entries for Elsdon.

Wikipedia for Otterburn


Otterburn tower

and of course the Mill


Northumbria byways are happy to offer the Drovers rest as the ideal cottage to explore the area.

Cottages in Elsdon

Elsdon is a small market town between Rothbury and Otterburn.It was once the main settlement in Redesdale.
Historically the area is rich with stories. Nearby was the battle of Otterburn which has been suggested as the reason for the mass grave discovered in the church grounds.
This is of course a prime area for border reiver history and the strife seen in the region can be evidenced by the old motte and bailey castle as well as the Peill tower.

The National Park website reinforces the above points when it calls Elsdon the most complete example of a medieval settlement in the Park.

Relevant links are here

The National Park page on Elsdon

and

Wikipedia





This is the local Pele Tower


Here is the church



Nearby villages include Thropton, Otterburn and Alwinton.

This is a screen capture from Google earth showing the motte and bailey, the pele tower and the church.

Bamburgh Castle on Google Earth

Google earth is an amazing resource. Just one of the many benefits and visuals is demonstrated below.Its Bamburgh Castle!



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Microclimates in Northumberland

Its funny how words come into fashion and recently we have been hearing more and more about

micro climates. As this story board tells us the area around Millfield is a micro climate.

With annual rainfall at 650 mm compared to 950 in the Cheviots

and slightly more sunshine and warmer temperatures this is truly a lovely part of Northumberland.

Sand dunes - along the Northumberland Coast

We had promised to talk about how the dunes are created and how they come to be associated with different colours.

Strandline and embryo dunes

Imagine seaweed left stranded at the highest point of the beach. See it drying out and the sparse nutrients leaching into the sandy soil. Eventually some hardy plants will take advantage of this source of nutrients and sea rocket or maybe sea sandwort will start to grow. As these plants expand they will trap and stabilise the sand.

Yellow or white dunes.

Higher up than the strongest tides will reach you have an environment where the sand is still mobile but there is enough nutrient to support marram grass. This gras sbrings improved stability and this allows ragwort, sand sedge, fescues and hawkweed to grow between the clumps of marram grass.

Grey or fixed dunes.

Further back and over time mosses and lichens start to appear and they give this area a grey colour on the sand. And at last we get the Bloody Cranesbill.....the county flower of Northumberland.

Remember that when you are strolling along the beach at Bamburgh that there is much more here than people usually see.

Grey Seals

We are keen to keep up to date with news and reviews from around our region and find the Northumberland Gazette a great way to do this. It is a local newspaper packed with information for both Northumbrian residents and holidaymakers alike. We were recently browsing the Northumberland Gazette website and came across some videos featuring very interesting activities people had been getting up to. Our favourite was from a sub aqua club who had been diving off the Farne Islands and it shows a seal interacting with the diver, it's brill! take a look.

A gentle reminder of exactly how much we have to be grateful for up here on the beach at Bamburgh.

If you want to see more of the videos just go to the top of their page and click "your videos".

Merry Christmas

A short blog to just say a Merry Christmas to all our customers, friends and family. 2009 has been a challenging year with the recession, doom and gloom. But up here in Northumberland we are priviledged to live amongst some of the most beautiful landscapes in Britain and our guests are always welcome.

Sand Dunes and wildlife - Bamburgh, Seahouses and the coast

So many times we have parked our car just south of Bamburgh and crossed the sand dunes to the beach. In our eagerness to reach the beautiful beach we don't really stop and consider the dunes and what they represent.

So this post is dedicated to the sand dunes of the north east beaches.

First off is the question of the underlying rock which is usually the Whin Sill. This andesitic rock produces poor quality acidic soils. The east facing slopes are generally dipping and typically have shallow lime rich and draught prone soils.If you then add in the harsh maritime conditions you get a very distinct environment with some unique plants.

Most of the Northumberland dunes are calcareous due to their high shell content. This soil supports a colourful flower rich ecosystem during the hot summer months with the low levels of nitrogen discouraging some of the more vigorous plants found in the area.

Most of the coastal dunes were formed 200 to 300 years ago. There are older ones, especially around Lindisfarne, but these are more acidic due the calcareous remains of shells having been leached out of them over time. These more acidic and older dunes typically have more heath type grasses and plants.

Our next post on the dunes will talk about the different colours and how they develop.

Late neolithic and early bronze ages in Northumberland.

The late neolithic and early bronze age ran from 3000 to 1500 bc up here in Northumberland.

This was a time for the henge builders, burial cairns and excavations at Yeavering, Thirlings and at Woodbridge Farm. The land was becoming settled and the people had enough idea of continuity to build their settlements, bury their dead and believe in a future which would always be provided for in this rich landscape.

The nearest market town is Wooler.