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.

Building an airport in the war.

The airfield used by the Border Gliders club at Millfield is a peaceful place with a very large field and long views towards the Cheviots. But sometimes we forget just how busy this area was in the second world war.

This story board talks about the itinerant Irish labourers who helped to build the aerodrome and the run ways. It also suroprisingly says that over 3,300 men and women were involved with the aerodrome when it was active. Thats a lot of people for such a quiet and beautiful part of Northumberland.

If you are plannintg to come to Northumberland why not stay in Wooler or one of our houses in the College Valley.

RAF Millfield and their Cumbrian Connection

This is one of the information boards from Maelmin and the RAF memorial. What we hadn't known was that the 59th Operational Training Unit, the first users of the airfield during the second world war , they came over from Crosby on Eden in Cumbria.

You can see a summary of the RAF postings here.

There is so much history up here in Northumberland, not just the ancient history, not just the medieval wars and the Border Reivers...but also more recent history.

Maelmin, ancient heritage trail near Millfield

Maelmin is a strange place. It's just off the A697 between Wooler and Coldstream and hiding behind a memorial to the fallen in WW2. Not an obvious place of interest.


Basically when excavating the nearby airfield a house from around 500 AD was unearthed. This house has been reconstructed here...


The site has the following attractions

A dark age house

A mesolithic hut.....pictured here

A henge





and lots of story boards.

Overall this is a much understated attraction.It's well worth a visit and the chances are you will be the only one here.

Other local attractions include Flodden and of course the College Valley.

WW2 Memorial at Millfield

We had previously blogged about the memorial to lost airman in the Cheviot so it was a surprise when we came across this unexpectedly




The memorial is just off the Wooler to Coldstream Road on the right hand side.Its just before the Gliding Club and next to the Maelmin Heritage trail.

You can see some of the names of the fallen here




Sometimes it's surprising what you can turn up in corners of Northumberland.

Border Gliding

Great excitement, when we were up in the Cheviots we went Gliding!
It's quite a common sight at week ends to see these graceful sail planes gliding above the Millfield plain and over the foot hills of the Cheviot.

The Border Gliding Club is based just outside Millfield. Many times travelling north towards Coldstream we have seen the "beware of gliders" signpost, however this time we turned off and went flying.



So what was it like?

First you have to get into the glider.For a tall person this isn't always easy...shall we say its a tight fit.

The take off behind a "tug" is quick , a little bumpy but you are soon in the air.

Being towed up to 2,500 feet is the real scary part.It's quick but you bounce all over the place.
But the peace and quiet when the tow rope is released is truly amazing.Everything goes quiet and you just hang in the air ( as it were).

Unfortunately the lift wasn't great which meant a short flight.The landing , which we had expected to be the most difficult part ,was really quick and no problem for a passenger.

If you would like a house near to Millfield then why not try Croft Cottage.