Millfield, Ford, Crookham, Branxton, Mindrum

 

Maelmin Henge is just outside Millfield. It's a reconstruction of the nearby Milfield North Henge: one of several henge monuments in the Till Valley that date from the Later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

Today's ride started in Millfield, then passed through a series of small settlements: Ford, Crookham, Branxton and Mindrum.

Apart from Maelmin Henge I took in the site of the Battle of Flodden, which was fought outside Branxton in 1513. The Church of St Michael and All Angels at Ford dates from the 13th Century, and was heavily restored by John Dobson in 1853. There has been a mill at Heatherslaw since 1291. The current one was restored and re-opened in 1975, but was closed today.  For more local history I could have made a brief diversion via the 14th Century Etal Castle. But enough is enough.

Part of my route followed NCN68 - the Pennine Cycle Way. The two sections on the A697 were both very brief and traffic wasn't a problem. The rest of the ride was on quiet country lanes. 

Once again I chose a route that is more hilly than I'm used to. On my personal scale of difficulty I couldn't rate this as an "Easy" ride. Others describe it as "Moderate", but I'd have to rate it as more difficult than that. "Challenging"  would be putting it too strongly. I'd like to rate it as "Satisfying", but for now, I think I'll settle on "Demanding".

Around Warkworth

 

Yesterday I came across a  book of Cycle Routes in Northumberland and Tyneside. It's given me ideas. Some of them are routes that are new to me. Some are variations on routes that are already familiar. 

Today I tried a variation on my regular route between Hipsburn and Warkworth. Normally I follow NCN1 there and back, but this variation takes me further inland. 

One of the highlights is this ford west of Warkworth. I've ridden through this before. But that was some years ago and at the time the river was much lower. I wasn't going to attempt it today. For a while I thought I would have to turn back, but then I realised that there's a footbridge a hundred yards or so downstream. So I used that and continued on. 

My plan would then have taken me through Guyzance and Shilbottle. However, it was turning out to be quite a bit more hilly than I'm used to. So I decided to take a shortcut through Sturton Grange.

Despite the shortcut, this looks like a route that's worth another visit. It crosses an area that I don't know well. It's an area that's worth exploring. It won't do me any harm to get more practice across landscape that is less than flat. And it's an attractive route along quiet country roads.

Amble to Cambois

With a diversion through Newbiggin today's ride took me from Amble to Cambois and back along NCN1.

The cycle path isn't far from a number of former collieries and colliery villages. At each end are ports used for export of coal. Between Hauxley and Cresswell is a series of nature reserves created from the results of coal mining. East Chevington nature reserve was passed to Northumberland Wildlife Trust following opencast restoration. Hauxley Nature Reserve was originally part of Radcliffe open-cast mine. Druridge Pools are a former opencast coal mine. Cresswell Pond is the result of subsidence from collapsed mine works.

Cambois is a former colliery village on the north side of the River Blyth. The colliery closed in 1968. That left access to a deep-sea port, a skilled work force, a rail network and coal was still available from nearby collieries. So from 1970 aluminium ore from overseas was landed here and taken by rail to a smelter at Lynemouth. Electricity was generated at Lynemouth power station, which burnt coal from Lynemouth and Ellington Collieries.

Lynemouith Colliery closed in 1994 and Ellington Colliery in 2005. Lynemouth power station could continue to burn coal sourced from elsewhere, but from 2004 biomass was introduced into the mix, and the power station has relied entirely on biomass since 2015. However, the Lynemouth smelter was now un-economic, and it closed in 2012. Alumina is still imported, and transferred by rail to Lochaber Aluminium Smelter near Fort William on the west coast of Scotland. Lochaber is powered by a hydro-electric scheme.

Lynemouth Power-station now supplies the national grid. But the former coal yards are no longer needed. In 2021 plans were approved for a factory on the site that would manufacture batteries for electric cars. However, construction ceased in 2024 as a result of funding difficulties. In 2025 plans were approved for a datacentre on the site.

This isn't the most beautiful part of Northumberland, but a memorable experience today was watching a family of deer at Druridge Bay Country Park. Happily grazing alongside the cycle track, they were clearly aware that a couple of us were nearby, but they seemed quite relaxed. Eventually they wandered off. The track through the country park is well-used by walkers and cyclists and presumably the deer get used to seeing people. There are different ways of adapting to the area's complex industrial history.

Till: we meet again

 

 

Part of the rationale for getting a folding bike was that I could avoid climbs by putting it in the boot of the car and heading out for flat rides in areas that are less hilly than our immediate surroundings. The plan has worked, but after a few months I felt ready for something a bit more demanding. At the weekend I tried routes around Wooler, but the weather wasn't great and that turned into a short, cold ride with showers of rain and hail. 

Three days later the weather today was a big improvement. So I headed back to Wooler to attempt something more ambitious. I began by revisiting Weetwood and Fowberry. Instead of turning back I then headed for Chatton. Then on to Chillingham, where I had a break outside St Peter's Church. I continued south, almost as far as Old Bewick. Then back via Lilburn Tower. I wanted to avoid riding along the busy A697 so I had intended to head north through Haugh Head. However, I missed the turning. A short stretch along the A697 wasn't as bad as I feared, then I was back on quiet country lanes and the Pennine Cycleway through North Middleton, and Coldgate Mill.

Highlights of the ride were the quiet roads, a variety of fords and old bridges, and great views across lovely countryside. The hedges haven't started to blossom yet, but spring is definitely in the air. I couldn't have asked for better weather. I was looking for something a bit more demanding than usual, and this certainly wasn't as flat as I've been used to. But for a ride of just over twenty miles, it felt more demanding than I intended. I'm not ashamed of getting off and pushing. But really, a bit more practice across similar terrain  is called for.