Richard Bell's nature diary, Northumbria, Friday 24 September 2010
THAT'S
THE TROUBLE
with a holiday,
you have
to come
back to
reality,
but we're
taking the
scenic route
back to
the Rhubarb
Fields.
You can
drive up
alongside
Kielder
Water, through
Kielder
village
and in a
few miles
you're in
Scotland.
On our large
scale road
atlas it
looks as
if you'll
find yourself
going over
the moors
but most
of the way
you're finding
your way
through
the hills
via pleasant
valleys.
The map
in my mum's
1960 copy
of The
AA Road
Book of
England
and Wales
shows a
railway
still running
across the
border,
shortly
before its
closure,
and the
village
that would
be flooded
by Kielder
Water still
sitting
there with
its station.
These two little sketches were drawn from The Osprey ferry as we returned yesterday. The vintage Ross binoculars were hanging by the life belts on the rear deck. I'm glad that most binoculars aren't so heavy these days!
NewcastletonWe stopped for a coffee at the Olive Tree Cafe on the broad main street of the attractive stone-built 18th century planned village of Newcastleton, where I asked the Scottish waitress if there was a spot between Kielder and Newcastleton where the two acents, Scottish and Geordie, merge. No, she said; just five miles further the road you're across the border again back in England and the accent is different again but, even in Scotland, you can tell if someone comes from another town, such as Hawick (pronounced 'Hoyck') not so much because of the accent but because they'll use different words or phrases for some things.
We passed within 5 miles of Gretna Green, near the head of the Solway Firth, as we returned home via Cumbria. As we drove one into England, Barbara spotted a couple of roe deer in a field about 100 yards from the road.
This waterfall isn't what it seems; it looks natural but it's actually man-made - part of the artificial crag that hides the Rheged Visitor Centre near Penrith.
As we returned down the M6, we glimpsed Morecambe Bay in the distance. There wasn't time to drive through the Lake District but I hope we're back with more time to spare before too long.
Links: Newcastleton , Rheged