Northern Britain is a strange place. England’s northernmost counties, Northumberland and Cumbria, sit along the border with Scotland. Land in both counties has been both Scottish and English throughout the years. Hadrian’s Wall once marked the boundary with Scotland. It now cuts through Newcastle upon Tyne to end in Wallsend. Such places nudge up against […]
northumberland
Explore the legend of the Laidly Worm of Spindlestone Heugh
Tales of dragons, known as worms, abound in English folklore. Last week, we looked at the Lambton Worm in County Durham. This week, we’ll head north up the coast to Northumberland to meet the Laidly Worm. The story concerns Spindlestone Heugh, near the mighty fortress of Bamburgh Castle. The tale concerns the beautiful Princess Margaret, […]
Visit to Howick Hall Gardens
I took advantage of the good weather on yesterday’s Bank Holiday Monday and took a trip with my parents up to Howick Hall Gardens and Arboretum in Northumberland. Howick Hall is notable for being the former home of Charles, the second Earl Grey, and creator of the famous Earl Grey tea. The tea was specially […]
Northern Spaces: Lighthouses
I was having a Twitter conversation on Sunday about what writers should actually blog about. I’ve seen a few people, both on Twitter and various blogs, asking writers not to blog about writing. It does get repetitive, I suppose, and I guess there are so many blogs about writing you have to wonder how you […]
