Category: Northeast England

In the Footsteps of Border Raiders, a Saint, and Vera

Next week, my partner, two friends, and I will be hiking a section of the Reivers Way in Northumberland, England, from inn to inn over five days. The Border Reivers were notorious for terrorizing communities in the area around the border between Scotland and England from the 13th to the 17th centuries. Some of them… Continue reading In the Footsteps of Border Raiders, a Saint, and Vera

Apportioning Expenses of a 5-Day Hike

Worked on a spreadsheet to apportion hotel and rail expenses for a five-day hike we’ll do with two friends in the North East of England in September. If we take turns paying for hotels, everything almost balances. I don’t entirely trust my numbers, so I’ll return to this another day.

In the Footsteps of Scottish Border Raiders

Booked hotels for a 5-day hike with friends next September. We’ll walk part of The Reivers Way in Northumberland, England, in the footsteps of Border Reivers who terrorized communities from the 13th to the 17th century. We trust the sight of four old geezers won’t terrorize today’s populace.

Dunston Staiths

On my walk along the River Tyne: Dunston Staiths, possibly the largest wooden structure in Europe. This was a shipping point for coal from 1893 to the 1970’s. Coal is no longer mined in the area, but a new electric car battery factory promises to provide up to 8,000 jobs.

Tynemouth to Whitley Bay

The northeast of England has some of the loveliest beaches I know. Walked past some of the beaches from Tynemouth to Whitley Bay, towns I knew well when I was a kid. The North Sea was untypically placid and blue today.

The Ministry

The campus in this photograph became the main offices for a British government ministry in 1948. You could be forgiven for wondering if it was a prisoner-of-war camp, repurposed as The Ministry of Truth, The Ministry of Plenty, or The Ministry of Peace. The campus was originally built as a wartime hospital for wounded servicemen… Continue reading The Ministry