Northumberland Holiday Guide 2009
For the more energetic there is a long distance footpath and Northumbrian capital at Bamburgh near Berwick-upon-Tweed
cycle route, The Hadrian Path & National Trail, which traces in 547AD. Arthurian myth also mentions Bamburgh as the site
the entire 150 miles of the frontier complex from the partially of Sir Lancelot’s Joyous Garde.
reconstructed Arbeia (South Shields) fort on the south bank of
the Tyne to Ravenglass in Cumbria. But whether you arrive on
Whether Lancelot ever lived here is a matter for mythologists
foot, bicycle, bus or car. Don’t miss:
but from Bamburgh, the historic kings of Northumbria ruled
from Edinburgh to the River Mersey, converted Northern
Housesteads: the largest and best preserved of the Wall’s
England to Christianity and gave Northumbria its Golden Age.
legionary fortresses.
This Golden Age began around 635AD when the saintly King
Vindolanda: a pre-Hadrian legionary fortress and Roman
Oswald defeated the pagan Mercians who had driven his father
town near Once Brewed. Besides the ruins, there are superb
and brothers from the Northumbrian throne. To give thanks for
reconstructions of the Wall and other Roman buildings.
his victory, Oswald invited Irish monks to found a monastery
on the tidal island of Lindisfarne in Bamburgh Bay. Under
Chesters: a cavalry fort with a bath house and a pleasant
riverside walk to the remains of a Roman bridge.
a succession of visionary abbots, such as St Aidan and St
Cuthbert, Lindisfarne became a beacon of learning that shone
Roman Army Museum, Greenhead: sister site to
throughout the Dark Ages.
Vindolanda with a good stretch of Wall and an excellent
museum full of fascinating artefacts, interactive displays and
You can trace the history of the Northumbrian kings and the
recreations of legionary life.
early English Church at a number of sites across modern
Northumberland. Don’t miss:
Corstopitum, Corbridge: the town and fort that
were the Wall’s central supply base have been extensively Lindisfarne Abbey: the name means haven and
excavated and the under floor central heating in the Lindisfarne is still a refuge for anyone looking to escape the
commander’s house is particularly well preserved.
stresses of modern life. At high tide Lindisfarne becomes
an island where you can find a spiritual peace in the empty
Anglo-Saxon Northumbria
beaches and atmospheric abbey ruins.
After the legions were recalled to Rome in 410AD, Britain
was invaded by Germanic tribes from Southern Denmark and
Farne Islands: St Cuthbert spent the last years of his life as
Northern Germany. The Danish Angles settled all along the East
a hermit on the windswept Farne Islands. Today the islands are
a seal and seabird sanctuary that can be visited by boat from
Coast but their heartland was north of the River Humber. From
Seahouses.
the 7
th
to 9
th
centuries, ‘North-Humbria’ was the most powerful
of England’s seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Bamburgh Castle: Ida’s fortress is buried under layers
of Norman, Medieval and Victorian castle building and the
At its height, Northumbria also included the modern counties of
main apartments are private residences. However the outer
Durham, Yorkshire and Lancashire as well as Northumberland.
fortifications, the ground floor and the museum are open to
According to ancient chronicles, King Ida established the first
the public daily from March to November.
Bamburgh Castle, Mario Czekirda Hexham Abbey, Hexham TIC
www.visitnorthumberland.com 5
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