National Trust
This site is of interest as being the small farm where Thomas Bewick, Northumberland’s greatest artist and wood engraver, lived and worked. He is best known for books containing a set of accurate engravings of British birds. There are two exhibition rooms, and across the farmyard is the house where Bewick lived, with recreations of two rooms. Most of his work was engraved on boxwood, which is only available in small pieces, so many of the engravings are of eye-straining smallness.
The Print Room has the original printing equipment and racks of typefaces, and a small display of prints. There is a short video presentation.
This is worth a visit if you are already interested in Bewick or are in the area. Bewick bookFarmyard and cottage
National Trust
Cragside was bought by the Victorian industrialist and arms manufacturer Willian George Armstrong, and the house was greatly extended between 1863-1884. Externally, the house is a jumble of English baronial styles, with mullioned windows, battlements, decorated barge boards, shouldered gables, tall decorated chimneys, steep roofs, and mock timber-framing, and has an irregular outline. Inside it has a number of unusual features incorporating Armstrong’s ideas, often very advanced for the time, including a water-powered spit turning mechanism, electric lighting from a hydro-generator on the estate, a hydraulic powered lift and a sauna suite. There are several rooms with elaborate Victorian interiors. The large drawing room, finished in a Classical Renaissance style, has a vast chimney piece, elaborately carved in marble. A long gallery is lined with pictures and other objects.
From the house, there are spectacular views over the woodland below. A rockery garden plunges down to a stream and an arched metal bridge. Out in the estate there are several of Armstrong’s installations to visit, and 40 miles of footpaths to explore. You can walk to the pair of lakes above the house and back in an hour or so, but the signposting on the paths is vague and the climb is steep.
The exhibition centre & tea rooms are next to the lake visible from the entrance. The formal gardens are 1/4 mile from the house, or from the main car park. The’re quite pretty but could be skipped if you are short of time.
A ‘hopper’ minibus provides free transport around the above-mentioned ‘near’ parts of the estate for those who have difficulty in walking. You can drive your car around a 6-mile one-way circuit to access the ‘far’ parts of the estate. Cragside is a clear candidate for an ‘all day visit’.
Visited 2012 and 2016.
LibraryView near houseIron Bridge and houseLibraryDining Room glassKitchenMorning RoomDrawing RoomFrom aboveSlipper LakeNorth lake
Durham Cathedral is the most prominent of the buildings in the old centre of Durham – a peninsula of high ground surrounded on three sides by the looping River Wear. Also here are Durham Castle, various buildings associated with the cathedral, and streets lined with old stone buildings.
The Cathedral impresses on several counts – its size – one of the biggest medieval buildings in England – its age – most of the construction is Norman – and the scale of its interior. Pillars and round arches are carved with distinctive Norman sawtooth patterns. There are three towers, two at the East end and one in the middle. (If you are ever confused about which end of a church is East, North, etc, remember that that most are laid out so that when you look towards the altar you are facing towards Jerusalem.)
When built (to house the relics and shrine of St Cuthbert), the cathedral was part of a monastery, and many of the typical monastic components either survive (like the cloisters) or their remains are incorporated in buildings serving later functions. old buildingsCastle keep
English Heritage & National Trust
Fragments of the wall remain at various places along its 71-mile length. However the most substantial remains are in the uplands where it was most difficult to rob the wall for purposes such as road-building, farm buildings and field walls. To the disgust of antiquaries, a lot of the wall disappeared when a military road was built alongside it in the 18th century.
At Housesteads, sections of wall remain to a height of several feet, and the complete outline and foundations of a Roman wall fort can be seen. The land is now owned by the National Trust. There is a National Trust building beside the car park, and a English Heritage museum and ticket office near the fort and wall, about half a mile up the hill.
It’s well worth making the effort to visit the site (unless it’s pouring with rain, as it was during my visit). While travelling there, look out for the vast Roman ditch systems alongside the road that runs parallel to the Wall. Two more forts, walks, and a view-point are within a few miles, making the area a candidate for an all-day visit. Hypocaust at Commander's House
National Trust.
The 18th century house stands in extensive grounds, and the south front can be seen from a mile away on the approach route. Behind the house (north side) is a green surrounded by stable blocks etc.
Inside the house, one you leave the entrance hall, the preferred route is to turn right and go around the ground floor in an anti-clockwise direction, finishing with the south front rooms (Library, Drawing Room and Dining Room). Then go upstairs. Alternatively, you could go upstairs first. Noteworthy items in the house are the fine collection of Chinese porcelain, the pre-Raphaelite murals in the central hall, and the plasterwork in the south-facing ground floor rooms. Pictures, furniture, porcelain figures and a collection of dolls’ houses may also be of interest.
Outside, the Walled garden (half a mile from the house) is said to be well worth a visit. Unfortunately I was unable to see it because of lack of time. A full visit to house and grounds could take several hours. Dining RoomCentral Hall
National Trust:
The house is impressively composed, with a central block and two wings. At a glance, it looks complete, but the central block is a fire-gutted shell which was burnt out in 1822. It has been re-roofed and re-windowed to keep out the elements. It was originally built in 1719-30. The architect was John Vanbrugh, who also designed Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace. The survival of the shell is a testament to the strength of its construction.
The east and west wings formerly contained stables and the kitchens. The kitchen block has since been converted to residential accommodation. Note the two stone spiral staircases in the central block, and the two rooms not gutted by fire. In the grounds are formal gardens and a small Norman church. Formal gardensFire damaged interior
National Trust
