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Posted: Monday 28 September 2009
North East Associates
Allen Banks & Staward Gorge Walk
- 24th September 2009 -
It was a gorgeous autumn morning as 27 of us (were the numbers reduced by the description of "strenuous" ?) set off from the National Trust car park up the bank of the River Allen - first thing to note, a plaque proclaiming that the area had been donated to the NT by a member of the Bowes Lyon family.
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Then we crossed
the river
by means of
a chain bridge
- not sure whether
we went over
the weight limit
for our
photo opportunity
but having
so many people
on the bridge
at one time
was certainly
entertaining! |
We then went up the riverbank to the Staward Gorge. Those who opted for the longer walk had the benefit of visiting the ruins of Staward Pele.
Staward Pele was originally an early 14th century timber blockhouse and palisaded pele, built on the dramatic site of a Roman temple.
This impregnable fortress stands on an oval promontory, which is accessed along a narrow causeway.
In 1326 King Edward II annexed the pele and Thomas de Featherstonehaugh, keeper of Tynedale, offered to demolish the pele and build the king a castle. The site passed to Queen Phillippa in 1337 and then to her son Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. In 1385 it was rented to Hexham Priory, who then held it until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
In the 18th century the pele was still a substantial ruin and was occupied by Dickey of Kingswood, a notorious border reiver.
The neck of the promontory was cut off by a ditched wall, of which the north-east angle of a gatehouse remains. Surviving at the end of the promontory is a large ditch, with three sides of a large keep made of beautifully dressed stone.
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Both walks then looped through woodlands back to the riverside and then went downstream to Plankey Mill where there were many reminiscences of childhood camping trips.
We then crossed over the river by the new bridge at Plankey Mill (the last time we walked in this area, the old bridge had been swept away in a flood) and returned to the car park.
For lunch we went to The General Havelock in Haydon Bridge, the first organised Associate trip to this establishment.
This has been made possible because of the newly opened by-pass.
Previously, the A69 went straight through the town making it decidedly dangerous to cross the road, not to mention the traffic noise.
All were agreed that the quality of the food and the now quiet surroundings mean that we will certainly be back.
Ged Downey
(ph 28/09/2009)
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